“My plane’s approach path into Kingsford Smith International took me past the Sydney Harbour. To see the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge was relieving: after two weeks in distant lands, I had returned to my temporary home.” This is the introduction to what would have been my next blog post, but that post was never finished. My ambitious goal to document all of my experiences in Australia before I left was thwarted by both finals, and my desire to get the most out of my remaining time in the country. However, this blog series deserves an ending, and what better occasion to write it than the exactly one year after I left for the land of koalas and kangaroos.
To recap: at the end of my last published post, I was Sydney-bound, ready to embrace the 60 days left before I returned to the US. During that time I…
• Celebrated my 21st Birthday (a little less momentous given that I had been legally drinking since the day I landed)
• Saw three shows at the Sydney Opera House, which included an opera about the Opera House (*inception*)
• Kayaked in the Sydney Harbour (in…near…same thing)
• Ate Kangaroo (the meat was easier to digest than the guilt)
• Travelled to Wollongong (1 1/2 hours south by train) to see a favorite band of mine perform in the smallest bar on earth
• Helped foreign friends celebrate their first Thanksgiving (they were surprised by the amount of food; I was comforted by it)
• Discovered the underground bars of Sydney (the establishments resembled “speakeasy” but I can assure you, by the end of the night speaking was far from easy)
• Bought a giant Wombat stuffed animal
• Donated said Wombat when I realized it was too large to fit in my suitcase
All of these adventures made time like a lightning bolt: 60 days passed in the blink of an eye. Somehow it was already the morning of December 2nd, and my Uber was waiting outside to take me to the airport. I wasn’t much looking forward to the ride because it was planned to be via the dull highways that circumvent the city entirely for the sake of time. However, in what seemed like a farewell gesture from Australia, traffic detoured my Uber through the city. The journey was slow and tedious, but it was absolutely perfect. I was proud that I was familiar with almost every street the car traversed and I was grateful that many of these streets had memories tied to them. This nostalgic trip made it all the more difficult when, two hours later, I peered out my plane window and watched the sights of Sydney – the same sights which had welcomed me home just two months ago – fade into the distance.
The 15 hour flight back to the United States was nothing but bittersweet. After almost 6 months, it felt like my time in Australia had reached its natural end (and not just because my bank account had also reached its natural end). I felt fulfilled by all that I had seen and all that I accomplished. I was also glad to soon reunite with friends and family and no longer worry about major time differences (“Hi Mom how is your day going? What do you mean its 2 AM?”). However, I also knew that this grand adventure, perhaps my grandest to date, was now done. Over the course of nearly 150 days, I turned a distant land into a home. Uninhibited by work (or school really), I was able to use everyday to explore new places, new cultures, new foods, and new activities. It truly was my dream life, but now I was waking up.
I kept busy during my first weeks back. In fact, just 16 hours after I landed in Minnesota, I was back on a plane. Through travels to Florida, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Illinois, I distracted myself from the fact that I had left Australia. This fact finally sunk in when, at the end of January, I started Spring semester. January and February are not particularly beautiful months in Maryland, and I must admit that the bleak skies matched my feelings about bundling up to walk on cobblestone to class instead of dressing down to walk on sand to a surfing lesson. However, I was reminded of a sentence from my first blog post: “I know that comfort with the situation will come with time.” I did not anticipate a hard transition on the returning end of my study abroad experience, but I knew how to face it, and indeed with each passing day my yearning for Australia grew weaker, and my content grew stronger.
Now, looking back one year later, I’m still in awe of all that I experienced. If there is one lesson from Australia that I carry with me, it is to embark on as many adventures, both small and large, as possible. As for my next adventures, this past spring I visited friends in England, Scotland, and France. In a few weeks, as part of a multi-country trip to Europe, I’ll be in Budapest, where, coincidentally, I will see The Naked and Famous perform live (this post’s title is lyrics from their song “Young Blood”). In January, I fly to Africa to spend two weeks in the Victoria Falls region of Zimbabwe and Zambia for a wildlife photography and conservation project. Beyond that, I know only that the world is waiting, the possibilities are endless, and that there is a certain koala-filled country in the South Pacific that I can always call home.
Cheers!
LEVIN DOWN UNDER 