Goodbye Aussie, I will miss you!

Goodbye Aussie, I will miss you!

**WARNING** When I typed this I typed in ni Microsoft word and single spaced it was four pages long. Prepare for a LONG entry!

Who knew exactly how fast the past 130 days would go! I thought when I signed up for study abroad that these months would drag on and it would feel like I had been here forever, however it feels like I just got here and I have no clue where this past month went, it FLEW by! I thought that by the time came to come home I would be more then ready and willing to leave…however I don’t think I was fully ready to leave.. I love the parrots that fly around here, I love the scenery and even more I love the people I have met along the way. There are of course things I will not miss such as the bipolar weather and humidity but every great thing has to have a few down sides right?

Well I suppose I should update you on how my final day in Aussie went yesterday! I actually missed the bus to school on Wednesday which was really really REALLY bad because I had a final. Beth and I decided we had a fool proof plan to avoid either one of us missing the bus because we had the same final to go to. We were going to get on skype as soon as we woke up and if one of us hadn’t heard from the other by 7:15 we were going to call them. Well….that fool proof plan doesn’t work to well if you both sleep past your alarm haha. We woke up and got dressed in literally a minute and waited for the Metro Bus to come back and then begged Michael to do another trip to campus so we didn’t miss our 8:30 final. Thankfully he did! I knew I was asking for trouble when I went to bed at three the night before a final! 

After the final I went to Movie World with Carolyn and Beth for one last time and went on the rollercoaster’s like two times each ride! We were hoping the park would be empty since it was a Wednesday and man were we wrong. On the first rollercoaster we went to we had to wait about 30 to 45 minutes just to get on it. However, it was so worth it. I love rollercoaster’s!!!! The first time we went to Movie World I had to convince Beth to ride the Superman rollercoaster, this time around she was sitting in the front row! If you go home and people want to know what you have improved or learned about yourself, tell them how brave you have become haha.

We were at the park until close and then had to catch a bus back to our apartments and got back around seven. The original plan was to have me pack and then we would go out but instead we went out first, and saved packing for later. In true Chelsea form!

We went out to the State of the Origin (look Beth I said it right!) and just had two drinks while watching the game before we headed home. It was a good game, Queensland won, which is where I live… (or I suppose I should save lived now) and so that is who I am going to cheer for! We won and that means we won the series… which I believe is what they call it. This was the fourth year in a row that Queensland beat New South Wales! The games are actually really fun to watch but for different reasons then you would think. I don’t honestly care about who wins, but watching how violent they get and some of the moves they use is quite hilarious to me. I should have watched more games while I was in Aussie.

After the game I went home and started packing (yes I had one suitcase packed on Sunday but basically had my entire room left to pack in the other suitcase). I finished packing at around midnight and was debating if I should stay up until six so I didn’t miss my shuttle to the airport or if I should get some sleep and hope not to oversleep. Once I finished packing I went over to Beth’s and we hung out while she packed up her Aussie life. I didn’t want to leave to go to bed because I knew it was the last time we were going to hang out.

However, at around 3 in the morning I decided I would get three hours of sleep and would just hope I didn’t miss my shuttle. I had to sleep without my stuffed animals since they were packed and had given my pillows away to Carolyn who is staying there for a year. Not having the best sleeping conditions I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep however I got knocked right out. I am assuming I was so tired because the night before I had gotten about three or four hours of sleep as well.

This morning Beth and Carolyn woke up at six to see me and so we could all say our goodbyes. It didn’t feel like I was really saying goodbye to them for real (real deal) it just felt like I was going to go away for the weekend and come back on Monday back to our normal routine. I really didn’t want to leave this morning but I had to go out front and wait for the shuttle so I didn’t miss it.

Once I got on the shuttle and we started driving away from Metro it hit me. I realized I wouldn’t see Metro, or Aldi, or ride the bus on Whiting and Brown St. anymore. It hit me that I am leaving and will most likely not come back for a long while. I really have come to feel like Australia is my home and I am going to miss it.

