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Pressing the button on my remote. The garage door rolls up and I walk in quickly. It's raining, hard. That's convenient. The rain will wash away the dust that has accumulated on my car over the past few weeks.

It seems symbolic. The rain clatters on the windows and washes away the last remnants of ‘holiday in Belgium’. It is quite a drastic transition. In so many ways.

Saturday morning -still in Belgium- I still went jogging on a slippery road, my breath formed little white clouds and my gloves could not prevent my hands from stiffening from the cold. When I stepped off the plane on Sunday evening, it was as if a warm, wet towel was wrapped around my head. Thirty degrees warmer.

Twenty-four hours of travel and being in a completely different world.

Even before I leave the garage, I press the central locking button. It's safer that way. The steering wheel is on the right side. I reverse and merge into the left-hand lane. The indicators and wipers are also reversed. So, even before I make the first turn, I swap the two levers. It doesn't matter, it is raining anyway.

It is very quiet on the road. Schools don't reopen until next week. Traffic still flows very well. In built-up areas the maximum speed is 60km per hour. Fifteen minutes later, I am at the gate of the car park at the back of the building where we have our offices. I am given a clipboard with a form on which I have to register: my name, my mobile phone number, what the purpose of my visit is, what my number plate is (help, I forgot this during my holiday), my arrival time. It is raining, so the boot is not searched and I do not have to fill in the register for laptops.

A different world indeed.