It's true what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder.
I've had enough haggis, whisky and castle tours to last me a lifetime and now I want to go home.
Mum's boil-ups, Dad's beer fridge, and black West Coast sand are starting to tug at my heart.
I'm also exhausted from having to repeat myself due to my New Zealand accent and politely decline requests to do the haka at every social occasion I attend.
Asking for a Highland fling performance first often puts an end to that request.
Don't get me wrong. I've enjoyed my time in Scotland, and found the connection between Edinburgh and Dunedin fascinating, learnt a lot in terms of integration between men's and women's rugby in Ireland and Scotland and enjoyed Stirling University, where I developed my academic persona without the daily distractions that come with routine work life.
However, I miss seeing the sun in the sky (even though I'll be going from one winter to another), I yearn to see brown faces on the street and in the media, and I can't wait to enjoy a variety of sport, rather than football, football and more football.
Football is a beautiful game but you can get too much of a good thing and as Erma Bombeck once said, "If a man [or woman for that matter] watches three football games in a row, s/he should be declared legally dead."
I believe you can get too much of any sport.
Variety is the spice of life, which is why I'm looking forward to cheering on the New Zealand teams in the Super 14, getting back in touch with the Warriors' news and watching Josh Kronfeld and Barbara Kendall in the latest Dancing With The Stars series.
I was surprised to see Lizzy Igasan got voted out in the first week, which I believe is due to the fact that women's hockey doesn't get a lot of media attention, so many New Zealanders wouldn't have known who she was.
I can't remember Josh dancing the night away at the Alhambra Union clubrooms, so I wonder what he's like doing the foxtrot?
My time away has helped me to realise that I'm more interested in watching sport if I know the individuals, personalities and cultural histories involved.
Despite the northern hemisphere sports media pumping up the English in their latest game against France, the Six Nations hasn't really excited me that much, because I don't know the players.
However, I'm excited about the ANZ netball championship this year.
How fitting that Julie Seymour has been named captain of the Tactix team and Yvette McCausland-Durie the coach of the Pulse franchise.
Julie is an inspiration for her athleticism and dedication and Yvette is one of those tireless individuals who practices what she preaches.
If Yvette expects players to balance their work/life/study, she will also demonstrate this. She completed her Masters in 2007, coaches, brings up two children, and co-ordinates a sport-education programme in Manawatu.
I've seen Yvette running with (and often in front of) her young students every morning of the week, so she definitely leads by example.
With a passionate and focused coach, a mix of young and experienced players from a wide geographic area (including a Jamaican import and player based in Dunedin), the Pulse franchise will be the underdog I'll be cheering for this season.
I'm also champing at the bit to read Brendan Telfer's book A Life in Sport (and I hope he recovers OK), to be close to the action when Sonny Bill Williams makes his return to Sydney with the Barbarians, when the Tua-Cameron fight at long last takes place in Hamilton and when the NZRU makes a firm decision regarding the Maori team and Super whatever competition.
The grass is definitely greener on the other side of the world and home is where my sporting heart lies.
