Well, well, well. A lot has happened in the last few weeks, including a trip to Sydney and another trip to Noosa. Highlights of Sydney: the aquarium (dugongs are perhaps the cutest animals in the world); Opera House; shopping; home-cooked meals courtesy of our lovely host; quality time with J-Rod. Highlights of Noosa: beach; home-cooked meals courtesy of the more domestic of my friends; making new friends; watching the meteor shower on the beach; sleeping on the beach. Although of them were a lot of fun & I could say a lot more about them, I really am consumed with the next trip looming in my future: the trip home.
As I write this, I have less than 8 hours until I go to the airport, where a series of 4 flights will take me back to Kansas over a span of about 24 hours. Not only will it be stressful, boring, and exhausting, but I will be incredibly sad for the duration of the trip. Of course, I am SO excited to see my family, drive my car, watch New Moon with my friends, hang out with Eric, go to Sonic, etc. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and I would be devastated if I missed it. But at the same time, I have never felt so bummed about something ending.
The friends I've made here are seriously some of the most hilarious, loving, carefree people I've ever met. I could go on and on about why I love the team, but suffice it to say they are the sole reason I have been crying on and off for the past 24 hours. Don't get me wrong: I love the beach and the sun and the fact that I have been mainly directionless for the last 5 months. I will miss having the opportunity to go snorkeling and skydiving. But in the end, what really breaks my heart is saying goodbye to these people. The saddest part is that, with the exception of Treibs and Biagio, the friends I've made here go to WashU (if only we could convince them to transfer). I really shouldn't be complaining. I am so so thankful that I will have them around next semester. It's just that things will be different. We won't eat every meal together. We won't hang out every single night. It won't just be the 7 of us wandering around in Australia. We are all going back to our normal lives. This is really the end.
Ultimately I am happy that I am so sad. It means this experience has been meaningful. I've had so much fun, done so many cool things, and I like to think I've grown up a little bit. I am so much more carefree and spontaneous than I was before. Although I wouldn't go as far as saying I can take care of myself (let's be real, they cooked me every meal, took out my trash, and even did my laundry), I am definitely more independent.
I am so incredibly grateful to my family for not only allowing me to go halfway across the world, but for encouraging me to make the most of my time here. I have appreciated every card, every care package, every skype chat, and every email. It's so good to know that even though I am leaving people I love, I am coming home to people I love even more.
I'm a pathetic mess right now. I think I'm one of maybe two or three people left in my college, so it's eerily quiet. I have had to say too many emotional goodbyes. Those of you who know me well know that I DO NOT cry, so the fact that I have broken down at least 7 times since last night may come as quite a shock. But this has been the best semester of my life and it's just really, really, really hard to say goodbye to my friends, my lifestyle, my home for the past 5 months. Australia is so amazingly awesome and I cannot wait for our reunion here in 2011 (it's happening).
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
adventure mode
It's been awhile since I've shared any of the fun/unusual/weird stuff that I'm doing here. It almost seems like I am just a regular student going to class and writing papers. I can't have you thinking that because this is Australia and let's face it, things are just better here. With that, a quick recap of some recent highlights.
Friends visiting: Emily's friend Diss came to Brisbane. It's always a good time when we add people to the team. With a majority of Long Islanders in the room, I felt like I needed to be a part of the team. I fit right in, yes?
Beach: We went to the real beach this past weekend at Byron Bay. It was an intense weekend. We climbed up to this lighthouse. It was the most strenuous exercise I've had in months.
The ocean never gets old.
Kayaking: I have no pictures from this because my camera cannot afford to be anywhere near water. Kayaking was really intense. I was not good at it. Poor J-Rod had to do all the work and tell me what to do and we still ended up always floating in the wrong direction. Highlight: seeing dolphins 30 feet from us. Lowlight: getting hit in the back with the kayak after we fell out trying to ride a wave. Note to all: kayaking is not as calm and relaxing as it appears (unless you have upper body strength, then it may be okay).
Story time: After Halloween, I had a pseudo phone-breaking incident (because I really cannot keep a phone intact for more than two months at a time). Long story short, I thought my phone was broken and thus couldn't set an alarm (turns out I had put the battery in the wrong way... genius). I was planning on waking up at 6 am to go skydiving. Guess who can't wake up at 6 am without an alarm!? I woke up at 6:45, devastated that I had missed my one chance to go skydiving. I sulked in bed for a few minutes until Christine pops in saying that it had been raining all morning and skydiving had been postponed. I like to think God was so sad I had overslept, he had to shed a few tears for things to work out. Because of the rain, they hadn't left yet so I ran around trying to get ready in 5 minutes. It was stressful and hectic and suddenly I was in a van signing a document that read, "Serious accidents can and often do happen. Don't blame us if you die." Maybe in slightly different words but you get the point.
Skydiving: Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. We got to the skydiving place, got into our harnesses and learned what was going to happen. Of course all the training in the world can't prepare you for the actual jump. We flew up to 14,000 in a tiny, rickety old plane while I was strapped to my tandem master, a small intense woman who does this 12 times a day. It was terrifying and I repeatedly asked myself why in the world I decided to do this when I get scared even jumping off a bunk bed. However there's really not much you can do once you're 14,000 feet in the air. I was second in line so I had the pleasure of watching the first person fly out. They literally push you to the edge of the plane for you to get into position. Position: stick your legs out of plane and bend them back so they're wrapped along the bottom of the plane. Arms are holding the straps of the harness. Head is tilted back. I was expecting some sort of calming statement or at least a countdown but nope, I was sitting there for approximately two seconds when I feel myself FALLING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE.
