It’s been three months since I have moved here. At times, it seems unreal.
I have settled in, I have my routine of mundane tasks, I am operational.
I know where to find stuff in the shops, I get rupees from the ATM, I prepare my meals, I feed the dogs, I wash my clothes.
I have found a hairdresser who cuts my hair to my liking.
I will get my own car soon.
You get the picture – settling in.
Then there are the instants – be it in a quiet moment when, say, working on my pictures, or while busy hanging the cloths for drying – when I have to recall that this is real. I all of a sudden become aware of the birds that have signified vacations for more than two decades, and realise that these now belong to my daily life, not to some time-limited “exotic” experience, before I go back to normal life.
I look around and consciously behold everything, and smile.
This is my normal life now. As said, unreal at times, when I consciously think about it. I then can hardly believe that I dared to cross that bridge. I didn’t burn it, but I crossed it.
Which makes me happy.