I have officially been in the US for a full week and I already want to go back to Australia. I never though leaving a place would make me so emotional, however it was the people I met there and the relationships I formed that has made it so hard. When I came abroad I never would have expected to connect with so many people, especially Australians. I had wanted to make Australian friends but I never would have guessed that they all would have been Australian.
During my final weeks I visited a few of my friends in their hometowns and got to experience more of the rural Australian life rather than the “big-city” version. It was nice and peaceful with lovely sceneries, but it was the company I was with that made it special. My final week was one of my favorite weeks up until the night before I had to leave. In Canberra we ended up hiking and caving a lot that week. I even got to celebrate an Australian-style Christmas with my friend and his family! They had a few funny traditions. The bus ride to the Sydney airport and saying good bye to everyone was the hardest thing I have had to do in my 20 years.
Getting on the plane I could hardly sleep and was emotional for most of the 13-hour journey to Los Angeles. Once I finally arrive I was already looking up how much it would cost me to fly back! However when I finally touched down in Dallas I was so thankful to finally see my parents again after a long 5 months. It has been somewhat of a slight adjustment getting back. After being awake for about 39 hours straight of traveling, I finally slept for 13 hours, then after that the real jet lag set in. I am still attempting to enter the “shotgun” seat on the drivers side, walking on the wrong side of grocery aisles, and still attempting to flush the toilets from the top and not side. Just the small things will take a bit more getting use to but over time it will go back to normal.
Going to Australia for 5 months was the greatest experience of my 20 years on Earth and I would not change it for the world. Now I am just trying to plan for the day that I will be back, and maybe permanently this time!