WHEN IN CHINA

"Cause they say home is where your heart is set in stone.
 As long as we're together, does it matter
 where we go?" - Gabrielle Aplin

It feels good to be finally home, to step foot in my parents' phlegm covered hometown ground once again. Yes, but I've never missed the constant 'head-down, feet-dodging' act required to walk those streets (you will have to visit this country to understand what skill I am referring to, one that you will master if you do indeed visit). But rather I am happy to be rekindled with my family here in Guangzhou, China. This is the city where my beloved aunts, uncles, cousins and many nieces and nephews all reside. 'There's babies everywhere!' as my baby-loving brother puts it. It's been two years since I've been back and I have yet to squish these adorable babies in my loving arms. 

It is a strange feeling, almost unable to be put into words. This feeling of returning to a second home where time jumps. Not many people will understand, but I guess astronauts will. The concept of relativity? Interstellar anyone? Only this isn't physics, it's psychology. My mind is simply stuck in a certain time frame. When I leave I expect nothing to change. And I leave for years.

Travelling far into a polar opposite world, calling it home and returning once in a while, only to be faced with something not quite right. Everything is so familiar, but certain things are out of place, so much has indeed changed. It's like secretly shifting all the furniture slightly to the left by an inch while your parents aren't home, a small change but highly disturbing to your parents when they return and are unable to comprehend the unrest they feel inside. 

Emotionally, it doesn't feel like I have left for long, a few months maybe, but everyone has grown and aged, because life over there doesn't stop when I leave, and it has indeed been a few years. Some growing teeth and heights, but then also extra grey hairs and deteriorating health.   

Despite the horrid air pollution and dirty filthy streets (contrary to some of my deceptively lush green photos), I do love coming home to this place. This city is is where I get to experience the energy and excitement that the five of us emits back home in Australia, magnified ten-folds. 

People are utterly astounded when they learn that my family can spend two straight months with each other without becoming suicidal towards the end; and that is just how close we are. Indeed I am so grateful for it. And here I leave a message for you to cherish your roots, and cherish your family, or at least aspire to create a strong loving one of your own. 

Zara 'FEEL THE BITE' Shirt / H&M Jeans