Normal people in abnormal situations

My beautiful Mum and brother in Italy.

Yesterday, during a discussion about the challenges of living in China, a friend pointed out that 'we are normal people living in an abnormal situation'. Everyday things that are not normally a big deal are magnified immensely here in China. Sometimes they feel totally normal but other days, they get to you and it's those moments that I have to remind myself that I am living in a developing country, with a huge language barrier and that it's normal to feel overwhelmed sometimes.

Mum and her bloody fountains!

Nice car Rob!

I'm also missing home quite a lot, probably because I'm in the process of booking flights home for the summer holidays. I really can't wait to get home and spend time with family, friends and pets. The clean air and beautiful fresh food will be an absolute dream. Travelling up the NSW coast with Mum and the dogs will be amazing - I'm already dreaming of running on the beaches! There is about 3 months to go, which I know will just fly by.

Casual Rob. Italian town square.

Mum returned to Melbourne on Monday night, after several weeks in Italy with my baby brother, Rob. They went to a village in northern Italy for a family friend's 60th birthday party and by the sounds of it had a brilliant time. So, I thought that I would indulge in another 'I love my family' moment and share some pictures of their trip! Enjoy!

Coffee in the sun. Cherries in Wuxi - this one is for you Anita and Ben! Look at the wonderful packaging (the bike ride ruined some of it though).

In dealing with my feelings of 'I miss home' (I'm not going to call it homesickness because it's not a constant thing - homesick was when I called my mother in tears from the UK when I was 18!), I've turned to a few creature comforts. Firstly, I found cherries at the fruit store last night and just had to buy them for old times sake. The box was so beautifully packed and made me think of summers on the farm, helping Anita and Ben with selling their cherries - ask me anything about cherries, I know it all now!

A home cooked meal at last!

Cooking at home has been another comfort, particularly now that the weather is warming up. The last few nights I've enjoyed smoked salmon (very cheap here) and salad - yum! I think that more frequent trips to Shanghai are required in order to pick up all the yummy vegetables from City Shop (oh, and maybe more Tim Tams!).

New Kayanos!

Lastly, although it doesn't seem like a creature comfort to most, I treated myself last night by pulling out my new Kayano runners that I had bought before I left Australia. Is it sad to admit that I've looked forward to a run all day, knowing that I can run in my new shoes? Speaking of running, I've had a new burst of motivation after my run in Shanghai on Sunday. Being the competitive person I am, I was thrilled to see that I'd come in at 39th out of 376 other female runners. Hopefully this motivation will keep me going - 4 more weeks till the big event.