Cami de casa / Going home

Dimecres varem marxar de Singapore despres de passar-hi uns dies, coneixer en Max, el fill de la Patricia i en Mahesh, visitar els Lothgren i veure la Chloe. De fet les noies varen estar a casa la Chloe mentre nosaltres dos ens varem quedar a casa els Lothgren. Despres de mesos de dormir principalment en hostals ve molt de gust quedar-se a casa els amics, sobretot quan aquests et tracten tant be com ho han fet amb nosaltres. A Singapore hem vist moltes botigues i fins fet alguna compra, tambe hem anat al cinema a veure "L'altra Bolena" i hem passejat molt, malgrat la calor i l'humitat que hi fa; el jardi botanic, el del gingebre i el de les orquidies son una mostra extraordinaria de la flora tropical i un lloc molt agradable per passar l'estona. La ciutat combina els edificis moderns, seu de bancs i grans empreses, amb barris com la petita India o el Xines, on trobes una replica simpatica d'aquests llocs que inclou temples, botiguetes i restaurants. Es una ciutat plena de forasters que hi treballen, altres forasters que treballen pels forasters que hi treballen, i uns quants descendents dels seus primers habitants, que sovint no tenen acces a les mateixes possibilitats que els forasters (que hi treballen). Tot sembla funcionar molt be, encara que com que la critica no es permesa, no se sap gaire que es el que va be de debo i el que no.
Ahir varem arribar a un Londres assoleiat pero bastant fred, a les cinc del mati nomes hi feia 6 graus, i es clar, venint del tropic ens va xocar una mica, encara que a Londres, si hi fa sol, tant li fa el fred ja que es quan la ciutat es mes bonica. Despres d'un bon esmorzar a un cafe tipic del centre i de deixar la majoria de les bosses a casa uns amics varem anar cap a Cardiff en autobus, un viatge d'un xic mes de tres hores que ens varen passar volant, al cap i a la fi anavem a veure la familia, i a mes el sol ens va acompanyar tot el cami. Diumenge tornem a la capital i dimecres havent dinat, cap Barcelona! Si tot va be arribarem la tarda de Sant Jordi, com haviem previst. Deixarem enrere molts llocs nous, molta nous coneguts, molts amics, molts llits i moltes hores de viatge, i esperem emportar-nos els records, els bons moments que hem passat, tot el que hem vist i apres durant aquests mesos. Tornarem a casa coneixent-nos bastant mes que quan varem marxar, amb ganes i energia per emprendre una nova etapa, cada un de nosaltres la seva nova etapa, amb un record comu que nomes nosaltres quatre compartim. A partir d'ara, en les nostres vides, sempre hi haura un abans i un despres d'aquest meravellos, unic i especial, i tambe privilegiat, molt privilegiat viatge.

On Wednesday we left Singapore after having spent some days there getting to know Max, Patricia and Mahesh's son, and visiting the Lothgrens and Chloe. In fact the girls stayed at Chloe's whilst we stayed at the Lothgrens'. After so many months of mostly sleeping in hostels, we have really appreciated staying at friends' homes, especially as they have all treated us so well. We visited lots of shops in Singapore and even did some shopping, we also went to the cinema to see 'The Other Boleyn Girl' and walked a lot, despite the heat and humidity. The Botanical Gardens, which include the Ginger Garden and the Orchid Garden, are home to an extraordinary collection of tropical flowers and plants and it is a really pleasant place to spend some time. The city combines modern buildings, its banks and large corporations, with neighbourhoods like Chinatown and Little India where you find replicas of those places including temples, small shops and restaurants. It's a city full of foreigners who work there, other foreigners who work for the foreigners who work there and a number of descendents of the original population who often don't have access to the same opportunities as the foreigners (who work there). It all seems to work very well, although criticism is not permitted and so it's difficult to know what really functions well and what doesn't.
Yesterday we arrived in sunny London, although it was cold. At five o'clock in the morning it was only 6 degrees and obviously, coming from the tropics, it was a bit of a shock although when the sun is out in London, even if it's cold, it's at its most beautiful. After a hearty breakfast in a typical cafe in the centre, we dropped some bags at a friend's house and headed to Cardiff by coach, a sunny journey of just over three hours which sped by, to see the family.
On Sunday we return to London and on Wednesday afternoon we head to Barcelona. If everything goes according to plan, we'll arrive in the afternoon of St Jordi. We'll be leaving behind many new locations, new acquaintances, new friends, many beds and hours of travel and will be taking with us many memories, goods times we've had, everything we've experienced and learnt over the last nine months. Arriving home, we'll know so much more than we did when we left, with an enthusiasm and energy to start the next phase, each one our own, but with a common experience we four have lived together. From now on there will always be a 'before and after' in our lives marked by our marvellous, unique, special and also privileged, very privileged journey.