And now the end is near.

I never thought it would end like this.  In fact I probably never really thought about the end at all.  Going to live overseas for an extended period of time was just that – open ended.  I packed up my house and left behind everything that was familiar, for the chance to make the yogi pilgrimage to India.  Heat, dust and visas later I am ending my travelling in Nepal.  I have my ticket home, and with just a few weeks to go time feels at once sped up towards the end and at the same time sluggish to wade through the hours of the days til I cross back to the southern hemisphere.

The next week will find me trekking in Annapurna National Park, stopping at guesthouses and homestays, putting my hiking boots, backpack and sleeping bag to some proper use in the Himalayas.  One really can’t come to Nepal without getting the badge for having walked in the mountains.  Apart from that I am preparing for re-entry into my world.  The things to be done – hairdresser, dentist, pedicure.  Not to downplay girlfriends.

If there is one thing I would say has defined my travelling, it’s the absence of conversation and proximity of my women friends.  Thank goodness for email, messaging and Skype, because otherwise I would have gone mad.  When your social and intellectual interaction is narrowed to the one person or sometimes to your own thoughts, it’s claustrophobic.  And I’m a communicator, so I’ve struggled to find space for ease of conversation and being.

I find myself consuming disposable fiction.  As long as it’s Australian, I’ll read it.  TLC and FoxLife, free to air television stations, have a reasonable percentage of Australian cooking programmes, and I’m over familiar with Luke Nguyen and Maeve O’Mara in all iterations of their SBS productions.  Even the Australian tourism advertisements catch my eye with their white sandy beaches and blue skies forever vistas, as I tune into their catchy theme music.

On the rare occasion I meet another Australian, it’s such a relief there are almost tears.  Then there’s that ease that comes with instant association, shared stuff and self deprecating openness.  For example, I contacted the best known Kathmandu yoga studio to do some teaching, and joy of joys, the administrator was an Australian lady from Sydney, via Canberra.

    How do you come to be here?

    It’s about a boy.  She tells me.

    It’s always about a boy.

Her partner came to my class and of course we all went out for pizza and beer afterwards.

So what am I looking forward to most about coming home?  Grilled salmon with rocket salad and a glass of sauvignon blanc.  Baking.  Walking to the beach, at the beach.  Running ditto.  Cycling much the same.  Above all doing all of these things with those special women friends, and enjoying the conversations along the way.