I woke homesick ... the first words out of my mouth were 'I want to go home'.I'm homesick for my daughter, my granddaughter, my family and friends; for balconys that look out over harbours or gardens; for the smell of the sea or a lake with shores that are empty of people and wild in ways that New Zealand does so very well.
Perhaps I am homesick for that feeling of being so far from the rest of the world, somewhere clean that isn't too crazy or rude; where shopkeepers recommend you pop into 'Pete's store down the road' if they don't have that thing you wanted to buy.
Maybe it was a desire for regional air; the peat forest floor scent of the Catlins or a Fiordland beech forest; the smell of the sea when you walk along any coast; the sweet smell of wild Thyme in Central Otago and ecetera.
Permission to work in Belgium is getting closer, I should be allowed to earn money by September ... touch wood for luck ... I want to fly home for Christmas.
Let's see how it goes.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you for Christmas. You know I know exactly how you feel.
ReplyDeleteAway from NZ I miss: the blue sky, Wellington on a fine day, empty beaches, toitoi, kiwi accents, poongas, fish n chips and watties sauce, tuis, kowhai in bloom, gorse, to name a few.
ReplyDeleteThanks Christina ... it sounds like you're having a lovely time back home. Reading it, I felt like I knew exactly how you felt.
ReplyDeleteThings missed are distinctive, and distinctly NZ aren't they.
I haven't found the scent and sight of those yellow lupins on a beach anywhere here yet either.
Thanks Harvey, your list made nice reading and made me smile.
So Belgium is a bit crowded, so Belgium doesn't have any nature anymore, so Belgians aren't always the most friendly people in the world. It's still a great country, but maybe I should go to New Zealand and compare. I think I would like it, but not those awfull parrots in the mountains, you know the ones who bite your car to pieces, I once again forgot the name.
ReplyDeleteOh manic, you would love New Zealand ... all the Belgians who have been tell me they loved it.
ReplyDeleteThe bird you are thinking of is called the Kea and I think you'd enjoy watching it because they're full of mischief and very cheeky.
They're my favourite birds those Keas.
I understand :) Home is where you want to wake up so that you don't miss out on the awakening day.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Keas are soo funny! They landed on the car when WW and I were touring South Island!! I still have my pictures..
ReplyDeleteI miss NZ too! I feel like it was my 2nd home! Perhaps a bit of the company there?? lol but I loved it tremendously.. and I noticed yesterday in the paper that there were only 2 places in the world considered totaly safe.. Greenland and New Zealand! So expect a big onslaught of visitors!
I miss it too when I read your posts!