faraway

Some expatriates call it “re-entry”, like the fiery and bumpy descent back to earth of a returning spacecraft. That’s no coincidence since oddly enough coming home from more than a decade working abroad can be both fiery and bumpy.

In September I was offered a job in Sri Lanka and another one in Jakarta but instead I decided that I wanted to come back to Canada. Now in Toronto, we are working on settling into Canadian life. It is full of both joy and frustrations. It is a joy to see family and friends again. It is a joy to my youngest son, Jacob’s glee when riding his little bike in the big park in our neighbourhood. My older son, Zachary, is happy at his new school, likes his teacher and has made new friends. He comes home with big smiles and lots of questions.

The frustrations include looking for a job that won’t bore me stiff and adapting to the cold weather. For now, we are taking life one day at a time.

I suppose, it is the potential of life here that I missed. Here there is the potential to learn something new or play a new sport or be inspired by art. Because it is small and life for expatriates is transitory, life in Cambodia sorely lacked those facets.