A Transition

I have lived for three years in this room, here in Lausanne, Switzerland, and this is to be my last night here. It is a strange sensation, because, as I prepare to leave, those three years seem on the verge of just melting away. I can well imagine, upon landing in Melbourne, that it will seem just yesterday since I left Australia. It is going to take me some time to determine how my sojourn here has changed me, what I have now become that I probably would not have become had I remained in Australia.

I have no idea precisely how large this room is, in terms of square metres. I rarely pay attention to such things. It is a studio apartment in the lakeside region of Ouchy. I am just a block back from Lac Leman (Lake Geneva, as the rest of the world sometimes calls it). There is in this apartment just the bedroom/lounge room, a small kitchen alcove with two hotplates and no oven, and a bathroom with a shower and toilet. There is no balcony. Some would find the room claustrophobic and confining. Myself, I have not been bothered by such sensations. I adapt very easily to my physical (if not necessarily my cultural) surroundings.

My window looks out at another apartment building across the street, where, on the lower section of the roof during the summer months, the family that occupies the ground floor of that building would eat their evening meals. At the moment, I look out only at some scaffolding and shade-cloth: they are adding a floor to this building.

Will I miss this room? Will I miss Lausanne? I think I will miss living in a foreign country, despite the occasional difficulties. Some of the people I will miss. I have enjoyed the sense of adventure. I have enjoyed being “unusual” to the people here. Back in Australia I will not stand out. I have a feeling that the urge for further adventures will stay with me.

I am sure that I will look back on these years and wish that I had made more of my time here. I could have seen more of the country, and the surrounding countries. I could have met more of the local people. Nevertheless, at the very least it has been a time of transition, which has allowed me to develop as a writer and, I hope, as a person. Now, I am ready for the next phase of “me”.

In just a few hours I fly out of Geneva, with 24 hours of travelling to look forward to. After 45 consecutive daily posts, I am going to be on the move over the next two or three weeks, and my postings are going to be fewer and erratically spaced. Hang in there, and I will get back to the daily routine as soon as I can! I am restless, keen to get the journey started and finished. The next time I address you will be from downunder. See you then.

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Check out my review of Darrell Drake’s unusual fantasy novel Everautumn.  Well done Darrell. Four Stars from me!

P.S. Don’t forget to buy my novel before Christmas! Click on the book cover above and to the right, or here. (There was a problem with the link to my website before, which I have now corrected – check it out again if you couldn’t get there before.)