Homeward Bound

1 year and 2 weeks. 379 days. Sounds like a long time, doesn't it? When Luke and I arrive home on Saturday March 14th, we will have been away from Australia for 379 days! And yes, it feels like a long time too!

Last Tuesday, March 3rd 2009, we left our little box in South Korea and jetted off to Japan to spend a week skiing the slopes of Niseko with 5 friends. It was to be our hard-earned reward for making it through a tough year in a foreign country, and what a reward it was! We spent the week in a fantastic apartment with a great bunch of people, skiing by day and partying by night and it was exactly the break we needed. And, just when I thought things couldn't get any better, Luke proposed to me one afternoon in a gondola on the way up the mountain for the last run of the day!! Of course I said yes immediately and to top it all off we even had friends there to celebrate with straight away! 

Luke and I just after getting engaged. 

I didn't put my beautiful ring on until we got home 

and I got out of the ski gear!

The gang on the mountain. 

L to R: Clem, Paul, Millie, Luke, Luke, Dave and me

After our fantastic week in the snow, Luke, Dave and I headed south to spend a few days in and around Kyoto. We spent a day cruising around the city on clapped out old bicycles (Dave's was the worst by far) which was great fun, we visited a temple and a shrine, we spent another day checking out Osaka, we ate plenty of sushi and I even bought a kimono. 

Setting out on our hi-tech bicycles

Dave's bike struggled with the downhilling...

Japan has been the most wonderful end to our big adventure. Any stress we were feeling by the end of our time in Korea is miles away now and we are heading home feeling mentally refreshed, happy and more than a bit excited. (As for physically refreshed, well, there will be time for that soon!) My experiences in Korea taught me a great deal and in a way I'm only discovering what those lessons were since we've left. Being with other people and putting just a little bit of distance between myself and the experience is steadily providing perspective and clarity. I just can't wait to get out there and put the things I've learnt to good use!

So, I suppose this puts an end to my blogging for now. I promise I'll write about any great stories that come back to me as time goes by but this is good bye for the time being. I hope you have enjoyed reading my stories as much as I have enjoyed writing them and I look forward to seeing you all very soon.

Lucy