If you read the title you may assume that i am going to write about how homesick i am and how i sit in my room and cry and everything else. But sorry to disappoint, but this is not one of those. m so surprised, i must be the only exchange student in history that has not felt any sort of homesickness whatsoever. It is really strange. I wrote an email to a friend the other day, and what i said, and this is the way i feel i think, is that i miss Sydney. And i know that is not really a very kind thing to say - saying that i miss a city more than the people who live in it, but i miss the things that i used to do, the feelings i got, the places to go out, and everything else. I miss the harbour, the sunsets, and the sun in general. Everyone told me before i went that i would miss the sun, and i do. The sun is not the same. When we went skiing you could go all day in the sun with all the glare and everything, with nothing on, i mean ski clothes, but no sunscreen nothing, and you would come back at the end of the day not even slightly burnt. The Austrians however, cant cope with it. They slap on ridiculous amounts of sunscreen and all the other stuff, zinc and everything. I know its due to the fact that we have a maasive hole gaping over our heads in Australia, but still there is something else different about the sun.
I think its that it doesnt have the same ferocity as at home, and not just talking about the UV rays. Even when it does rarely venture into the low to mid twenties here, it still doesnt feel hot, i have not felt hot once. The sun at home can absolutely destroy you, make you not think, not move, nothing. Here it simply warms you. And with that, everyone constantly keeps their houses closed. Everything is always closed and locked. I cant stand that, i really really dont like it.
I used to love the feeling of waking up in the morning and opening up all the doors, feeling the breeze run through and the house warm up from the sun. Here everything is heated and even when it is hot, hardly even the windows are opened. I just always feel enclosed. I know that is a real whimsical thing to say, but i love the fresh air and the feeling that im not always stuck indoors. My favourite sound and feeling in the world is when im going to bed on a really hot night, and i can hear the rain outside or a really heavy thunderstorm, and the door on to the verandah is open and the cool air rushes in, but its still humid and sticky. That is the best feeling in the world, and i cant feel it here. I think that is the thing i miss the most. Which is strange, most people would say family friends, etc etc, but i will see them soon enough, i miss not going to Chatswood and sitting in Cockle Bay, having a drink, or going to Chinatown for Yum Cha. Its those things that make me homesick. But they are manageable, its when you miss the people you have trouble, and i havent felt that, which is great, but i havent felt that.........yet.
Paz