Repatriating

I have officially been home for seven weeks now, which is weird. On the one hand, I don’t feel like I ever went away, and Shanghai feels like a dream that happened to someone else. On the other hand, those last seven weeks have completely flown by.

I've been keeping myself busy. Spending time with my niece (who now knows who I am – yay!), catching up with friends, setting up my own company, and actually working! I was really lucky to pick up a contracting role as quickly as I did, and now I've just managed to land another one for 6 months, which is a relief and gives me a bit more stability which is good.

I've loved being back home but it’s not been easy. Part of you expects that people’s lives are going to have been on hold whilst you’re away and things are just going to fall back into the same patterns now you’re back. And of course that’s not the case, nor should it be. Of course you want your friends and family to be progressing and living their lives, but when you feel like you've missed out on so much, and you’re missing your friends and your life in Shanghai, it’s difficult. And not having a real base, and all my stuff being spread between somewhere in the North Sea on a boat from China, with me, or at my parents, it’s really easy to feel a bit lost and discombobulated (as my best friend put it, who has been my lifeline!).

I definitely feel like I've come home a different person. Aside from the odd readjusting meltdown (!), I’m calmer, more confident in who I am, less stressed and a lot less scared. I guess after you've moved to China on your own, nothing else feels that scary!