So my 19-month round the world trip is coming to an end. About time, some of you may be thinking :-) In seven days I'll be on a plane to Italy and it feels good and weird at the same time.

It's been an incredibly rewarding journey and surely an emotional roller-coaster. These last six months in Buenos Aires have been a quiet moment of contemplation, so to speak. Didn't really socialize much - even though I was lucky enough to meet people who liked even this slightly faded version of me (thanks girls, you know who you are) - didn't care about lots of things I normally care about, basically I've just let myself be. Very new to me and surely an interesting end to this very rich and colourful experience.

The other side of the quieter-Miki-coin is that I changed my lifestyle quite dramatically. I've started cooking and if this was not big enough news see what you think about this one: I started cooking VERY healthy food AND started running and training properly AND fell in love with it.

I ran my first race a couple of weeks ago and will run my first 10k race tomorrow morning. I'm aiming at running the next half marathon, who would have ever imagined????? And yes, in case you're wondering I have given up smoking. Yes, again. No really :-)

Tomorrow after my race I'll have the best present ever: my friend Renata is going to arrive from London, spend the last week in BA with me and get on the same return plane. She was at the airport when I started this trip and I find very very sweet and poetic that she is coming all the way to BA for less than a week to enjoy this last bit with me and make sure that I "pack my suitcases" properly, so to speak.

I really enjoyed working with teenagers so I'm job hunting in that direction, but would also love to keep a foot in human rights and development, so I'm applying for jobs in these fields too. Looking for a job in a time of crisis is a bit scary but I feel optimistic and very positive. If I manage to get some interviews I'm sure I'll be able to show how genuine my passion for these issues is. And this must count.

It feels kind of cheesy to say this, but thanks for following me around the world. Your messages, thoughts and comments have kept me warm and cocooned all the way.

Well, feel a bit nostalgic now, not sure whether the melancholy is for what I'm about to leave behind of for what I'm going back to...

Will write a final update once back home.