Once I let my brain start getting into thinking about how I don’t know when I will get back to Australia, and I don’t know when I will see any of the friends I made here my eyes started to water up. I felt like I would be fine if I listened to music and so I put my Ipod in and started listening to Celine Dion… which didn’t help lol. For whatever reason as soon as I started listening to Celine Dion I started to cry..not like sobbing but still crying. So I grabbed the biggest pair of sunnies I have out of my backpack and went back to staring out the window.

Somewhere along the line I calmed down and passed out on the bus. These people on the shuttle must have thought I was insane because I was crying at first, and then I went to bed and woke myself up from snoring hahaha! On the bright side when I woke up we were at the airport! It made the hour and a half ride go by super quick.

I got to the aiport thirty minutes before I was able to check in and so I just sat down and waiting for check in to open. I would have walked around but my big suitcase has a broken handle and so it is really hard to walk around with. That is one thing I will not miss about Australia is all the flight drama!

Once check in opened I was hoping and praying that I would not have to pay for overweight luggage. My first bag came to 24.1 Kilos and my second bag came to 17.9 Kilos. 1 Kilo = 2.2 Pounds if that makes it easier. (First bag was 53.02 pounds and second bag was 39.38 pounds). I asked her how close I was to having to pay and she said if my bag would have been 25 Kilos I would have had to pay for it. At that point I just kept thinking “ I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY, I AM SO LUCKY WWOOOOO HHHOOOOO!!!!!!!” I really did not want to pay for the extra luggage lol.

So after I checked in my bags I wandered around for a bit and then went down to customs and security. I completely forget I had things in the side of my backpack and ended up having to throw out a brand new tube of tooth paste, water (which I bought upstairs because it had a screw top so I figured it would be fine) and the last thing stung a bit when he took it away. The last item he took from me was my beloved tanning oil that smells SSSSOOOOO good and I was unbelievably excited to use it in Fiji so I would come home with a great tan. Whelp, I guess that is not happening anymore haha.

I told the guy I was unaware it was in there and tried to talk my way out of it but didn’t work. I guess I can’t talked my way out of everything, who would have thought haha. I am even more bummed because now it is just going to go to waste. Kat and Carolyn loved the smell of that stuff and I would have easily given it to them if I would have known. I hope the security guard at least realizes how amazing that stuff is and snatches it, goes home, strips naked and tans in his back yard with it. That way it is at least getting used and not getting tossed in to a rubbish bin! I just realized something that made me laugh a bit. I am more concerned I lost something that would get me tan, then losing something that cleans my teeth every morning…hahahhaha! I have my priorities right I see! Another bummer is Guy asked me if I had any tooth paste I could give him because he was out and I said no because I was taking it with me, sorry Guy! (BTW before I make Guy sound like a total bum he asked it because I gave him, Kat and Carolyn all the things I would not be bringing home with me...all my little hygienic stuff, school supplies, bathroom stuff, etc.)

Right now I am sitting on the plane flying over the ocean to Fiji and writing all of this. It is the first time I have really used my laptop on a airplane and it makes me feel so business like, even though I am just writing a blog. I feel like I am writing some long business proposal or something. If anyone asks I will tell them that is what I am doing just to make me look sophisticated haha. I would say just kidding to that last sentence…but I really don’t think I was haha!

We are flying on Air Pacific which is operated by Qauntas. I must say I would rather be on Qaunta’s then this flight. I like Quanta’s because each person gets a personalized television screen to entertain themselves and there is just a little bit more room around you. I am also flying Air Pacific on the way back and am hoping since it is a twelve hour flight that they would give us the upgraded version instead of a run down one. We will see!

Well… I guess the time has come to write my last blog entry about Australia. I can’t believe I won’t be travelling anymore and I am no longer going to be surrounded by someone who I truly consider one of my best friends now. I will of course keep in contact because I am pretty good at maintaining friend ships, I just can’t wait until we can go visit each other…hopefully it comes sooner rather then later.

I have definitely learned a lot about myself from this experience and could not express how happy I am that I decided to spend a semester abroad. I will miss the friends I have made since being here, but at the same time I am extremely excited to see my family and friends back home!


In the next couple days I will try to update you all on my Fiji experience, and then I will be home! I can’t believe It is Thursday and Monday I will be home… Still feels like I am returning back to Gold Coast after this weekend.

Alright I love you, miss you & will SEE you all soon!

Love,

Chels