Farewells

You may think that this is just a goodbye to my Aussie life, Aussie friends and other Aussie things. Oh nonono, my dearest reader, it's also a farewell to my last summer as an undergraduate student. BUT before I get to the goodbyes let's talk about the trips I took and what went on at the Florey before I left. And did you hear? Macklemore+Ryan Lewis have a fantastic new song with Fences!

Arrows by Fences ft Macklemore+Ryan Lewis

So where have I been the passed week other than slightly stranded in New Zealand (as shown below)?

Well, I was also in Cairns and Sydney!

And here's Sydney:

I refuse to bombard you all with the pictures here, they're all on my facebook if you'd like to take a peek at them:) But my security settings are pretty high...so I'm sorry if you actually aren't able to look at them :( Let me fill you in on what happened through! I was in Cairns first, exploring the Great Barrier Reef by snorkeling at Michaelman's Bay and Paradise Reef with the Lovely Lisa who is from northern Italy who's about my age and was also alone for the reef trip. I wish I could show ya'll pictures of what I saw but, unfortunately, my phone and water (salt water especially) don't mix quite well so you'll have to take my word for it when I say 'twas beautiful and full of sea life. I even saw turtles! And after that day I got to pose with a koala who was probably really annoyed that he had to be there, like that:

But otherwise, he was quite nice. So, other than the zoo I went to the Esplanade's "Lagoon" which is basically somewhere to go to swim and sun bathe without worrying about being eaten by crocs. No guys, not the shoes, living crocodiles.

So there was some sand and cemented land that surrounded a large pool and that was nice to experience. I then proceeded to go to Sydney where I was hanging out with Anneleis who I met in Tanzania that summer I went to Africa to learn about things like education and development and anthropology. We went to Manly Beach and the opera house. Both were beautiful, I wasn't able to walk across the bridge because it costs over $200 to do so which is ridiculous. That's a bit too much so I decided to settle with seeing it from the opera house. 

After being able to meet more of Anneleis' family (who were all wonderfully welcoming and all really interesting, and Anneleis you've got really great nieces and nephews, I miss them already!) I took a secret trip to New Zealand, haha. SURPRISE! I told relatively few people so don't feel bad if I didn't tell you....I really don't know why I decided to keep my trip to New Zealand a secret but I did. Fortunately my family was very understanding about that, I don't know how I got so lucky, not that there was much they could do about it. But still guys, I love you for everything. Especially your tolerance of my craziness like not telling you I was going to New Zealand. The pictures above are from Hobbiton in Matmata/Rotorua. I spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out in Rotorua and met some pretty cool guys all from different places. One guy from Canada, another from Colombia and one from New Zealand. I became pretty close with June from South Korea and Viktor from Germany. I hadn't gotten along with any other hostel mates as well as these guys to thanks! You definitely helped make the trip to New Zealand much more fun and better than I could've imagined.

And for the slightly dramatic end to my trip, I ended up not having the right time for my flight back to Melbourne and successfully missed my flight. The next flight wasn't until the next night but don't worry, I was about 8 hours early for that one so I definitely made it. I did have a bit of a breakdown and yeah, I cried but it was fine! And I knew it was going to be fine BUT I was in another country, wishing I could be back in Melbourne so that I could, eventually, go back to the states and spend a good and full last week at work. So, needless to say, I was disappointed in the whole situation and those feelings wanted some expression! Besides, it's a good stress reliever. Anyways, I got to spend the day sleeping so that was a good thing and I made it back to the apartment safe and sound.

Oh dear, I think it's time guys. Time for some goodbyes and so longs. I haven't done much this week except pack and do some last-minute shopping for those I love:) There have been a lot of times on this trip when I've been thinking: why didn't I just stay in the States? Why did I think this was a good idea? What's research good for anyways? Why am I even here? Well, I didn't necessarily find the answer to all those questions but I'm definitely living with the consequences and what beautiful, amazing consequences they are. I have been so fortunate for the support from all my friends here and back in the states. I have made some mistakes that I'm definitely still learning from but it was all worth it. Yeah, I have things to add to my resume, awesome, but I hope I'll also bring back the sense of confidence and self-possession I've found along with the knowledge I've gained. Thanks all of you Australians, I hope you've enjoyed me as much as I've enjoyed all of you. And hopefully, I'll be back.

Love,

Syd

Somebody to You by The Vamps ft Demi Lovato