Back to the home base

Apologies for the month-plus writing hiatus, but I recently returned from a month-long excursion in Europe that took me to a total of four countries: Montenegro, Austria, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Even before I left, I told friends and family that it was interesting that I would be visiting the remnants of two super-federations that, around the same time, collapsed: Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia.

I had attempted to submit posts while overseas, but I was unsuccessful, since Montenegrin Internet service providers -- or, at least, the one to which I had access -- were slow, while elsewhere, my online time was limited, and I spent it reading and writing e-mails to friends and family, whenever possible.

I am still digesting the whole experience and, quite frankly, I miss all of the countries I visited. To date, this has been the longest excursion that I have taken, but even here, I remain frustrated at only having scratched the surface of understanding and learning of these places. Some of the things I saw confirmed what I had long suspected and written about, while other things baffled me and -- imagine that! -- proved me wrong. In seriousness, I will return very soon, though I am not quite sure how or when, but it will be very soon.

Every trip abroad, whether it be short or long, tells you something about the people that are your co-travellers, but also a lot about yourself. Being away from the monotony and hecticness of home life and responsibilities in Toronto (or wherever one's base may be) keeps you aloof from things, and shows you a perspective one oneself that, sometimes, you would have thought never existed. I went through this experience too, and am still undergoing it.

More to come later; once I catch my breath, political blogging on this wee End of the Line shall resume. Fear not, readers, for I have returned, and the world has not improved one iota while I was gone, it seems!