The initial drop was by far the scariest moment of my life. I have nightmares about falling from heights and here it was actually happening to me. We fell out upside down and I had a moment where I wondered if I was going to die. After about five seconds we had leveled out and from then on I was absolutely amazed. It's a 60 second free fall. It's just indescribable. I was literally flying. When she pulled the parachute I felt a wave of relief. We floated around for a few minutes while I took in the view before safely sliding into the ground. I can't even explain how awesome it was. I would recommend anyone and everyone experience this at least once. It's so cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
I got a DVD of the whole experience, which meant that a third guy jumped out of the plane with us and filmed the whole thing. It's fantastic- from the look of absolute terror the moment I jump out to the views of Australia that are in the background. My only grievance is that I paid for pictures too but the guy didn't take any while I was in the air! The only pics are from when I landed. Lame. I stand on the ground all day every day- when's the next time I'll be 14,000 up!? Oh well, the DVD is really awesome. And actually doing it was okay too I guess...
Ladies Day: All the girls in my college dress up strangely, walk to a random field, and engage in an afternoon of debauchery.
Friends visiting: Emily's friend Diss came to Brisbane. It's always a good time when we add people to the team. With a majority of Long Islanders in the room, I felt like I needed to be a part of the team. I fit right in, yes?
Picnic: The boys arranged a lovely BBQ in the park. This area of town is called South Bank and there are a bunch of shops, restaurants, and free grills, not to mention a man-made beach. Oh Australia. The real beach is only 2 hours away but it's always smarter to create one 15 minutes away.
Beach: We went to the real beach this past weekend at Byron Bay. It was an intense weekend. We climbed up to this lighthouse. It was the most strenuous exercise I've had in months.
Byron Bay is the most easterly point of the Australian Mainland... as this sign says.
The ocean never gets old.
Halloween: Although Halloween isn't as huge here as in America, we did what we could. I fulfilled a lifelong dream of wearing a headband like that. Also it was an excuse to use my peace sign as much as possible.
Kayaking: I have no pictures from this because my camera cannot afford to be anywhere near water. Kayaking was really intense. I was not good at it. Poor J-Rod had to do all the work and tell me what to do and we still ended up always floating in the wrong direction. Highlight: seeing dolphins 30 feet from us. Lowlight: getting hit in the back with the kayak after we fell out trying to ride a wave. Note to all: kayaking is not as calm and relaxing as it appears (unless you have upper body strength, then it may be okay).Story time: After Halloween, I had a pseudo phone-breaking incident (because I really cannot keep a phone intact for more than two months at a time). Long story short, I thought my phone was broken and thus couldn't set an alarm (turns out I had put the battery in the wrong way... genius). I was planning on waking up at 6 am to go skydiving. Guess who can't wake up at 6 am without an alarm!? I woke up at 6:45, devastated that I had missed my one chance to go skydiving. I sulked in bed for a few minutes until Christine pops in saying that it had been raining all morning and skydiving had been postponed. I like to think God was so sad I had overslept, he had to shed a few tears for things to work out. Because of the rain, they hadn't left yet so I ran around trying to get ready in 5 minutes. It was stressful and hectic and suddenly I was in a van signing a document that read, "Serious accidents can and often do happen. Don't blame us if you die." Maybe in slightly different words but you get the point.
Skydiving: Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. We got to the skydiving place, got into our harnesses and learned what was going to happen. Of course all the training in the world can't prepare you for the actual jump. We flew up to 14,000 in a tiny, rickety old plane while I was strapped to my tandem master, a small intense woman who does this 12 times a day. It was terrifying and I repeatedly asked myself why in the world I decided to do this when I get scared even jumping off a bunk bed. However there's really not much you can do once you're 14,000 feet in the air. I was second in line so I had the pleasure of watching the first person fly out. They literally push you to the edge of the plane for you to get into position. Position: stick your legs out of plane and bend them back so they're wrapped along the bottom of the plane. Arms are holding the straps of the harness. Head is tilted back. I was expecting some sort of calming statement or at least a countdown but nope, I was sitting there for approximately two seconds when I feel myself FALLING OUT OF AN AIRPLANE.
The initial drop was by far the scariest moment of my life. I have nightmares about falling from heights and here it was actually happening to me. We fell out upside down and I had a moment where I wondered if I was going to die. After about five seconds we had leveled out and from then on I was absolutely amazed. It's a 60 second free fall. It's just indescribable. I was literally flying. When she pulled the parachute I felt a wave of relief. We floated around for a few minutes while I took in the view before safely sliding into the ground. I can't even explain how awesome it was. I would recommend anyone and everyone experience this at least once. It's so cool to be a part of something bigger than yourself.
I got a DVD of the whole experience, which meant that a third guy jumped out of the plane with us and filmed the whole thing. It's fantastic- from the look of absolute terror the moment I jump out to the views of Australia that are in the background. My only grievance is that I paid for pictures too but the guy didn't take any while I was in the air! The only pics are from when I landed. Lame. I stand on the ground all day every day- when's the next time I'll be 14,000 up!? Oh well, the DVD is really awesome. And actually doing it was okay too I guess...
The after shot.
All in all things have been pretty great. Jeanenne and I are going to Sydney tomorrow for three days which will be awesome. After I get back, though, adventure time is over and school time is back on. 5 finals in 5 days. A tragic reminder that even if I can fly, I still have to write papers.
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