Writing this last blog post is pretty bittersweet, because I am now home and while I already miss Australia, the places I visited and people that I met and became friends with, I am also incredibly relieved and excited to be home with my friends and family for the holidays. I had such a great semester abroad, but it is definitely time to be home.
My last few days in Australia were a total whirlwind. I took a quick, final trip out to the “Red Center” of Australia – the Outback. Specifically, I went to Uluru (aka Ayers Rock), one of the biggest natural wonders in the world. It was so beautiful and a wonderful experience. I went on this trip alone, which was a first for me, and I really enjoyed the independence and feeling of “roughing it” in the Outback. I walked around Uluru, saw it at sunrise and sunset, and took a sunrise tour of Kata Tjuta, another nearby rock formation out in the middle of the Outback. I also did a camel tour of Uluru during sunset, which was one of the coolest experiences of my life! I had so much fun on this last trip and I’m really glad that I saved it for last.
When I returned to Newcastle, I had to scramble – packing, taking two finals, and saying all of my goodbyes over just 3 days was a lot. I had underestimated how much time it would take to pack my suitcase, duffel bag and backpack, but I got it all done and took my two finals before my last day. I spent my last day in Newcastle getting brunch with some of my closest friends that I made there, and then I said goodbye to all of my friends in International House (the residence I was living in throughout the semester) with a movie night. I stayed up all night and left for the airport at about 3 am. I took an Uber to the train station, and traveled for about 3 hours on the train to Sydney (other than the night train in Thailand, this felt like the longest train ride of my life!), and got to the airport at around 8 am. Finally, I took a huge sleeping pill and made my way back to the U.S. from Sydney. When I woke up the next (American) morning, we were almost in LA! We landed in LA and I was so happy to be back on U.S. soil, but I still had a 2 hour layover and a 6 hour flight back to Boston. After a long, long day and a half of travel, I finally got home, where my family and friends were waiting for me in the airport! It was so nice to be home, but I had time to reflect and look back on my Australian adventure down under.
I am really glad that I studied abroad in Australia. Had I been able to do it again, I probably would have studied in Sydney instead, and maybe just visited Newcastle one weekend. While I did really like Newcastle, Sydney would have been a lot more convenient for traveling and there were more people that I knew in Sydney than in Newcastle. However, I am really glad that I met the people I did in Newcastle, because I made friendships that will surpass time differences and months/years apart. Overall, I would definitely recommend studying abroad in Australia. While Australia is not too different from the U.S. culturally, there are enough differences and subtleties to keep you on your feet, and the natural landscape and wildlife are stunning and something that everyone should be able to experience.