Wow. It has been the biggest whirlwind two weeks, I can’t tell if I’m coming or going anymore! Well that’s not totally true; right now I am at sitting at the Nashville airport (I know I said I love airports, but as it turns out there really is such a thing as too much of a good thing…) coming home to my first family and going away from the one I have chosen – or perhaps the one that I have been so graciously given is a more accurate way of saying it.
But I should back track a bit. My last few days in Australia were wonderful ones! (It’s so weird to talk about Australia in the past tense. It’s actually weird to talk about Australia at all - it truly feels like none of it really happened. That’s an odd feeling.) The last week or so at college was spent hanging out with friends, soaking up the last bits of Brisbane, and not nearly enough studying. Those goodbyes were so strange, because they didn’t feel real either – my mind doesn’t understand what it means to say goodbye possibly, and even probably, forever. As the taxi pulled away from St. John’s, my flatmates waving until they were well out of sight, I it (incorrectly) felt like I would be back after just another weekend trip.
Four and a half months in two suitcases...the epitome of "bittersweet"
The trip, though, was fabulous. Michelle and I jetted south to Melbourne, which I have decided is my favorite Australian city I visited. I would never want to do this semester differently, but if I had another one to do in Oz I would definitely want to try my hand at Melbourne. We did HEAPS of walking in the two days we were there, visiting everything from the Italian precinct on Lygon St. to Chinatown to the Queen Victoria Markets (the most famous markets in Australia - SO much fresh food and fun shopping!) to Federation Square (“Melbourne’s meeting place”) to the banks of the Yarra River, and most everything in between! We also made a stop at the Immigration Museum (which was actually much more interesting than it sounds) and took the tram to St. Kilda with a friend of Michelle’s from Tufts who was studying at “Uni Melb” (the University of Melbourne). St. Kilda is a laid back, lovely little suburb on the ocean full of cafes, bars, restaurants, and a beautiful pier. While we chatted next to the water a little exhibitionist penguin put on a show for us, swimming around and even hobbling over the rocks at our feet! Penguins are my favorite animal, so this was epic for me (I almost spelled “favorite” with a “u,” just saying). We also sampled some cannolis on Acland Street, which is bursting with cozy and decadent cake shops. This second Melbourne experience was topped off with Mass at St. Francis’s Church early on Sunday morning with Krista, an American friend from UQ, which was beautiful. It was so strange going to Mass this past Sunday next door to my hometown – all I could think was that a week ago I was at Mass in Melbourne!
On the roof of our hostel with Melbourne in the background!
Love this one of the tram tracks
St. Kilda! Not sure what this sport is called, but I want in!
Melbourne, complete with the Yarra River, by night
Krista and me after Mass
Our “last hurrah” adventure continued as we flew to Hobart, the capital city of the island state of Tasmania. This charming waterfront city definitely had a different feel from the rest of the country, at least the parts I visited. Instead of skyscrapers the streets were lined with brick buildings and quirky colorful houses, and the sea was almost always in sight. In Hobart Michelle and I got to meet up with Tamsyn, a friend from St. John’s; we explored some of the shops in a neighborhood called Salamanca, got coffee and walked around in Battery Point (a prestigious suburb and the city’s historic center), and toured an anti-whaling ship docked at the city’s waterfront. Hobart felt so much older than the rest of the cities I had seen, and though I have never been to Italy I kept thinking that it must look quite similar to parts of Hobart. For dinner Michelle and I got our final Australian fish and chips from a boat docked in the harbor (you had to step down and bend to the window to order, so fun!) and ate it sitting by the water. Our second day in Hobart consisted of two contrasting but equally enjoyable activities: visiting the Cadbury chocolate factory (SO many samples, and cheap chocolate – bliss!), then taking a bus halfway up Mt. Wellington, the mountain that overlooks Hobart, and hiking up and then back down the rest. I won’t lie, this was much more difficult than I anticipated, both uphill and down; the path was generally strewn with loose rocks, and we all know how coordinated I am… But the views on the way up, and especially from the top (where it was FREEZING!), were well worth it!
How precious is this place?
Tamsyn and me outside Jackman & McRoss in Battery Point!
SO keen for heaps of free Cadbury chocolate!!
Hobart and the water from the top of Mt. Wellington (thanks to Michelle for this picture and the next, since my camera conveniently decided to quit on me once we reached the summit!)
Mt. Wellington: conquered. Done and done. (Then we realized we still had to get down...)
The next morning our ridiculously long and sometimes painful journey home commenced. Between the time I arrived at the airport in Hobart to the time my plane landed in Boston, 50 hours had elapsed and I never wanted to see another plane again. One notable part of this journey was the roughly 17 hours Michelle and I spent in Brisbane before our flight to LA: we decided to take the train back to the city to spend one last night in Brisbane since that sounded more appealing than sleeping in the airport. What a joke. At least we can say we can check being homeless off our list of things to experience!
So. Homeless.
Since being home I quite literally have not stopped, a fact to which my body has decided to respond by getting sick. I can’t really blame it, though; between the lack of sleep, enormous amount of time spent on planes, and shift from summery Australia to bitter cold Boston, I’d be ready to give the world the middle finger if I were my body too!
One last thing worthy of mention here are the four days I just spent visiting Nashville, where I was welcomed back with more love and warmth and friendship than I could have ever asked for. I could literally write pages on all the beautiful moments I experienced over the past few days, but I think my friend Cory Matthews says it all more plainly (and more succinctly!) than I could: “…you’ll still make mistakes but your family and all your good friends you’ve made along the way will help you, and even though you’ll think the world has gone out of its way to teach you all the tough lessons you’ll realize that it’s the same world that’s given you your family and those friends. You’ll come to believe that no matter what happens, somehow the world will protect you.” –Boy Meets World
Thanks, y’all, for making me feel so "protected" this week!
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