Gannin' Yem

"Home"-Different Iconic Locations Around Newcastle. My final project in the city.

A changing reality is one of the hardest things to comprehend. To rap your mind around the fact that what you know now, will no longer be your day-to-day norm.

My reality of living in Newcastle (my reality for the past two years) is now changing, but it doesn’t feel real. Yes I am incredibly sad, and I have said my goodbyes, packed up all my things, and am even writing this on the plane somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean! And yet it still feels as though I am just heading home for a quick visit and then will be right back to the Toon.

What is even more mind-boggling, is when I think back to my first day in England….

When I landed in Newcastle, walking out of baggage claim with Abby Buuck (my last bit of the States and familiarity, even though I had only just met her a few days earlier), I walked out to find a short woman with glasses and short hair waiting for me in the airport foyer.

Saying goodbye to Abby, I was probably more scared than I may have even been aware of at the time to leave her and walk out into an unfamiliar city with a stranger. I even tried to get into the wrong side of the car (my first, immediate culture shock).

And now this morning I was at that same airport with that same short woman, (now no longer a stranger, but an incredible pillar of support) leaving the city I call home.

So much time has passed between these two parallel airport scenes, and it’s the experience and memories in that time that make me realize something—Just as attempting to comprehend my changing reality turns my brain to mush, trying to sum up the joy, appreciation and memories of the past two years simply leaves me speechless!

So for this final blog post, at the end of a journey that will forever be in my heart, I thank you for your love and support along the way, from both near and far.

I pray blessing in your life and all your experiences wherever God leads you, that they may be as fruitful as my time in England has been for me.

And I’ll leave you with this…

“You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That’s the price you pay for the richness of loving a knowing people in more than one place.”- Unknown

This may be partly true for me now, however, I would rather say that my heart is not split, but filled all the more with JMC and myNEWcastleLife!

Cheers to you all!

I’m Gannin’ Yem :)

-Elie