At first, Canberra felt very strange. Very Australian – a word that I would never have previously used to describe it – and so dry and sprawling. And yet, only a few days later, it feels like I have never left. Apart from accidentally hopping on the wrong bus or forgetting where the nearest ATM is, I almost feel as if Seattle never really happened. But while Canberra may have stayed stationary, all my friends have whizzed ahead. How dare they graduate, have babies, get married, buy houses, get promotions, buy pets, etc, while I have been overseas to miss out on these milestones. Everyone is so grown up now. Including me, I guess, now married with two years post-doctoral experience, and soon off to Belgium to live.

I am really enjoying my time in Canberra with Adrian by my side. Spending most of my day studying at the ANU, peppered with coffee and lunch with old friends and hearing about their many adventures. Every day warm, sunny, and full of blue sky and a gentle breeze. It is relaxing and satisfying.

This weekend we were lucky enough to be able to visit the farm of Amy, Jason, and Elka. Amy was my lab neighbour over many long years of honours and PhD, and we shared in many adversities during our time in Canberra. Now she has found her own little spot of paradise – a small close enough to commute into the city for work, but big enough for horses, cats, chickens, ducks, and recently, a beautiful baby girl called Elka.

Amy has always worked so hard, so it is no wonder that she makes running her menagerie seem effortless. Her five-month-old baby is a delight, sticking to a schedule of naps and sleeping through the night. Her horses did their best to throw her off her game by throwing a shoe as soon as the farrier had left to fix the last one, but she managed the whole thing with grace and humour.

They even found time to take us to Mount Tamborine to see the waterfalls and the shops, and on the way there we saw hang-gliders and para-gliders dive off a grassy cliff, and almost impossibly sail into the air, gradually circling up above us.

One of the customs I like about Australia is that, no matter how hectic the schedule, there is always time for Morning Tea. At 10:30, all across the nation, everyone takes a break to enjoy a cup of tea, a couple of biccies, and a quick chat. This habit was complelety absent in my US workplace. People might grab a donut and a cup of coffee on the run from one place to another, but the idea of actually taking a fifteen minute break to relax was a completely foreign concept. There wasn’t even a tearoom over there, yet over here we have boxes of complementary Lipton teabags and Arnott’s biscuits to provide constant nourishment for all the students during our tea breaks.

Image from flickr.com/photos/dragonflysky

How strange it is, to be back in this country after 22 months of absence. Crossing the street is difficult, as I am still looking the wrong way. And the loss of my iPhone is almost crippling, as I am no long able to bring up an instant map of my location, or able to check my email anywhere, or find out where the nearest movie theatre or when the next bus is coming. The sign and smell of the local Starbucks elicits fond memories of all my hours curled up on the couches of that Seattle-bred coffee house. I miss the friends that I have made in Seattle, their stories about the intricacies of American culture, and their interesting perspectives on national and international events.

Still, it is refreshing to be back in Australia, and in a strange way it almost feels like I have never left. Very little cognitive effort is needed to get around. The supermarkets are filled with delicious and familiar delicacies. Our cupboard is filled with Aussie ingredients. I have been eating Weetbix for breakfast and vegemite and honey sandwiches for lunch (and sometimes also for dinner). My aunt and uncle generously welcomed us back to Australia with a spectacular spread that included vegetable pasties and beetroot – both items that are impossible to source in the USA.

I am enjoying my intense Masters of Public Health blocks – not starting the day until nine o’clock is such a luxury, and the other students are friendly and enthusiastic. We completed our first joint presentation on Friday, and I am proud of how well everyone pitched in to produce such a great seminar. I now have a bunch of assignments hanging over my head, but with no more 14-hour experiments to do, I feel quite confident that they will all be completed in time.

I am savouring the luxury of speaking the same language as the locals, of understanding the etiquette and the signposts, and of being so close to friends and family. Apart from the terrible storms, the weather here is generally warm and mild, and the days are full of sunlight. These are the comforts that I will miss in Belgium.