Since 4 weeks we are back in Switzerland for a short time. It is cold here :-). After four years of summer we have to get used to socks, jackets etc. again. We just realise how much we missed family, friends and the wonderful mountains! Nature is beautiful! The air is fresh, it got hills, forest and everything is so beautiful greenish. At first our kids thought they all had a sprinkler system :-). Everything is so clean and the houses are lovingly decorated with flowers. And first the food, just wonderful! The cheese, the fresh vegetables, yoghurt, bread, «Rivella» and «Cervelat», we enjoy it all to the fullest. We also appreciate traveling by public transport, bicycle or walking. That’s our first impression back home.
Unlike Switzerland, Arnhemland is hot, dry, red, dusty and rough. It also has its own beauty. Especially because it’s so remote.
However, the farewell was difficult! In the two years we had integrated well into the village life of Nhulunbuy. Fishing and camping were among our favorite hobbies. The kids loved to go to school and found great friends! Loris learned to play futsal, Lena went to the swimming club and Jael often met her friends. In our multicultural team, we had team members from Australia, New Zealand, PNG, India, Holland, England and America, we felt very comfortable. Through our work (MAF and Anglicare) we were able to establish contact with the Yolngu, which we experienced as challenging and wonderfully enriching at the same time.
When we discuss it together and reflect on our time in Australia, we come to the conclusion that it is above all the people who make the farewell so difficult. The following quote is pretty good for our emotional state:
You will never be comletely at home again, because part of your heart always will be elsewhere. That`s the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.
Miriam Adeney
During our time in Switzerland we now have some appointments like optometrist, dentist, vaccinations, renewing passports, etc. and there is an evaluation with MAF Switzerland in Aarau as well.
Furthermore we are really looking forward to see our Swiss friends in real!
The preparation for Haiti is running at full speed!