American Went Aussie

It took 18 hours, 3 airports, 2 airplanes, 6 movies, 4 hours of sleep, and thousands of miles to get me back to Minneapolis. One week ago today, I returned from the 3 greatest months I have ever had, and it has been a week of adjustments.


Changes of note include:

• The biggest thing was readjusting to Minnesota time, which took about 5 days. Being awake until 5 a.m. is never a great time, but it was reassuring to see all my Australia friends logged on to their Facebooks in the middle of the night too. 
• Driving on the right side of the road - I worried about this for nothing, piece of cake!
• Walking on the other side of the sidewalk. Still haven't quite gotten that out of my system - I am constantly that annoying person coming at you when you're walking who can't figure out why you're giving me a dirty look.
• The confusion when I say "Melbourne" or "Brisbane" [this one doesn't make sense unless you've actually heard me say it, but I will hopefully never say it the American way again]
• Adapting to the fact that there was a blizzard the day after I came home - thanks for the welcome, Minnesota!

And those are just a few things - I'm sure I could name many more. There are also plenty of moments where I long for Australia. I want to see the view from the Harbour Bridge, take the train, walk down the street to get gelato, or go exploring with all my friends. These moments are constantly hitting me - when I look at all the Australia gear scattered around my room, when I hear an Aussie accent on TV, when I look at my laptop background to see all of us in front of the Opera House, or when I read an article about Hell's Kitchen in Minneapolis serving kangaroo meat. As bittersweet at these moments are, I try and take them in stride. Having all these things to look back on just means I had the time of my life, and will never forget it.

On the flip side, there are so many things to love about being back home. Going to play tennis, eating Taco Bell, seeing the Minneapolis skyline when I drive to work every morning, being on campus, having a car, going back to the Daily, being somewhat less broke, and of course, the incredible reunions I have had in the past week.

Which brings me to the thank yous. 

Thank you to everyone who read this blog, even one time, because you cared about what I was doing 10,000 miles away.

Thank you to those of you who emailed me, sent me a Facebook message, commented on my pictures, Skyped me, or sent me a letter - your encouragement and stories from home always made my day and reminded me that I wasn't forgotten.

Thank you to the incredible friends I made during my adventure, and especially to those of you who I really believe will be my friends for the rest of forever. It wasn't Sydney that made those 3 months so memorable, it was the people I shared it with, and I'm so grateful for all the stories, memories, and relationships I now have.

Thank you to the equally incredible friends I had waiting for me back home [especially the three of you lovelies who surprised me at my house - so much love for you]. You're all the reason I would ever want to leave Australia at all, and seeing you again has made this week so perfect. A thank you in advance for your patience as I tell you far more about Australia than you ever want to know, and an even bigger thank you to those of you that have been genuinely interested in my trip and asked me a million questions. So happy I had such wonderful friends to come home to.

And finally, last but certainly not least, a giant thank you to my family. For financially supporting me, for sending me more emails and letters than I could keep up with, for listening to me talk about Australia constantly, for coming to visit me, for offering me encouragement and praise and love, and for never telling me that I wouldn't be able to chase my dreams. I have more love for you than you could ever imagine, and am so grateful for all the opportunities you have allowed me to pursue. A special shout-out to my grandparents, who probably get all the credit for giving me the travel bug at a very young age - hopefully there are many more unforgettable adventures to come.

And with that, I think it's time to bring this blog to a close. I have had a great time sharing all my adventures, and I hope this is something I can look back at and enjoy many times over. For now, my journey is done - but I am absolutely looking forward to my next opportunity to go Aussie.

Until next time,

Bailey

Last Day in Oz

The day that I really never actually thought would come is now here - my last day in Australia. 

The major success of my departure is this:

After being in basically a permanent panic attack about packing for the past week, I did it! Assuming my suitcases aren't overweight, I will be able to bring my entire closet back to America - in addition to so many souvenirs and excessive amounts of Tim Tams (of course I only learned they had jumbo packs on my second to last day here). I spent all day yesterday achieving the masterpiece that is two packed suitcases and a duffel bag, and am now left with very little to do.

