Welcome Home

Being welcomed home is a really great feeling. It's a nice sentiment and when said with real feeling, it can mean a lot. I arrived back in Cape Town on Sunday. I was quite tired. Having gotten up at 3:45 am to get a ride to Bloemfontein on Saturday I spent the day feeling totally out of it. Throw in the heat of the non-mountainous Free State and a day involving much driving around from this place to that place - looking for construction material and a PS2 - and I felt downright disoriented. The final saga involved racing to get a new SIM card for SA, desperately trying to find the tourist information centre (and finding it closed at 2 on a Saturday), driving to the suburbs of Bloemfontein to discover the address I had for the backpackers I was to stay at was now for a private residence, my phone still not being activated and then searching for an affordable alternative place to stay.

I was stressed. Luckily my co-worker stayed calm, although I could tell he was not exactly happy. Anyway, people were nice to me and tried to help. I found a place to stay at about triple the rate I had wanted. When it was discovered I was actually looking for something cheaper, the young woman called a backpackers and booked me in for cheap cheap. I was the only guest there that night and was treated to some delicious spaghetti bolognese made by a retired doctor with 3 medical degrees (including one from McMaster), over 300 horses, probably a private jet, a yacht, a graduate of Cordon Bleu cooking school (or maybe just some classes) and the holder of a world championship in 'matches'. It was delicious and I ate a GIANT plate of the spaghetti - I mean giant.

But I digress...in one of my biggest digressions ever.

When I arrived in Cape Town, I took a shuttle to Tony and Lili's house, not wanting the hassle of public transit. I spent some time catching up with Tony and Dominic (Lili was at a baby shower) and then started to slowly crash on the couch. As I settled down for a nap, Tony picked up a blanket, put it over me and said 'welcome home'.

The sentiment was simple yet genuine and I do feel welcomed home.