What's it like being back?
on Mark Sidey (Ethiopia), 11/Jul/2009 15:15, 34 days ago
Well, I've been back in the UK for one week now.It was very easy to get back into UK living - in the house at least. Everything is the same and I can drive a car easily even after not driving one for 10 months. I have had a couple of twitches on things like putting toilet paper down the toilet instead of a a bin by the side. Also having an urge to keep a torch with me at night incase the power goes off.At first I was a little overwhelmed with broadband internet and spent ages on it look at news, reviews, finding what films I had missed, TV sites, ordering books and DVDs on Amazon etc.I have also bought a new TV (my old one was over 15 years old and a new TV was something I promised myself when I got back.)It was weird it being light outside at 21:00. In Ethiopia it only varies between 18:00 and 19:00 all year round. My sleeping was a bit disrupted with this and all the technology I had to play with. It was like I didn't want to go to sleep as there was so much to do, watch, search for.Outside the house I feel a bit slow, for example in the big supermarkets, like everyone is moving around fast and I'm just looking at all the stuff and everyone going by in slow-motion.I also have a sort of numb feeling, especially at first, and felt like the last two years hadn't happened. (Apparently this is normal.)During the week I went to my niece's sports day, my nephew's drama performance and my old school summer fayre. It was good seeing everyone again and I still have the programmed Ethiopian "shake hands" build in. It's like an instant reaction now to shake people's hands as soon as I see them.That's it for now - back to all the technology!