See you later
20.07.2009
Insight on Australian culture from a perceptive Pommie.
It took me a while after I arrived in Australia to realise that "See you later" has a number of meanings in the Aussie vernacular. In England "See you later" is usually interpreted as meaning that you will meet the other person(s) later that day. 'Later' in Aussie-speak can, in terms of time, mean anything from one hour to 20 years!
I have experienced many "See You Later" occasions in my life because of different needs within the Columban Mission Society.
I was asked to take on different appointments both at home in the United Kingdom and in other mission areas like the Philippines and Taiwan before Australia. These various appointments have involved a number of significant 'uprootings' which I have accepted as part of the missionary life. This experience has given me a broader vision of mission as experienced in different cultures which I wouldn't have had, had I remained in the Philippines, my first appointment.
As a missionary the experience of 'uprooting' and 'moving on' becomes part of life's journey.
The older I become, the harder the experience has become as I ponder upon whether this will be the last move I make.
I am about to experience the "See you later" farewell from Australian friends as I return to England after a four year assignment here. I leave with few regrets but wiser than the one who arrived here in 2005 thanks to the many Aussies who have crossed my path.
"See you later."
Fr Bernard returned to England in April 2009. During his time in Australia he promoted The Far East magazine through parish appeals around the Melbourne Archdiocese.
