It's strange being back. I find it sad sitting at the table with John, Jenny and Bill as the conversation is rarely uplifting; nobody has even asked me about my time in Cambodia. Poor Jenny's worried about her hair which is falling out rapidly. She goes out, wearing an enormous stetson, which I think draws attention to her. She doesn't mind as it's a conversation piece for her and she can talk about her baldness.
I can't say I'm happy being back because it's so different. I'm on the farm, in the middle of fields, with traffic at a distance and people who are actually walking are many kilometres away. I miss my balcony, sitting there watching people down below. I miss Vuth's family and being able to have lunch with them or visit the office. I miss the kids coming over for a visit and I miss moving around visiting other families. I know I'll get over it as I start visiting people, driving around, getting into the garden etc. There's always a certain amount of sadness about "I'll miss you", yet it should be a happy event because it means that the person was important.
I continue to be fascinated by the Aphantasia business. It always makes me think of those fat elephants in the Disney movie dancing "The Sugarplum fairy". Then I read about Dr. Zeman in Exeter University, who is the main researcher on this phenomenon and he said he called it "phantasia" because it refers to "Fantasy and the Disney movies - so I wasn't alone in my thinking. I've been asking people, when I meet them, but so far I haven't found anyone to whom I can say, "Wow! You are just like I am." Apparently, Dr. Zeman has around 12,000 people he's in touch with, so now it's 12,001.
My walk was the same as usual - quiet. There was a strong wind and it was quite chilly so even the frogs decided to give up rehearsing. I saw a beer can lying along the side of the path so I picked it up to take home. I tend to pick up bits of plastic and put them in a special place. Away from the farm houses there are no field gates so people can drive off the road to stop and have a beer; I just wish they'd take their cans home.
We were to leave the farm at 6pm to drive into Edmonton. Jenny said that she and John were going to eat something so I realised I'd better get something ready for Bill. I couldn't see cooking anything so I took out a package of instant noodles. Bill came in, added fruit yogurt, some Clamato juice and avocado to the dry noodles and off he went to enjoy his supper. His idea of a meal is very different to other people's ideas.
I was asked to drive into town. I don't mind doing it but I dislike the university area as it's a minefield of one way streets and parking lots. Jenny said she didn't want to drive because she goes so slowly around a corner she makes other drivers upset. She won't let John drive as he's just had his cataract surgery. I was grateful we managed to find the place without a lot of trouble. We were going to an event organised by Rachel and her husband Pieter. He has put together a photography book that has black and white photographs of the life of a friend in South Africa; the friend is black and lives in one of those illegal settlements. Pieter self-published the book, with the help of donations from friends. He and Rachel went to New York last week so he could meet book distributors, presumably to see if they'd take on selling his book.
Rachel had done a great job of providing food for all tastes - she's got Celiac disease so she's aways aware that there may be people present with the same problem. There were lots of cheeses, dried South African meats, various nibbles and drinks - everything was labelled which I thought was a great idea. I'm told there were a hundred people there but I only talked to a few. Jenny loves meeting new people so she roams around looking for someone to talk to; I'm more interested in talking to those I know. She came to me and said, "There's a lady over there from Nigeria; you should go and talk to her." I mentioned she was talking on her phone. "I'll get her off it," said Jenny. She didn't need to and eventually I had a nice chat. Nobody ever comes from my part of Nigeria, the north, but it was still nice to talk to her.
Shannon had driven from Calgary the day before and found herself in a terrible blizzard. Vehicles were all over the highway so she left the highway and went into a town so she could spend the night in a hotel. So far we've been lucky here, north of Calgary, and let's hope it stays that way. I also met Merwan and his wife Saroj; Merwan was in Cambodia two years ago when his daughter, who is a dentist, led a team. He's hoping she's going on another trip as he'd like to join her. He retired from his job as Auditor General of Alberta and, as soon as he retired, he was asked to take on another position. He's lucky as there's a huge amount of unemployment here because of the downturn in the oil industry. I'm glad I'm not seeking work.
Another thing that's depressing about coming back is the fact that we vote next week in a Provincial election. I'm sick and tired of the pollsters saying that my party won't win. I dread to think what'll happen if the United Conservatives get in. I don't know why people are even voting for them because there were shenanigans during the leadership campaign and candidates have been accused of making racist and homophobic comments - they are our homegrown version of Trump. I shall be glad when the electioneering is over but then we have four years of whoever gets in. I like being in Cambodia; if politicians speak I don't understand a word of what they are saying and, if I did understand, I couldn't do anything about the situation. It makes life a lot easier. Four sleeps to voting time.
