readjusting...
on Tara's Ethiopian Adventure (Ethiopia), 05/Jan/2011 22:44, 34 days ago
It didn't take anytime readjusting to life in the UK when I came back for a holiday in the summer but this time it feels very different. I guess the shock of the cold weather didn't help but I think it is more the permanency of the move that is making it more difficult. I had really mixed feelings when I left. I knew I would miss Ethiopia, and in particular Ambo, loads but I was really excited about getting home for Christmas. Unlike most people I really love the build up to Christmas, all the Christmas tunes blasting from shops, the excitement in children's faces as the end of term draws to a close, the Salvation Army band playing in the market, the christmas cards and decorations, the carol singing and if you are really really lucky (and we seem to be this year) the snow and frost!Arriving on December 15th I had only 10 days to soak up all the over-the-top Christmas build up and I wanted to make the most of it. Although I was clearly very tired after about 30 hours of nearly no sleep I wanted to check out the new Christmas Market in town. My Mom needed to get some new light bulbs so while she did I made a beeline for the market. I didn't have much time...just enough for a quick peek. I was expecting to be filled instantly with christmas cheer but the reality was rather disappointing. It was cold and drizzeling with rain. I really wasn't dressed warmly enough. I didn't hear one christmas tune from any of the shops I passed and everyone I saw just looked miserable or stressed.Over the next 24 hours I continued to be disappointed. All the major shops seemed to have gone for the 'silent' approach, rather than subject their customers to christmas tunes, and people continued to look stressed. My vision may have been a little tainted by my jet-lagged eyes but I don't think I saw one stranger smile in that time. People I talked to also seemed so anxious about the most trivial of things -it was hard to listen to. It all seemed rather depressing and I was wondering, 'how am I going to fit back into this life?'. I was missing the 'noise' of Ethiopia: The people chattering excitedly in Oromifa or Amharic on the streets, the endless 'greetings', smiles and friendly 'hellos' from strangers and friends, the music shops blasting out Ethiopian tunes. England just felt so sterile and dull.I knew my family were so excited to have me back and so I struggled at first, trying to hide from them that my first inclination was to run away - run back to Ethiopia where things made a bit more sense and people worried about things that were worth worrying about and enjoyed the things that weren't!(I know even as I write this that I am being unfair to England...people here do have real things to worry about too and life here definately isn't easy...if it were then I don't think I'd have any worries about fitting back into life here).Thankfully things quickly improved. On the Friday I met up with a couple of friends who had also worked as VSO volunteers in Ethiopia and it was great to be able talk to people who understood the struggles I might be having readjusting because they had only recently come back too. We had a lovely afternoon wandering around the Christmas Market and we were even blessed by glorious sun and frost. On Saturday we woke up to 6inches of snow. It was amazing! With my family I walked to town, through snowy fields and past frozen rivers...it was a winter wonderland and the best snow I can ever remember seeing in England. By the time we got to the christmas market most of the town also seemed to have had the same idea. The streets were buzzing with excitement. We filled up on mulled wine and bratwursts and bumped into lots of people we knew. At last this was the christmas cheer I had been looking for! Strangers smiled at one another and the world seemed happy again! Perhaps England is not so bad afterall!