There's No Place Like Home

Hello out there! I'm sure 99% of you will already know this, but for those who don't,  I am back home in Melbourne now safe and sound! 

It was an incredible 10 months of travelling the world and visiting new countries and experiencing new things but all good things must come to an end and I was more than happy to board my final flight and drag my backpack around for the very last time! You don't realise what a joy it is to have a wardobe until you live out of a backpack and have to dig deep to find whatever it is you're looking for. It's nearly always at the bottom too.

So there's not really much to update you all on - my last post was written shortly before I headed to Heathrow airport, so in terms of travel stories, alas, there are none! I think I had enough drama on the way over, so I was happy to have a smooth and story-less return.

I have been back for almost 3 weeks and the time has really flown. I've managed to catch up with most people so far, but there are definitely still some more catch ups to be had. I'm currently looking for work so I can pay off my debts, find a suitable place to live and get on with life! Looking to do some temp work while I wait for the right development-related job to spring up. All in good time hey?

It's so hard to recall the finer details of my time in Uganda and even to some extent, my European travels - it all feels so long ago now! Some people have asked me whether my time in Uganda was "worth it" and the answer to that is an emphatic yes. It may be hard to articulate exactly what I learnt, what difference I actually made, or how it all affected me, but I do know that Uganda left it's mark on me. In a good way. I loved the simple lifestyle over there and even having fewer clothes to choose from and less posessions to worry about. It's so easy to become consumed with wealth and possessions in Australia, not because our society is evil but because our obsession with these things is so subtle. It's so mainstream that we rarely see it for what it is. I'm not saying that I never buy into it, because sometimes I do, but I think that spending time in a developing country has helped me to loosen my grip on "things" and care less about stuff like fashion and being cool, and more about the bigger issues in life.

I was SOOOO lucky to catch up with so many amazing friends throughout my travels, from Kenya to Germany to England and everywhere inbetween. I was certainly very blessed to have so many generous people put me up for a night or 3 weeks and cook for me, take me sight-seeing and generally just look after me extremely well. It was definitely a highlight of my travels to be able to reconnect with people that I hadn't seen in months, years, and in some cases, almost decades! I am very lucky to have so many awesome international friends and a HUGE and sincere thankyou to anyone reading who falls into the above category!

So I should probably round up my final post for this blog. I guess the title kind of lost it's relevance about 5 months ago, but I managed to stretch it out a little! Thanks for following my blog and showing an interest in what I've been up to over the past months, it means a lot to me. If you want to stalk me now, it's just going to have to be done the old-fashioned way - on Facebook! 

Oh one last thing...much to my dismay, my 30th birthday is fast approaching. I was thinking about what I wanted for my birthday and I realised that there wasn't really anything I particularly needed, only stuff that I vaguely wanted. So, I figured that the money people would potentially spend on a present for me would be better put to use somewhere where it's actually needed and not just wanted. Guess what place I thought of? Uganda! (you guess right, hey?)

I am hoping to raise money for a primary school in Mbale that is run by my good friend Sam (a local), which is currently only partway built and half the kids are sitting in dusty rooms with no roof above or desks to work at. Not particularly conducive for kids to learn well! The school is entirely self-funded and relies on the minimal school fees charged as well as donations to not only run but to complete the buildings and improve their facilities.

So, for my birthday, I don't want presents, I want money. Money to build a school.

For those of you who are friends and personally know me, have a think about how much you might be able to give. For those of you who don't, you could still take a chance on a stranger with good intentions and give also ;) My bank details are at the very bottom of this page (put 'school' as the reference). 

Thanks again for reading and I wish you all the best for 2012. May you become a little more adventurous this year - take a few risks, be 'over-generous', do what you know is right, but most of all - follow your dreams!

Lots of big pink hearts and tacky rainbows,

Louise :) 

   

Sun is in the sky oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?

For those of you don't know, the title is from a Lily Allen song about London, I haven't fallen in love with the place and decided to live here forever! Well the sun was out in full glory two days ago, but then it kinda returned to dreary grey, as can be expected, although locals say it is considerably warm for this time of year. Last time I was in London, I really didn't see what all the fuss was about or why anyone from the southern hemisphere would relocate here, but this time around, I think I got a glipse of the wonderous side of London. Maybe it had something to do with Hummingbird Bakery, market food stalls, a bit of sunshine, a nice museum and some trips around the city on randomly selected bus routes to enjoy the view from the upper floor.

Red velvet cupcake from Hummingbird Bakery, joined by a chai latte. Doesn't get much better than that.

Simone ordering DELICIOUS pork dumplings from the market

As you can probably guess, I didn't get my white Christmas. Super sad face. That's 2 strikes for the UK, next time I attempt to have my first ever white Christmas, I'm going to hit the Swiss Alps or Whistler or something. It was still a great day though and as is tradition, we ate well and in large quantities! It takes forever to upload photos on here, so if you want to see the Christmassy pictures, check out my album on Facebook (where would we be without it??). After leaving Northern Ireland on Dec 31st, I celebrated NYE in Chorleywood with the lovely Zoe and a few of her friends. I'm not sure I should admit this on a public forum, but I think I was in bed by 12:30am! Such a granny. 

Early in the new year, Zoe and I cooked a killer Christmas dinner and we had a Jenga reunion which was great fun! It was quite strange to see everyone again but in a totally different environment and winter clothes and what not. We made the most of some Christmas bon bons and feasted on roast chicken and all the good things that go with it like roast potatoes and gravy. Mmmmm.

The Jenga crew

  Snuck off to check out Oxford and Cambridge for a short visit, where I caught up with Jonathan (another Jenga-related person) and the Wyatt family, who have been friends with the Kilgour family since I was about 1 month old! I hadn't seen them in about 14 years, so it was great to see them again and we obviously had a lot to catch up on! Again, there are pics on Facebook if you want to see all the pretty buildings and some locations from the Harry Potter movies!

So onto London town where I'm staying with the wonderful Simone, who I worked with on Camp USA back in 2005. She has a very cool apartment overlooking canary wharf in east London, which is kind of like a mini Manhatten with lots of shiny new sky scrapers and lots of offices and people wearing suits. I have been exploring the city and trying to visit places beyond the obvious tourist spots like Big Ben and the London Eye and so far I'm enjoying it a lot more than I have on previous visits. There's not too much else to report on really, so I'll leave it there until next time! Thanks for reading and adios,

Louise :)