Last night, ten of us went out for one more group dinner. We ended up at the Australian Hotel, the same place where we ate kangaroo and crocodile pizza three months ago. It's incredibly cheesy, but we found it fitting to end where we started. We spent dinner talking about everything we had done here - most embarrassing moments, best memories, what we were going to miss. There was definitely a feeling of sadness to it, especially when we toasted to our time here and our experiences. Still, there was a feeling of happiness too, sitting at the table with nine other people who I would consider some of my closest friends in Australia, enjoying each other's company one more time.

After dinner, we took one more walk over by the Opera House and took some incredibly posed pictures. We just had to capture the moment one more time.

Our lives, in a nutshell

My wonderful roommates - wouldn't have traded these girls for anyone

It took coming all the way to Australia for me to find Julie, and I can't wait for the endless texts, snapchats, Skypes, and visits to Boston that I know are going to follow.

The family - since day one.

Australia love.

Last night was also saying goodbye to Julie, Tim, and Connor, who left for New Zealand earlier this morning. As sad as it was to see them leave, we know it's not the last time we'll see each other, and I know that I made lifelong friends here.

While it has set in that I'm going home, it hasn't set in that going home means not being with all these people anymore. It's so weird to think that in two days, Sam's mattress won't be in the middle of my living room, Julie won't be walking around in her cat sweater singing Paramore, and Beks won't be in the bed next to me when I wake up. 

I don't know that there's much more I could say about everything, I feel like it's all been said already.

24 hours from now, I'll be somewhere over the ocean, ready for the next chapter of my life to begin.

In the past three months, this American has gone Aussie, and now it's time to go home.

The Bucket List: Revisited

The bucket list, 3 months after having originally written it:

1. Take a picture with a kangaroo and/or koala

2. Climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge

3. Go to a show (or at least take a tour) at the Sydney Opera House

4. Visit the Great Barrier Reef

5. Become a master of Australian slang or, even better, develop an accent!

6. Explore the Australian Outback

7. Avoid seeing any spiders the size of a dinner plate

8. Go skydiving [Dear family - pretend you didn't read that one :)]

9. Spend excessive amounts of time at Bondi Beach

10. Attempt to learn to surf

11. Learn enough about the country during my time there to feel like a real Aussie!

I'm definitely satisfied with 8/11 - especially considering all the things I did that weren't part of this bucket list at the beginning!

I actually almost cried leaving work yesterday - my bosses presented me with a very nice bottle of Australian wine, told they'd miss me, and said to keep in touch. Aaaand then the entire program went out together one more time last night...and I did cry. I put all of the blame for this on Beks!

Today is all about packing. Stay tuned for a picture of me either sitting successfully with two packed suitcases, or a picture of me crying as piles of my stuff sit outside my full suitcases...this could go either way.

Final dinner at the Opera House tonight with some of the greatest friends I could have asked for - one more night to make some memories.

Final Dinner + PostSecret

This finally feels like the end.

Last night, everyone in the program got together for a final group dinner at Doytao Thai restaurant in Newtown. When we walked in, we were given a Post-It that I don't even remember writing that listed my 3 goals for my time in Australia, as of the day after my arrival. Mine read:

1. Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge

2. Go to the Great Barrier Reef

3. Try and learn to surf

....and, I was 1 for 3. But I'm not upset about it - the wonderful thing about bucket lists is that you can change them whenever you feel like it. I've had an ongoing list since the end of middle school, and the first thing on it is "Swim with dolphins". Would I still do it if I had the opportunity to do so (for fairly cheap)? Yeah, I think so. But it's certainly not a my-whole-life-is-a-failure-unless-I-swim-with-dolphins kind of thing, so it's probably  not bucket list worthy anymore. Back to Australia...the point is, what I thought I wanted to get out of this trip changed as time went on. I didn't climb the bridge, but I walked across it, took the train over it every day, and was continually awed by the views it provided, and that's good enough for me. I didn't learn to surf, but let's be real, the chances of me successfully surfing are basically non-existent. I struggle with basic walking - riding waves is not for me.

