I miss the comfort of having a place to call my own. I miss how I never had to close the bathroom door when I needed to take a leak. I miss the convenience of having my mini fridge 10 steps away from my bed for midnight snacking. I miss Tesco being across the street from my flat (I get to have ice-cream at 10pm that way). I miss the long walks to university, and the hills with unrelenting winds blowing in my face. I miss the friendly “hellos” and “have a nice day, love”. I miss Sunday mornings, taking the tram to the Megacentre for church, and then the walk home after. And although I hate to admit it, I even miss the annoying church bells that play from the Sheffield Cathedral every Thursday for an hour.
Two and half months back in KL, and I have to say that I miss Sheffield.
It wasn’t a big city, although it is supposed to be one of the bigger ones in UK. And there was nothing to do there apart from going to the peaks from time to time – although the one time I went was more than enough (getting attacked by a sheep was not the highlight of my time in Sheffield, I must say).
Transitioning has been tough – from living alone to now having my family with me again. No more going out and coming back at ungodly hours without having to give an explanation to anyone (not that I bothered to come back at ungodly hours very often when I in Sheffield but you get my drift). No more cooking, which makes me sad because I no longer have the time to do it – not even on weekends. I sometimes find it hard to get close to people because I feel like I’ve grown differently over the last two years in Sheffield than I have in the last 20 that I did in KL. These days, I also have to endure horrible traffic after not having to drive for 2 whole years, which means horrible drivers on Malaysian roads come as a two-in-one; non-negotiable package. Rude people who never signal when they cut in or bother to even lift their hand as thanks. And worst of all, nobody ever stops their car at a zebra crossing. EVER.
On the whole, I am getting used to it, albeit the the whole Malaysian mindset thing is going to take some more time to get used to again. There are times, however, when my mind drifts off to wander the streets of Sheffield once more. But I suppose, sooner or later, it will decide that it is time to come home.
x
