Goodness me mamacita, I'm home! This has been such a shock to the nervous system that I have another unidentified Indian stomach bug.
I was planning to give up this blog once I left India, but it looks like I'm addicted.
Being back in the UK is a monstrous culture shock. Mostly it's the shiny, manipulative advertising and glitzy consumer products. Everywhere, all the time. It's currently very obvious to me the ways in which my dreams and wants and needs are manipulated. I don't like it, and I don't want to be a part of it.
Except maybe for Easter . . . What am I going to be? The only person who doesn't make themselves sick with chocolate on Sunday morning? See now. It's the thin edge of the wedge.
Anyway, it has also been delightful to be back seeing my loved ones. I stayed with the lovely Suraya when I arrived in London last Friday, and went to see her perform at the Cambridge Wordfest. I may be biased, but I thought she was the most talented poet there. ;)
You can see her blog for more goss.
On Wednesday, I hauled myself off my sickbed, took a lot of drugs and got on the train to Edinburgh. Luckily I got two seats to myself, so there was time to get a bit of sleep, not to mention be astonished by the utter fanciness of the public transport. The thing that I really noticed was the signposting. Signposting everywhere. You couldn't get lost if you tried.
I was met in Edinburgh by Elske and Emer. The loves. They had brought me tulips, and kindly carried my _extremely_ heavy pack home. Or actually to the nearest pub on Broughton St for a bit of sit-down and a gossip.
It's very odd indeed being back. Everything is the same, and not-the-same, all at once. Goddamn, it's a beautiful city. I love to walk across North Bridge and look out over the warm grey stone of the old and new towns. It's great to know where my friends' houses are, and to be registered with a lovely doctor, and to know where to get my favourite herbal tea.
At the same time, I'm still not at all sure that Edinburgh is where I want to be right now. It would be very easy for me to fall back exactly into my old life. Hmm.
Anyway, we went to watch Benzina last night at the Filmhouse. It was touted to me as the Italian and queer version of Thelma and Louise. Yay the Filmhouse, with its lovely vegan treats and cosy atmosphere. Not-so-yay the film. I had delicious nachos (_such_ a staple of my diet in Edinburgh) and red wine, and then felt extremely ill all throughout the movie. I suspect it wouldn't have been my thing anyway.
So now I'm going to go and do some Internet searching for communities in the UK. I'm still considering WWOOFing too, despite the cold.
Posted by eithne at April 9, 2004 05:50 PM | TrackBack