Sitting in my room (at my own computer, with my own internet connection), I am trying to look back upon the month in which I have been home. To be honest, the much-anticipated culture shock never hit me. I probably have my Christmas trip to Ireland and the flight to Amsterdam to thank for this numbness.
That's what it's been: a numbness. It seems like nothing's changed. A few more knick-nacks in the house, an epidemic of new cookie-cutter homes in town and a new government in Ottawa. That's all. To be honest, I feel like I've been warped back to May 2005 and I'm living the summer over again, sans visa applications and expensive vaccinations.
Some things never change. Markham may be growing by thousands per week (I think almost 300,000 people should qualify it as a "city") and more and more farmland is being chewed up to feed the housing boom - but that's always been a constant. What never changes about Markham is that it's ALWAYS growing.
This first month home has been busy: working, reconnecting with family and friends, reconnecting with Maleaha, spoiling my dog, reacquiring my driver's licence and planning for the school year ahead. As it stands, I'll be returning to Ottawa in the fall, living with Lisa and Peter in their swanky apartment and taking co-op work terms in 2007 - thus I'll graduate a year late. Not that I'm sad about it, quite the opposite.
So far it's been just fine and dandy. I'm happy to be back at home, where it's nice and breezy, the sun doesn't beat down on me and the food is fantastic. I'm trying to gain weight, partly to impress Maleaha and partly because she's probably right. I came back from Ghana quite the skinny boy.
The days are flying by. Landscaping for my dad's company is long and difficult work ("oh, but you get so much exercise and fresh air!") and once I'm home, I'm too tired to do anything except read internet news and watch tv. My appetite for books is gone, although I'm pushing through Chukwuemeka Ike's Sunset At Dawn - perhaps Africa's answer to War and Peace.
I'm definitely enjoying being at home and I've taken note of some of the differences between Canadian and Ghanaian life... Toronto has not only blacks, whites and Lebanese, but a bevy of other ethnicities as well. Markham is especially noted for it's giant Asian community. Nobody stares at me when I walk down the street because nobody finds a white person that interesting. Sometimes that's a sad thing. I enjoyed a lot of intangible benefits as a privileged minority. On the other hand, it's nice to have fixed prices and not get screwed by vendors. Sometimes I consider haggling. "Oh Charlay, that guitar is not worth $500. We do 150."
And so life goes on. Everything seems the same, but I've changed so much. I've grown so much over those nine months and have so many wonderful memories. I also made many friends along the way. I may have also lost a few friends and I'm still not sure where I stand with Maleaha. Nine months apart can put a lot of stress on a person and even hurt them. How I wish that it could be easier...
So here I am. A little older, maybe a little wiser. I'm not trying to make my life sound like an epic adventure with a grand finale big-screen ending. As the Eagle's Joe Walsh sang, life's been good to me so far. And with all of the experience I've had over the last 10 months, I'm sure it'll get better.
Man, I could sure go for a FanIce right about now...
