I miss Istanbul. I miss their amazing breakfasts. I miss the cay that's always there. I miss tiny cups of potent coffee served in fancy silverware. I miss the fresh bread that's so easily attainable. I miss being fed all this awesome tasting food for close to nothing or for free. I miss the "real" Turkish Delights... and baclavas that are far too sweet but better. I miss being in that grey atmosphere that shimmers magically at dawn and dusk. I miss the Bosphorus and the Galata bridge of fishermen. I miss the friendliness, the eccentricity and the history. I miss being closer to the people I miss.
http://www.parlafood.com/turkish-breakfast-kahvalti/
It's been a month since I've been back.
I've taken onto routine really quite swiftly without too many issues. It had me worried that maybe I didn't have the most awesome trip that would've made me forget work and life back here. But I know it's not true. That worry is not well-founded.
I do still suffer from wanderlust though and like the saying "the grass is always greener on the other side" - it's ALL on the other side.
Initially, when I got back, I constantly and deeply questioned myself why I was here. I'd never felt as lonely throughout my travels as I did, being back in Brisbane.The primary reason to come back for the longest time was the partner I left behind, but that relationship is now, no longer. The second and third reasons, being work and my round-the-world ticket respectively, seem lame. But strangely enough, work's proven itself to be fully worth the return to a city that I've lived in for years but not call home. Obviously there's the financial benefit of working (it was exciting to receive my pay after a year of not seeing it!) but it's the people. They're my family here and they provided me with such a genuine and happy welcome back.
My problems being back do not lie within work or routine but being back in Brisbane. It's just not home. After travelling and finding places, cities that resonate so completely and naturally with me, this fact has become even more apparent. Add to that, this challenge of forging a new life here in the shadow of the past that no longer exists.
Whatever it is, I've told myself to stick it out for a year and I believe I will. I don't think I'll be here for too long but I intend to the make the most of it. Whatever strife, qualm or lack I face here, I'll get over it. Travelling has equipped me with the tools (I didn't have before), to do so.
