Last night I slept in my OWN bed. My lovely, sweet bed. I can't even TELL you how amazing that was. Ohmygosh. It was almost as good as having my mosquito bites scratched.

Almost.

Actually, on second thought, it didn't even come close to being as good as that.

Still, sinking into my mattress was heaven and I slept so deeply, that I woke up and had no idea where I was. But I still managed to wake up at 6am.

Sigh.

Well, then I got up with my dad and made a fire so that I could read my book and drink my tea with my feet up on the woodstove. Magic.

But it all seems so strange. Nothing seems to have changed. I mean, OK, my parents' house has changed. They don't have a bathroom, for example. Right now, I'm at my mom's friend's house so that I can have a shower and do my laundry. (And, as with most modern homes in Canada, she has high-speed Internet access and a lovely computer, so I can geek-out a little while I wait for my washing.)

But Australia (or "Straya" as my mom pointed out that I say it) seems so far away and it scares me. I miss my friends already and I want to talk to them. I read my emails from them greedily, laughing and wishing I were there. So strange.

Don't get me wrong, it's really good to be home. I almost cried when I saw my parents at the airport. And they almost did, too.

And when my brother, Will, called me last night, I almost cried to talk to him. I'm so excited to see him this weekend. I found out that Matt and Kendra will also be coming home to see me this weekend! I have missed them all so much!

But, writing in my journal last night, I had to go back and read over some of my old entries just to remind myself that it all really happened. And I'm sure that I'll be boring everyone, showing them all my photos over and over. I just need these tangible things to bear witness that I've not dreamt it all.

So this week, as the handyman finishes up the bathroom and my mom goes to work, I'll throw on my Jack Johnson or Powderfinger CD and start putting together my Australia/NZ scrapbook.

And, based on how emotional I am these days, I might just cry a little. But let's just pretend that I won't. Let's just pretend that I'm going to believe what I'm telling myself about this all being part of my continuing adventure...

... to bad this part of the adventure is so cold (it's a grey 5 degrees here, but a sunny 25 degrees in Perth).