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I’m back in Sydney! Even if it’s for a very short time, I’m still really glad to be back home and sleeping in my own bed. I head off again this Saturday for the ACDN Melbourne Cake Crawl and then next Wednesday for classes in Singapore… so for now, I’m just taking whatever time I have back in Sydney to organise my life (you know, clean the house, run errands, make sure the plants aren’t dying and spending some time with the fur ball – Bear).

Nick and I were away for three weeks this time around and it felt like a heck of a long time. I think it’s because we experienced two seasons and had a total of 8 flights and two long train rides. I’m so glad he can travel on these long trips with me now. I can’t believe just over a year ago I managed to commit myself to almost 3 months of teaching and travel by myself. I honestly don’t know how I survived and I can hardly remember that whole trip. I suppose sometimes you have to push yourself to the limit (and fall really sick) before you know when to stop and limit yourself. My boss likes to work me really hard apparently 🙂

I had such a diverse experience this time around and learned as much from my students as I hope they have learned from me. Some of the things I have learned include:

– No one works on Sundays in Switzerland (and a lot of other European countries). Restaurants open with very limited menus and everyone is outside with their families on a bike exploring nature. One of my students also told me that even washing your car or doing household renovations on a Sunday is frowned upon by your neighbours!

– That trying to catch a train to Birmingham in peak hour and navigating the London Underground with luggages is just plain CRAZY. Whose stupid idea was that?! It might have quite possibly been mine 😛

– That Cake International is FILLED with crazy, insanely talented people. Some who carry in their show pieces from all over the world to enter the cake competition. Now that is some serious dedication!

– In Qatar, you can do everything in your car. I’ve been told you can just stop outside a shop and honk and someone will come running out to serve you/ take your order. It is also really safe in terms of crime. People leave their cars running while they duck into shops and the goldsmith leaves his shop unlocked when he goes for his prayers.

So anyways, are you ready for my photo summary?