if it takes that many words to describe...

melbourne. i'm finally back here, semi-getting into life back here. we had people over to our apt on fri, old friends, and i made batches after batches of sangria. we had pita bread and dip too. in a sense, the refreshments were a meshing of having gone away and coming back- the sangria, white and red, which i got to know very well in my travels around spain, reminds me of my travels, and the bread and dip is an australia thing, a symbol of having come home.

we ended up at the croft institute, a very melbourne hangout- down several dodgy alleyways lined with bins, a bit grungy, a bit kooky. the bartop on the 3rd floor had grass growing on it, and the toilets were set up like the sickbay at school. the next night we went for a steamboat dinner and to pugg's for andrian's bday- ah, pugg's, so reminiscent of college days.

not everything is as i expected, back here. some things take getting used to. i am resolutely holding on to snatches of my year on exchange. i say 'rubbish' quite a bit more, and 'to be fair'. the other day i spotted a chav. i lapse into a semi-british accent sometimes, apparently, when i say certain words or random sentences. there is nothing like a cup of tea and a biscuit.

people who haven't been on exchange don't understand, really- a constant refrain from the exchange debriefing i went to last week. what am i supposed to say when they ask me how it is? it was good, it was awesome, it was a very good year. but friends who ask don't understand how hard it is to describe the year. it's about the people u met, the places u went, the things u did. but it's also about living completely in the now, experiencing to the fullest, disregarding other minute concerns- concerns about grades are the first to go- and just going for it. it's the sense of urgency and the sense of exhilaration at doing things, always creating new experiences, about being here, at this time, in this place, knowing that the moment will never happen again. it's about savouring each deliciously unexpected moment, the present, always the present, and what the future will bring. the sense of expectancy and anticipation of planning ur next trip. ur other life, the one u left behind, the one u took a vacation from, that can wait, cuz the exchange is finite, it will end, and u are very aware of that. and before that, there are a thousand things to see and to pack in.

so basically, an exchange is about living. really living, not just existing. a year to be free of the minute concerns of day-to-day life. a year to cast off shackles and do everything at full tilt. really, we should be living like that every day, charging at the day to make full use of it. cuz who knows what tomorrow will bring? we should be like that every day of our lives, but we don't. and that's why an exchange is so fantastic. it gives u licence to do just that, and u can experience just how fabulous that can be. everyone should have that experience, that feeling. and u can't really get it unless u are away, free from the constraints of work and ur ordinary life.

so back here we are, back to reality, where bad things happen. 9am starts at uni is one of them. back to reality, where we have tute work for every subject, every week. responsibilities, tasks, things to be taken care off... it's good to be back in some ways, no regrets about going away. because it was a very good year, and because now i know what it's like to live life to the fullest.

peace out, people!!