We had delicious food [I'm really going to miss Thai], and had great conversations. We also got a big poster-like thing filled with pictures of us throughout our trip, so many memories there.

After dinner, Julie, Amber, Abby and I had tickets for PostSecret! I have been obsessed with Frank Warren and PostSecret since I was in middle school, and going to one of his events was still a very legitimate bucket list item. We heard all about how and why he started PostSecret, saw secrets that had been banned from his book (and many others), heard his crazy stories, and listened to strangers share their own secrets. It's not something I can explain super well, especially if you're not super familiar with PostSecret, but just trust me when I say it was a really cool experience and I'm glad I got to go.

I have about 45 minutes left in my last day at work, and then I literally have zero obligations standing between me and my flight home (other than a lot of packing). We'll all go out as a group one more time tonight, and tomorrow a group of us are planning a nice final dinner. Julie and Tim fly out for New Zealand at 10 a.m. on Saturday - so Friday will be a quiet one. Saturday will be a day of packing (and misery)...and then it'll be time to fly out.

Three more days until I get to see this out my airplane window (albeit covered in snow):

Can't wait - see you all soon! :)

The Highlight Reel

I have lived an absolutely incredible three months in Sydney, Australia. I was looking through my old pictures today and remembering all the different things I've done since arriving here, and the beginning of the trip seems like a million years ago. I've decided to post a little highlight reel, featuring my favorite moments of my time abroad:

10. Camel riding - I mean, it's just kind of a cool thing to say I did.

9. Blue Mountains hike - When we all really got to know each other for the first time, bonding over anything and everything.

8. Bondi to Coogee walk - so much beauty in Australia, and such joy to be found in everyday things

7. Waterfall swimming - Captain Matty's Barefoot Tour: A day of non-stop laughing, inappropriate jokes, and the most gorgeous waterfalls ever.

6. [part 1] Family dinner - Finding a Sydney family <3

6. [part 2] Rod Laver Arena - I was so incredibly happy on this day. I had always dreamed of going there.

5. White Water Rafting - So much adrenaline. Swimming through rapids, sliding down waterfalls, jumping off cliffs, and intentionally flipping our raft - like no adventure I've ever had.

4. Feeding kangaroos - A top bucket list item, naturally.

3. Snorkeling & Scuba Diving - spending an entire day in the Great Barrier Reef, one of the more gorgeous things I've ever seen. Something I need to do again one day before it's gone.

2. Family coming to visit - A week-long highlight. Sharing the city with a few people I love more than anything was absolutely priceless.

1. Skydiving - This is not just a Sydney highlight, but a life highlight.

The crazy part is that there are so many more great moments that didn't even make this list - Darling Harbour fireworks, Trop Fest, successfully finding Mexican food (just kidding, kind of). 

I am so blessed that the past three months of my life have been made up of memory after memory. This will easily be one of the greatest things I ever do, and the best trip I'll ever take. I hope my life is always defined by these three months here - the memories I have, the friends I've made, and the lessons I've learned.

The Last Weekend

This weekend marked my last full weekend in Sydney, as next Sunday I will be spending my day in the airport and over the ocean. While I wish I could say it was a crazy last weekend full of good stories, I must admit that it was not. The end of the semester here is just like the end of the semester back home. Even if I got to relax the other 12 weeks, finals week never fails to stress me out. Even though two of my finals were last week, I still have two more coming up and had a paper to finish. Low-stress compared to the U? Yes. But considering I have done very little work all semester, any studying whatsoever is a reality check.

My finals on Thursday and Friday went reasonably well, as did my final presentation for my internship class. Friday night we ended up all over the place – Julie and I ended up wandering around with a group of about 6 others, but we didn’t end up staying out too long. While we were walking, we came to the realization that we didn’t actually want to go out anywhere (or pay cover) and that we were more interested in eating food. So, we parted from our group, walked home, and chowed down on wedges while watching old school Nickelodeon cartoons. Saturday was entirely devoted to writing my final paper for my marketing class. We were too tired to do anything that night, so we went to Tim’s and watched 21 Jumpstreet instead.

