Shanghai, March 10, 2023
I am publishing this post late – when I am already back in Shanghai – after a wonderful month and a half, I spent back home, in Slovenia.
Back home
On Friday, January 13, I – after 2 years and 3 months (*more than 800 days) of turbulent and unpredictable, duo to some COVID measures still, life in Shanghai – returned home to Slovenia, to the city of Ljubljana, where my home is and where my family and best friends are. It’ may be true that I love Shanghai, but the past two years there have been a real challenge and have demanded a lot of energy from me, not from physical point of view, but more from a mental one. I become tired of Shanghai city. To go through all this, I needed – not just me, but everyone who’s spent the last two years in China – lot of patience, strong will, mental stability and a positive mindset. Without all of this, we’d probably ”loose it”, or to caricaze a little more, we’d all go ”bananas”. Many sadly did. After all that befell us in Shanghai, I noticed that I was becoming much more irritated and unkind and less patient with my surroundings. The patterns that those who know me, would not exactly attribute to me, patterns that I want to eliminate from my everyday life as much as possible. Anyway, the day, I urgently needed and waited hard, did come. The day I traveled to my homeland and finally saw my family, which I greatly missed. I really badly needed this trip home, to re-collect thoughts, ”recharge” my batteries, and forget about everything around for a short time and enjoy a carefree life a little.
Finally…
Finally, I hugged my sister, mother, father, my aunt. Finally, I saw my two nephews which, when I left Slovenia, were at least lower by a head compared to now. Bor, nephew, I last held on my lap, has already become a big and strong boy and Sara, niece, has become a real princess. Now, during my stay, my sisters’ children and I tried to make up for every moment lost. It was unforgettable. Finally, I was able to go for a walk with my parents and discuss various topics. Finally, my mother’s food was on the table. Finally, I watched a basketball match on TV with my dad. Finally, I was able to visit my aunt and her garden, where I spent a lot of time as a child. Finally, me and aunt, could go to a pizza in a pizzeria just a few dozen meters away from her house or to a Chinese restaurant to a neighboring village and talk about new ideas, politics and gossip. Christmas presents were still waiting for me at aunt’s house from past three Christmas. Christmas celebrations have been the tradition of my aunt for as long as I can remember. All three gifts were books. I read two out of three during my Slovenia stay, which is already a great success for me. Finally, I met the best colleagues with whom I could once again laugh at old jokes and memories. Finally, I was able to cycle to Ljubljana Castle. Finally, I was able to walk over the Rožnik hill…
Coldest winter in years
I came just when there was the coldest winter in Slovenia, winter that we do not remember in our small country for at least five, if not ten years. Global warming is drastically reflecting everywhere and changing normal weather patterns, and Slovenia is no exception, so such a cold winter was an even greater surprise. Even snow, which was once a constant feature of Ljubljana’s winters, fell down. But… it wasn’t just winter time, it was also my birthday’s time. I celebrated my birthday at home after celebrating my jubilee, my 30th birthday. I’m not exactly a fan of winter and cold, but despite the fact that one of the coldest winters of the last decade come, this month and a half I spent among my family was something warmest and most beautiful, and very important for me.
Stolen car
At this point, I cannot ignore the fact that at the end of 2022 our car was stolen from outside the garage. According to official statistics, thieves stole 226 (passenger) cars in Slovenia in 2022 and our Renault Captur was among them. Subconsciously, the whole family was still under the impression of this event, which happened 4 months ago, when our almost completely new car was stolen from outside the garage. We always put the car in the garage overnight. On that unfortunate late evening, however, the car stayed outside, duo some strange combination of circumstances. Thieves stole it in less than 30 minutes. Of course, the car was not found by the police, they found only license plates somewhere in the forest a few months later. My father was most affected by this event, not so much because of the car he bought as because of the bag with tools in the trunk, which he carried with him and used for decades. So I walked and cycled, and used public transport. When the car was stolen, I was quarantined at a hotel, thinking first that it was a late April fool joke. It wasn’t. On my last time, before I travelled back to Shanghai, my dad’s friend Miki took me to Ljubljana Airport Brnik, and dad went alongside. While I was waiting for my second flight to Shanghai at Dubai Airport, it beeped, there was a father’s message with pictures of our new car, used Toyota, that my father had bought on his way back from the airport and had already taken the car home.
