Home is Where the Heart Is.

My last week in Sydney seemed to fly by.  I noticed there were quite a few things that I wanted to get around to and there wasn't enough time left.  I guess when I realized I'll be there for five months at the beginning, things could be put off, but then it seemed to be a rush at the end.  Almost everything that happened in the last week had that ringing sensation in my head as the "last time."  I couldn't shake the feeling of finality.


My first very upsetting goodbye came with an incredible sunset.  This may sound crazy, but saying goodbye to Bondi Beach was one of the saddest parts about leaving Sydney.  I loved the city-life, but Bondi was always there when I needed an escape.  It always seemed to be beautiful and the perfect spot to relax.  I am most happy when I'm at the beach, so I was most thankful that my apartment in Sydney was only ten minutes away.  One of my favorite quotes, that will always help me remember my time at Bondi is "no matter how far you go, you can never shake the sand from your flip-flops or the ocean from your soul."

After my Bondi Farewell, I knew my next stop the following day would be Sydney Harbour.  I don't think it hit any of us, while we walked around by the bridge and the Opera House, that we were actually in a spot recognizable to the world.  It almost seemed like we took advantage of the accessibility of everything that some dream about seeing.  One thing I can say is that every time I was there, I reminded myself of how lucky I actually am.  I couldn't help but pinch myself; everywhere I looked was beautiful.

The following two days were spent packing and studying for an exam that happened to be a day before I left.  I figured I'd try and get a jump start on that because I knew I'd be saying goodbye to everyone leaving and wanting to actually enjoy my time.  Packing ended up going surprisingly well, considering how much I don't like doing it; I also ended up realizing I had WAY more stuff than I came with, which would be an issue at the airport.  Oops!  On the other hand, studying didn't go as well as planned, and I ended up cramming the night before; don't worry, I'm pretty sure I did fine. :)

After the exam, it definitely hit me that I was closing in on my last 16 hours of being in Sydney.  I kept looking out the window, which I'm now positive will be the best view I will ever have, anywhere in the world.  My roommate, who lives in New York, and I were just hanging around while I packed and enjoying each other's company.  In order to celebrate, that night we went to one of our favorite bars in Sydney and had a cocktail.  Considering how broke we both were, we still really wanted to buy a $15 drink to top off the semester; lucky for us, the bartender had fun making them and talking to us about my last night, so we scored them for free.  I love how nice everyone in Sydney is!


The next morning I grabbed a cab to the airport to finally leave the city I came to adore.  I had about 200 lbs. of baggage and I knew I'd have an issue there at check-in, so I got to the airport very early.  I think the worst part of this whole trip was sitting and waiting to board the plane; at this point, I was so sad to leave, but I was really excited to get it over with and come home to my family and friends.  As we flew out of the city, I took a shot of my home for the last few months.  As it faded into the distance, I couldn't help but smile because there is absolutely nothing I would have changed about my time in Sydney; I loved it.

Now, no one has experienced what it means to time travel except for me on this flight.  I was set to leave Sydney at 10:45am on Friday morning and arrive into LAX at 7:20am that same Friday morning.  Talk about a crazy feeling.  One of the weirdest parts of the flight was that we were flying opposite of the sun, so it was light out, then it was dark out almost immediately.  We also flew right into the sunrise in L.A. before we landed.  I had no idea what day or time it felt like because I had seen way too many changes in a matter of 14 hours.  I can say that the stars were beautiful and so was the sunrise, but in all actuality, I was just happy to be back on U.S. soil.

After arriving in LAX, I had a four hour layover, which seemed to take forever.  I was really excited because I have a friend living in L.A. for the summer so she picked me up and we went around the block for coffee to kill some time.  It was so nice to see a familiar face after 5 months, even though it seemed to me like a couple of weeks.  She took me back to the airport and I experienced my first bout of jet lag.  On the plane, which took off at 11:25am, made me realize that it's 2:25pm in Ohio, and 4:25am in Sydney.  Hello, confusion; what is going on? I slept almost the entire flight, which happened to be nice because it made it go really fast.  Once we arrived in Cincinnati, I couldn't wait to get off the plane.  I knew my parents and sister were there to pick me up and I couldn't wait to see them.  I was so surprised and happy to see their faces and the faces of my two best friends who came, as well.  They had made shirts: "I'm broke," "How bout that flight in?," "Mum," "Hoosier Sister?," and "Ohio."  It was the perfect entrance back to real life.  I was so glad to be home.  Even more shock came when we went to my friend's house and they all surprised me with a "Welcome Home/ our annual Catalina Wine Mixer" party.  I thought I would be exhausted, but like the sign they hung up that said "It is 10am in Sydney, Mate!," I was very much awake and excited.  So far, it's been great being home.  I love being with my family and friends and I can't wait to catch up with all of them.

With all of the last week activities and enjoying my final few moments in Sydney, I know I'll go back.  It's impossible to have such an amazing experience in a place that now feels like a second home and never return.  I'm so thankful to be back with my family and friends, and to my favorite city in the entire world: "until next time."