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day, and I actually managed to leave the apartment. Bekah needed to do her souvenir shopping, and I had a few things that I had forgotten. I was trying to avoid studying for my final as much as possible, so we made a nice long day out of our adventure. We went to Darling Harbour to grab a couple things, and then on to Paddy’s Market. Even though common sense tells me I have less than zero space in my suitcases, I couldn’t resist picking up a few more (small) things. Since shopping works up quite the appetite, we went to Mad Mex afterwards for some burritos and quesadillas. Mad Mex is easily the closest thing to Chipotle in Australia (and probably one of the only Mexican restaurants), and it was heavenly, as always. Beks and I realized the two of us hadn’t gotten to hang out in quite a while, so it was awesome to spend the day wandering around Sydney with her :)

Unfortunately, we couldn't procrastinate forever, so it was back to the Meriton, where I am now continuing to procrastinate. [In my defense, I have now read over 100 pages of marketing in the past couple hours – a break is much warranted.]

My apologies for the lack of excitement in my life – hopefully there will be a little more in the upcoming week.

              

7 days to Minneapolis – I’m ready for it. 

Now and Then

It's crazy how many things can change in three months.

Was it really just January that I was crying at the airport before going to sit at the gate by myself and wait for my journey across the world to begin? And is it really only ten days until I'll be at the airport again, but this time with all the friends I've made?

I remember first walking in to our apartment - big and completely clean and empty. It didn't feel like a place that was going to be home, and yet it is now. Our closets are filled with our clothes, the beds are unmade, our homework is spread across the kitchen table and even though everything is a mess, it's exactly as it should be. The first time we said we were "going home" and meant to our apartment in Sydney was a wonderful thing and I hope I always think of this place as one of the many homes I've had.

I remember my struggles to learn Sydney public transit - missing the bus (something I still do, truthfully), not understanding the trains, talking at a volume that is far louder than acceptable at 8 a.m. While I still hate the M20 bus (and as I said, miss it regularly) and Julie still shushes me on the train from time to time, I've adjusted. I feel like I could get anywhere in the city, and help anyone else get there too.

I remember when I was terrified to meet everyone here, and my relief when Julie walked in the door, hugged me, and immediately began to talk like we hadn't just met five seconds before. There was further relief upon finding out that almost everyone was that way - we were all scared, all wanted to make friends here. Now I can't imagine leaving everyone, knowing that there are people I will never see again. I never thought I would cry when I leave this place, but I just might.

I remember so many things from this city. Starting my internship, sitting through my first 3.5 hour class, finally getting to eat gelato, being allowed inside the bar, seeing fireworks in Darling Harbour, walking across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, touching the Opera House, and so much more.

And now that I have all these memories, I have so many more to look forward to. I can't wait to have my own room, eat homemade meals, and have a clean living space. I'm crazy excited to drive my own car, windows down and music up on the right side of the road. I'm looking forward to eating American food, watching the Twins, and playing tennis. I am counting down to the days until I can set foot on the U of M campus again, and I am ecstatic that I am only 11 days from walking back into the Minnesota Daily and getting to work. But most of all, I can't wait to hug my family and friends, recount stories of my adventures, and hear everything that's been going on back home. This is what will bring me home to Minnesota, again and again and again.

10 more days in paradise, and then I'm ready for Minnesota (even if it means cold and snow) :)

Melbourne

The past 3 days, Julie and I have been enjoying a wonderfully long weekend in Melbourne. We knew we had to take one more trip before the semester was over, and Melbourne was on both of our lists. We had a great time exploring the city and relaxing but, as with Cairns, I once again confirmed that I made the right choice by studying abroad in Sydney. While both of the other cities I've visited have been great, there is no where else in Australia that I think I could have loved for an entire semester. 

