On Wednesday I am moving back to Canada. I have been here on Lake Como in Italy for just over a year, and in Europe for two-and-a-half.

Europe is a beautiful place, especially here in Italy. It is January, and Lake Como is paradise every day. But the best part about living here in Italy is the people. Everyone is so warm and welcoming. At least, that is what I have experienced since I have been here. But for all its great qualities, I am grateful for being able to move back home.

What do I miss about Toronto? In a nutshell: diversity, real TV, and being in the middle of things.

Living in Europe is kind of like living in a whitewashed house. For a Canadian used to the most multicultural city in the world, living in Europe sometimes scares me: everybody here is white. The realization hits home when you see the handful of people who are not, and find yourself thinking, "Hey, there's a Chinese person!" What a strange thing it is to notice skin colour.

Also, in Italy you get great Italian food, in Switzerland you get Swiss food, which is fine, but sometimes you want something else. Some of my friends here are amused when I tell them that my first seven dinners when I move back into Toronto are going to be Korean, Thai, Indian (both northern and southern), Japanese, Ethiopian, and finally, Iranian.

Living in Europe means watching four channels. Unless you go and spend the earth for SKY satellite, and even then it still doesn't measure up to good old North American basic cable.

Living in Europe is kind of like living in Puslinch. Puslinch is a little town between Hamilton and Guelph in southern Ontario. Puslinch is off the mainstream. Not much happens in Puslinch, and it certainly isn't the centre of the world, nor does anything world-shaking happen there. Europe used to be the centre of the world, but after living here for almost three years, I can't help but feel that history has passed it by.

For real action today, you have to at least cross the Channel; to get to the creative centre of our world, you have to cross at least one ocean, maybe two.

So here I am tonight, with the movers coming in five hours, and I still haven't wrapped my pictures, or packed up my kitchen, or typed out my shipping manifest, or sealed all my boxes. And to top it all off, I am running out of tape and this is 4:00 a.m. on Sunday night.

So, of course, what else can I do but write a new blog entry? You know, I might just be able to maintain this thing.