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Published: October 31st 2006
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Canadian paraphenalia
They sure do love the maple leaf here... Waiting in the Frankfurt Airport after a long flight from Bangkok I was shifting from one uncomfortable position to another, drifting in between consciousness and unconsciousness, that twilight of being, where you aren't really asleep but you aren't really awake. Too weary to really think, half dreaming and half aware of the clatter of baggage wheels and shuffle of feet, the last calls for flights over the loud speaker jolted me at regular intervals, until somehow I manage to glide off into fitful snooze, though nothing even approaching the REM mode my mind and body so desperately need. The masses of bodies are coming and going on a flight, off a flight or suffering, like me, through a several hour stopover.
We'd had 2 days in Bangkok to recover from the night train from Chiang Mai (for which I was thankful) and to do a little last minute shopping. I stocked up on fisher pants and a few cheap knock offs, like a 'Diesel' watch and 'Dolch and Gabana' sunnies for a few bucks a piece. I took advantage of the last $5 dollar manicure, pedicure and $10 leg and bikini wax that I'd get for a while as well
as making the most of a final $5 thai massage. Sure will miss those...
Anyhow, we had had high hopes of spending the day wandering around Frankfurt to kill the time before our second leg of air travel to Canada. However after a long sleepless flight the idea was no longer appealing and the logistics of stowing our luggage and commuting into the city to see, well, a city didn't seem worth it. Fitful sleep was a better - though still not ideal - option.
Finally it was time to check in and board and after many more hours and changing timezones we alighted in Toronto. Here Jim's dad waited to collect us, smiling and giving us a wave he adjusts his glasses and approaches. He is slightly balding - I reckon thats where Jim gets it from, even though they say the bald gene comes from the maternal side of the equation - and tanned from working outdoors. Apart from a slight paunch that is forgivable in middleage he is fit looking. But really, I hate to be honest, all I was thinking at that point was "Thank God we didn't have to wait and take a
bus!". After introductions and greetings we stepped out of the airport and into crisp Canadian air. I was glad I hadn't discarded the jumper I'd purchased a while back in the cold mountains of Sapa, Vietnam. It had been a long time sweating in the humid Asian heat, this coolness was a shock to my sleep deprived system. Once in the car the jumper could come off again and as we took a wrong turn and got stuck in peak hour traffic I thought: Welcome back to the West...
I let Jim and his dad talk and catch up after not seeing each other for so long and curled up as comfortably as I could in the back seat for a couple of more hours of not really sleeping. When next I opened my eyes we were well and truly out of the city and long flat expanses of farmland rolled out from both sides, stretching on to the horizon. It was as if God took a giant rolling pin to Ontario and squeezed everything out flat, right to the edges. He must have done that on the 8th day...
I watched the farm houses and barns flit
in and out of view, that typical north american rural architecture so familiar from the movies. Here I am in a totally different world. Its amazing. One day you are in Asia and the next you can be on the exact opposite side of the globe. The world has shrunk, but is it really a 'global village'? I doubt it.
We arrive at Jim's folks just in time for dinner after close to 30 hours in transit. It is pure relief to set down our bags and know we aren't going anywhere for a while. Home cooked food, a hot shower and comfortable bed wait for us. Jim's mum - oops, mom - is on the balcony wearing an apron. As we approach from the car her broad smile fractures into tears, so happy is she to finally see her baby boy again. Jean hugs her son and spatters his cheeks in kisses and then turns to me with open arms and squeezes the wind out of me, I get a warm kiss on the cheek too and suddenly I am very happy to be here. I warm to Jean immediately and can tell that she is a truly
Final cheap pedicure....
Will miss those, along with the manicures, waxing and, most of all, massages. generous and kind soul. Jean ushers us in and the rest is all a bit of a blur. Fatigue and a full belly overcome me and I fear that I am not meeting Jean and Bill anywhere near my best. My brain is foggy from sleep deprivation and I can now see why it is such a useful tool in interogation and war. If anyone held a lamp to my face and started bombarding me with tough questions I would surely have cracked in next to no time. Guess I'm not cut out to be a soldier or a spy... but as luck would have it I wasn't interrogated and we retired early and slept for a long, long time.
Over the following week we kept rather strange hours as our body clocks reset to an almost completely opposite time difference and we endeavoured to get over the jet lag. I took walks around the farm area and met a couple of Jim's friends and on the weekend there was a welcome-home-Jim-welcome-to-Canada-Leigh party at the farm where i met all the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandma (actually I'd met grandma already) and family friends. About 40 people. I was more
nervous than I expected and came down a little late from upstairs (primping, mustering the courage etc) to a swarm of greetings, hugs and handshakes. It was really nice and everyone was lovely so I really had nothing to be apprehensive about. We had a little Australiana quiz to test peoples knowledge. Jim was given a handicap to level the playing field a bit. This quiz was a laugh and a great icebreaker, allowing me to relax a bit. Jean and I had stayed up the night before preparing it. It was multiple guess and though I had no problems coming with questions, the multiple answers were hard so I would ask the question and Jean would guess the answer, thus giving us the answer choices. For example, to the question "What is 'Skippy'?" Answers were a) A brand of peanut butter b) Common Aussie nickname c) Slang for a truant or d) a Tv show about a boy and his pet kangeroo. You'd be surprised (or maybe not) at how few got it right.
Next entry will cover our week stay in Toronto...
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