A few key differences between Melbourne and Sydney:
1. Public transit - Sydney is all about buses and trains, Melbourne is all about trams. Like, San Francisco style, but literally all over the city. The tram is their primary mode of transportation, which is very old-school and fairly weird to see, but it definitely fit with the feeling of the city.
2. Cost - I'm not sure what world I've been living in where prices in Sydney seemed reasonable, but Melbourne was expensive. Julie and I both spent a lot more money than we were intending, and it makes me even more excited to buy "cheap" things back in MN!
3. Walkability - Melbourne is so easy to walk around. We learned the layout of the city in about a day, and were able to walk anywhere we wanted without using public transit. That would be impossible in Sydney, where walking anywhere takes much more time than you want to invest. Safe to say, we were pretty tired after lugging our backpacks all over the city.
4. Free things - While Melbourne is definitely more expensive, there were way more things to do for free while in the city. We visited two museums, the Melbourne Museum and the Australian Center for Moving Image, absolutely free - as well as exploring gardens, free comedy shows, and landmarks. 

While the two cities were very different, Sydney has come to feel like home, and I appreciate it in a way that I don't think I will ever appreciate another Australian city. That being said, our time in Melbourne was well-spent, and without further ado, a summary of our travels:


Friday
Our trip to Melbourne began with a 4:30 a.m. taxi ride to the airport. With a 6 a.m. flight, it seemed really late to be leaving, but domestic flight security is so lax that even though we didn't arrive at the airport until around 4:50, we still had over half an hour of time to kill before boarding the plane. As you are likely aware, I am not a morning person in the least. In this situation, it paid off, as I was asleep before the plane took off and didn't wake up again until after we had landed! I'm not sure how it's possible to sleep through take off and landing, but it happened. Once we got there, we were stuck on the plane on the tarmac for over half an hour, causing us to miss the shuttle we had scheduled for 8 a.m. Luckily, we were able to book another one that took us to the City Centre of Melbourne.

Hostel check-in wasn't until 11 a.m., so we stopped at a cafe for some breakfast when we arrived, and then headed to the Queen Victoria Markets. Like the markets I've been to in Sydney, this one was filled with a lot of tourist-y items, and a ton of fresh fruit. It was by far the biggest market I've seen, and Julie and I spent upwards of 2 hours wandering the aisles. Since I've already done major souvenir shopping, I tried to keep my spending to a minimum!

If I wouldn't have had to transport it home, I would have bought one!

Eventually, we left the market and set off to find our hostel. We quickly discovered that our hostel was a ways out of the city - and a very long walk when you have a heavy backpack. After walking for much too long, we made it to our hostel, The Nunnery. It was cute, and very clean, a huge step up from our Cairns hostel! We were sharing a room with 10 other people, all of whom turned out to be incredibly friendly and helpful. We spent a while getting settled before heading off for lunch.

One of the people from CAPA, Sarah, had recommended that we go eat at Lord of the Fries (clever, right?), a vegetarian restaurant. Since Julie is a vegetarian, I was completely up for going to eat there, and ate like an American...veggie burger, fries, and a Coke (old habits die hard?). Julie got to eat her first hot dog in I don't even know how long, but the food was delicious and not too expensive. 

We spent Friday afternoon going our separate ways - Julie went to explore the street art that is famous and Melbourne, and I went to Rod Laver Arena where the Australian Open is played! I was in absolute heaven during the time I was there. I spent a while just exploring the grounds and watching a tournament that was going on before getting a tour of the dressing rooms, media room, wall of champions, and a couple other things. Unfortunately, we couldn't go on to the main court because The Script was setting up for their Saturday night show, but it looks very different in the off-season anyway. We learned that the main court is only used for tennis during the weeks of the Australian Open, and serves a different purpose for the entire rest of the year. The retractable roof is also closed 100% of the time, other than during the tournament. After the tour, I was leaving and found one of the outdoor arenas completely empty...not even embarrassed to say that a lot of selfies were taken there. 

Djokovic!

Rod Laver Arena <3

Inside the locker room for the Top 30 players!

Gotta love Andre Agassi

There were 2 Aussie Open champions in 1977 - the tournament moved from January to December that year, making for 2 winners.

The three tennis greats

The Wall of Champions

Media room at Rod Laver Arena

Selfies, all day.

A jumping picture in memory of my tennis days!

