What has it been like being home? well, it's different, everything's different, people are different, I'm different. being away for a year from all friends and family and most importantly a western type of lifestyle, it really affects the way you see the world and life, people always said that once you return you'll see how different things really are, and how convenient your life was and how inconvenient it will be returning.
I am beyond lucky and blessed that during this horrible time the world is facing that I am safely at home with my family, being able to reconnect with new and old friends has been nothing but a blessing in disguise, I've been able to celebrate things I missed a year ago, making new memories and just appreciating what I use to take for granted.
I missed home and some days were easier than others but honestly speaking it was nothing but a blessing being able to say that I left everything behind at 21, taking a massive risk to move halfway across the world, I grew and learned more than I possibly could in 1 year, I became such an independent woman, meeting people from all across the world, building bonds that not many could understand, traveling like there was no destination, no map but just a full road of endless possibilities ahead of me.
And then it all came crashing...The year of the great 2020, it was January and I was in and around South Korea traveling ( there is a blog post on South Korea if your interested) and borders to Asian countries slowly started closing and it was kinda like life just stopped in a single moment, and I immediately phoned up my parents and let them know what was happening I booked a flight and there you have it, 3 days later I'm in South Africa.
It was like an unfamiliar but familiar place, at first I was scared, sadly I immediately felt unsafe and out of place. After a couple of weeks, it got better, I started finding my way around an inconvenient life, I keep mentioning this convenient and inconvenient life why? well in china they really are living this 22-century technology lifestyle, where you no longer need cash or a card to pay for things, everything is done on your phone, by simply just scanning a barcode. There are public bicycles, and taxis ( safe convenient taxis) high-speed trains, bullet trains and metros traveling has never been easier and convenient as it is there, I have never been safer as a woman in this beautiful but cruel world.
As I was saying things got easier but with every good comes a bad I guess, mine was just a tumble of bad after bad, it was about 3 months into being back home with my family when I got told that I have just lost my home in china and that it was inconvenient and unnecessary to be paying for an apartment that no one was staying in, I fought and fought to keep what was something I called home, a place I finally felt comfortable living in, gone within seconds, and like I said the bad just kept coming, shortly after I lost my job. The world doesn't just stop because of a virus.
I was upset and beyond destroyed for quite some time, think about finally building a name for yourself, finally building some form of financial stability, having your 3rd home and being independent and not having to rely on anyone at 23 is nothing but an incredible achievement that's ripped away within seconds, for days and weeks I felt like I had lost the world, it was like starting at level one on a game all over again.
Faith, motivation, pride, is a drive that I learned and grew a passion for while being aboard, and I soon quickly realized that all it was, was a setback and that I needed to work harder towards my goal and here I am building a name even greater than before on an online platform, still doing what I absolutely adore and that is teaching students in China, and it just made my love for children grow even stronger, I miss home more than ever, I miss the way the sun hit my face while laughing away with my students, I miss the way I was in another city, another country. I know it really hit me that I quite miss home.
And as always stay strong keep smiling much love Eve.