Final Week: 6/23-6/26
The final in Quantitative Management went well and now school is completely finished! On Tuesday, Chuck and I did some shopping at the Queen Victoria Building downtown where we bought some gifts and I purchased the didgeridoo I’ve wanted all trip; its authentic aboriginal art carved and designed using wood and wax. That night was the premiere of Transformers 2 at midnight in the iMax. As I mentioned in my last entry, we bought tickets ahead of time, which turned out to be a good decision since the shows for the first two days were sold out by the time we arrived for our showing. I’m not the hugest Transformers fan, but seeing a blockbuster action film on the world’s largest screen was pretty awesome. The movie wasn’t great nor did it do the original Transformers series any justice, especially for Chuck who has been a follower from a young age, but it was entertaining enough. The next day was mostly spent sleeping and preparing for my last full day in Sydney. At night Chuck and I went to the fourth floor lounge, hung out with some of the University of Sydney kids, and had a few drinks, after which Chuck went to bed and the rest of us went to Lansdowne across the street. I ended up leaving before the rest so I could get a decent night’s sleep in preparation for a long Thursday.
I woke up at 11am and called Chuck, because we had tentatively planned on going to Tarongo Zoo in the morning before completing our gift shopping at Paddy’s Market in the early evening. It was a beautiful day relative to how rainy and cold it has been for a majority of the past month. We boarded a ferry in Circular Quay, took it across the harbor to the zoo in North Sydney, and got some final pictures of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House along the way. The zoo was pretty big, but nothing spectacular – I honestly didn’t find it much better than the Minnesota Zoo although there were a few more outdoor enclosures. I hadn’t been to a zoo in years either, so it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. We listened to a couple interesting zookeeper ‘talks’ at the Chimpanzee and Giraffe exhibits which were interesting – I could probably spend all of my time at a zoo watching Chimps, but we made the most of our time and visited a few more spots before heading home at 2:30pm. On the way we stopped at Paddy’s Market – I was surprised just looking through my previous blogs that I haven’t even mentioned this place yet. There are about four of them spread throughout New South Wales – each is a large building consisting of hundreds of small tent shops strung together, including large fruit and vegetable markets. Things here are generally sold at wholesale prices, which make it a great place to find souvenirs and affordable items. When my friends had visitors they would always go to the markets since they were within 15-20 minutes of UniLodge and right next to UTS campus. Coincidentally, while we were there we ran into Mike Condon (Luke’s college buddy from Mass that went to Fraser Island with us) so I was able to say goodbye to him. After we got back, I spent a couple hours completing some final tasks, including checking out, completing a couple forms, making final payments, arranging my 10 am taxi, confirming flights, and completing a majority of my packing. Afterwards Luke, Emily, Chuck, Julia, Jocelyn, Chelsea, and I ate dinner at Lansdowne together one last time. It was a very pleasant evening spent mostly at UniLodge drinking and celebrating our time together – additionally, I saw almost everybody I hoped to before leaving, which was a nice bonus. At midnight we wandered to Bar Broadway with the addition Evan and Jeff (U of Sydney and Mojosurf) for a couple more drinks and finished the evening at SideBar. Together we walked home and hung out a bit before saying goodnight and goodbye to Julia, Jocelyn, Chelsea, Jeff, and Evan. I had to wake up early the next morning to finish last minute packing and cleaning. Luke and Emily got up to see Chuck and me off, since we actually left in the same taxi together. Chuck’s excursion isn’t nearly over, but he won’t be seeing anybody from UniLodge for the rest of his time because he’s spending the next month traveling around Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji before going home to Detroit.
Everything went smoothly at the airport this morning and so here I am in Qantas Flight 11 back to Los Angeles. It seems like just a couple weeks ago that I was sitting on my flight out of Minneapolis pondering what awaited me in the journey ahead. I have to say that I really couldn’t have asked for much more out of my time abroad – I did nearly everything I wanted to and met some amazing people. I don’t think I can possibly articulate how special this trip was for me. I learned so much about the world and myself – I gained a true appreciation for other cultures, ways of life, and several things that I had previously taken for granted. It’s amazing how much smaller the world has become – I now have a friend in literally every continent and hope to revisit each one. Successfully traveling halfway around the world and establishing solid social and educational foundations has given me a great deal of confidence in my ability to explore my own horizons and discover all the things this beautiful world has to offer – I have acquired invaluable knowledge and a whole new capacity for self-efficacy. Also worth noting is my increased gratefulness for how precious all of life’s experiences are. No matter how small or insignificant we may consider certain events to be, life is short – there are so many opportunities and relationships we take for granted, but rarely do we consider how quickly it can be taken away. These have been five of the greatest months of my life and probably five of the fastest – I can’t believe it’s over but now I can’t wait to see what’s next. I miss my family and friends enormously and am anxious to reunite and share stories.
This blog wouldn’t be complete without saying some ‘thank-you’s. First of all, I thank all of you who read my blogs and supported me from overseas – this blog is for you and I couldn’t have done it without you. To Mom and Dad – thank you so much for your loving and caring support both before, and throughout the trip. You’re the ones who made this whole thing possible and I love you both so much for always believing in me through the good and the bad – you always keep me motivated and a square head on my shoulders. I owe you both dearly and look forward to paying you back in the years to come. To my brother Jesse – you know I always looked up to you and have always encouraged me to pursue my interests and be confident. And to everyone I met along the way – we have travelled, lived, loved, grown, and struggled together. Our bond has been forged in stone and I will never forget any of you, whether or not we meet again.