Senior picture status

One thing Julie and I learned on the trip is that we are professional nappers. I got back from my tennis tour and Julie was already asleep in her bed, and fell asleep not too long after. We woke up from our naps about two hours later...I guess doing nothing is exhausting? We grabbed some Vietnamese food for dinner, and then had a casual night at a bar called The Alchemist. There, we discovered our favorite bartenders of the trip, Ryan Gosling and Jude Law lookalikes - need I say more?

Our afternoon naps didn't stop us from being tired, so we headed home fairly early so we would have energy the next day.


Saturday
Saturday morning we slept in nice and late, and found that the other 10 people in our room were gone by the time we got up! The day before, we met our Norwegian roommate Kjersti, who had just flown in from Norway on Friday morning. We decided the 3 of us should spend the day together and went off to the Melbourne Museum.

The museum was awesome - we spent over two hours wandering through the 7 different exhibits learning about animals and evolution, sea life in Australia, the human mind and body, the rainforest, and Melbourne history. It was a good way to spend the morning. After grabbing some lunch we (obviously) napped before heading down to Federation Square and the Yarra River. Federation Square is at the center of town, and there are always free shows happening and lots of places to just hang out and enjoy the sunshine. 

Melbourne Museum

LOOK AT THIS SPIDER!!

The Rainforest Exhibit

We spent a little time there, and then Julie and I decided to get tickets to one of the many shows happening during the Comedy Festival in Melbourne. The festival goes on for a month, and there are thousands of shows during that time - we didn't want to miss out on the experience. Having heard of none of the acts, we got a recommendation and got tickets to a show called The Writers, which ended up being pretty funny. We didn't understand some of the Australian inside jokes, but it was still a good time overall.

From there, we reunited with Kjersti for another evening out. We stopped at a couple places, and eventually ended up at The Alchemist again (our Three Monkeys of Melbourne?). It was another good night, and we were thrilled to learn that Kjersti would be in Sydney in just a few days so we could see her again!


Sunday
We weren't aware of it before we arrived, but check out time at the Nunnery is at 9:30 a.m. Julie and I got up pretty early, and weren't thrilled about hauling our backpacks around the city for an entire day! Our first stop in the morning was Fitzroy Gardens - which was basically just a giant garden. Cool, buuuut, we didn't spend too much time there. On our way to finding breakfast, we went right by Hosier Lane, the street with all the graffiti! It was so cool to see it - everywhere was absolutely covered in spray paint. There were so many great designs on the walls, and I couldn't believe that there was a whole area of the city where it was completely okay to cover everything with graffiti. 

After a delicious brunch, we went to the Australian Center for Moving Image - which is basically a museum devoted to the history of TV, movies, and video games. We spent a lot of time wandering around and learning the history, and I definitely killed some time playing Sonic the Hedgehog on one of the computers. There was a lot of interesting history, but it got hard to remember after a while so we spent a lot of time just wandering and looking around.

The next 6 hours after that were literally spent sitting in Federation Square. They had all kinds of lounge chairs scattered around the open space, and we pulled a couple under a huge umbrella for some relaxation. Melbourne was small enough that we had already done everything we wanted to do, and were perfectly content to sit all day. We spent a lot of time people watching, listening to the shows on stage, reading, and a little bit of napping. Part way through the day, it started to downpour, trapping Julie and I under our umbrella for around an hour. The square emptied out completely, but we didn't want to walk around and get soaked, so we continued to hide under our little shelter!

Everyone hiding from the rain

Julie and I looked just like these people under our own umbrella!

It finally stopped raining, and we grabbed a quick dinner before getting on our shuttle back to the airport. We got there wayyyy too early, and ended up getting to our gate before 6 for our 8:45 flight, which was eventually delayed to about 9:15. We finally got back to our apartment around 11, and were thrilled when we did!


Overall, we had a great time exploring another Australian city, but were so happy to come back to Sydney. We also finally accepted that our time in this wonderful country is coming to an end - and I've become incredibly excited to be back in Minneapolis in 2 weeks! Only a few blog posts left to write in these next couple weeks - hopefully I still have a few more interesting tales to tell as well :)