It feels strange to be back.

Well after a very long 27 hours of travelling, during which I managed to catch a fairly nasty cold, I finally got home yesterday. I'm currently hiding up at my country house, unpacking and preparing myself to venture into the city. After nearly 7 months in East Africa, it feels strange to be back in the US. First of all, there are far too many white people and everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road. Secondly, the world just seems so quiet and tame. Nobody is walking anywhere while balancing large bundles on their heads, there's no livestock spilling into the streets, the sidewalks are so clean and rubbish-free, there are traffic lights, the power is on all the time!
And it's winter here. No snow yet, but it won't be long in coming... By 5:15, the sky is pitch black and there are almost no sounds, save the passing car that sweeps by on the perfectly smooth paved road. No roosters, no children, no distant sounds of music.
This afternoon I was exhausted and just gave up trying to do anything, the early darkness took me over and physically depressed me. I curled up in front of the fireplace with some hot cocoa and gazed down at the pekoe tattoo on my ankle... And to think, one week ago I was laying on the beach in Kendwa... I do miss TZ already, but it feels good to be home too, even if it does take a little while to get readjusted to 'civilization' :-)