Back in Calgary At Last

Let's see, after a 5 1/2 hour flight from Delhi to Taipei, an 8 hour wait in Taipei, a 10 hour flight from Taipei to Vancouver, a 5 hour drive from Vancouver to Kelowna, and a 10 hour bus ride from Kelowna to Calgary, I finally made it back to the place I call home. The jet-lag is pretty intense this time and I don't remember the last time I had a decent night's sleep.

It does feel a bit weird to be back. After all, it's been a year since I've been in Calgary. For one, there is no snow. In fact, it's been warm here for the past few weeks (like +10 celsius). Not that I'm complaining, but it's certainly not what I expected.

So far, the biggest thing I've noticed is while walking down the street. I've always had the instinct to pass people on the right. 7 months in India has changed all that - my instinct is to now go to the left. On multiple occasions I have made a fool out of myself performing the simple task of passing someone on the street. Even while sitting in the passenger seat of the car I've noted the times when I would've went left to go around the car (obviously a big mistake in this part of the world).

I had a twenty dollar bill in my hand and went, "Is this worth anything?" It is, in fact, worth 740 rupees, but because it only has the number "20" on it, it seems almost worthless. Don't even get me started on the coins....

While loaded up with bags, I approached the door of the bus station only to have the door opened by someone. After setting the bags inside, all I could think was, "Welcome back to Canada."

Stay tuned for the list of things I hate when the reverse culture shocks starts creep in.