You Can Go Home Again...(but you might have to clean the house)

The reality of living in a different country, far from home, can never really be explained to someone. Before you depart from home you know that you'll miss your family and friends, your local area, the familiarity of it all. A few months go by, you start to miss your family, start missing certain foods and ways of doing things. A few more months pass, you start feeling isolated, like a stranger in this foreign land that should feel like your home by now (at least a little). It edges towards the year mark, and suddenly it hits you. You've been living this alternative life for nearly a year, feel a bit lonely, and totally out of touch with what's going on at home. As that mark inches toward for me (it'll be in August), I've decided that contrary to popular belief, you can go home again. So with a week off work at the end of July I'm traveling for about 12 hours each way (with connecting flights, not counting the waiting in airports bit) to go home for a week. Desperation makes you do funny things! I'm excited but realize that I will be well and truly knackered (very tired) by the time I get back!