Chuck, you were my first and greatest companion in our travels and I am truly grateful to have had your company and unwavering friendship. Luke, you were just as special to have met and I appreciated all the time we were able to hang out and just enjoy life together. Emily, you were always easy to be around and are a great spirit – your and Lukes’ love and energy (although enviable at times) were inspirational and I’m glad that we were able to share some adventures together. Julia, it seemed like our relationship only strengthened with time and I will really miss you – you made me laugh and smile more than anyone and were an absolute joy to be around at all times. And finally Chelsea and Jocelyn – I can throw you two in a package, because you were always around UniLodge together and I will hold some fond memories of each of you and thank you for being there on my last night. To everyone else, it doesn’t seem fair to not mention you because you were all so special to me, but I just know I will see most of you again soon and will be counting the days until that time comes.
Well, our plane is preparing for landing and it’s time I check out. In approximately nine hours I will be back in Minnesota and the journey will officially be over. Thank you all again so much…until we meet again…
THE END
I woke up at 11am and called Chuck, because we had tentatively planned on going to Tarongo Zoo in the morning before completing our gift shopping at Paddy’s Market in the early evening. It was a beautiful day relative to how rainy and cold it has been for a majority of the past month. We boarded a ferry in Circular Quay, took it across the harbor to the zoo in North Sydney, and got some final pictures of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House along the way. The zoo was pretty big, but nothing spectacular – I honestly didn’t find it much better than the Minnesota Zoo although there were a few more outdoor enclosures. I hadn’t been to a zoo in years either, so it was a nice way to spend the afternoon. We listened to a couple interesting zookeeper ‘talks’ at the Chimpanzee and Giraffe exhibits which were interesting – I could probably spend all of my time at a zoo watching Chimps, but we made the most of our time and visited a few more spots before heading home at 2:30pm. On the way we stopped at Paddy’s Market – I was surprised just looking through my previous blogs that I haven’t even mentioned this place yet. There are about four of them spread throughout New South Wales – each is a large building consisting of hundreds of small tent shops strung together, including large fruit and vegetable markets. Things here are generally sold at wholesale prices, which make it a great place to find souvenirs and affordable items. When my friends had visitors they would always go to the markets since they were within 15-20 minutes of UniLodge and right next to UTS campus. Coincidentally, while we were there we ran into Mike Condon (Luke’s college buddy from Mass that went to Fraser Island with us) so I was able to say goodbye to him. After we got back, I spent a couple hours completing some final tasks, including checking out, completing a couple forms, making final payments, arranging my 10 am taxi, confirming flights, and completing a majority of my packing. Afterwards Luke, Emily, Chuck, Julia, Jocelyn, Chelsea, and I ate dinner at Lansdowne together one last time. It was a very pleasant evening spent mostly at UniLodge drinking and celebrating our time together – additionally, I saw almost everybody I hoped to before leaving, which was a nice bonus. At midnight we wandered to Bar Broadway with the addition Evan and Jeff (U of Sydney and Mojosurf) for a couple more drinks and finished the evening at SideBar. Together we walked home and hung out a bit before saying goodnight and goodbye to Julia, Jocelyn, Chelsea, Jeff, and Evan. I had to wake up early the next morning to finish last minute packing and cleaning. Luke and Emily got up to see Chuck and me off, since we actually left in the same taxi together. Chuck’s excursion isn’t nearly over, but he won’t be seeing anybody from UniLodge for the rest of his time because he’s spending the next month traveling around Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji before going home to Detroit.
Everything went smoothly at the airport this morning and so here I am in Qantas Flight 11 back to Los Angeles. It seems like just a couple weeks ago that I was sitting on my flight out of Minneapolis pondering what awaited me in the journey ahead. I have to say that I really couldn’t have asked for much more out of my time abroad – I did nearly everything I wanted to and met some amazing people. I don’t think I can possibly articulate how special this trip was for me. I learned so much about the world and myself – I gained a true appreciation for other cultures, ways of life, and several things that I had previously taken for granted. It’s amazing how much smaller the world has become – I now have a friend in literally every continent and hope to revisit each one. Successfully traveling halfway around the world and establishing solid social and educational foundations has given me a great deal of confidence in my ability to explore my own horizons and discover all the things this beautiful world has to offer – I have acquired invaluable knowledge and a whole new capacity for self-efficacy. Also worth noting is my increased gratefulness for how precious all of life’s experiences are. No matter how small or insignificant we may consider certain events to be, life is short – there are so many opportunities and relationships we take for granted, but rarely do we consider how quickly it can be taken away. These have been five of the greatest months of my life and probably five of the fastest – I can’t believe it’s over but now I can’t wait to see what’s next. I miss my family and friends enormously and am anxious to reunite and share stories.
This blog wouldn’t be complete without saying some ‘thank-you’s. First of all, I thank all of you who read my blogs and supported me from overseas – this blog is for you and I couldn’t have done it without you. To Mom and Dad – thank you so much for your loving and caring support both before, and throughout the trip. You’re the ones who made this whole thing possible and I love you both so much for always believing in me through the good and the bad – you always keep me motivated and a square head on my shoulders. I owe you both dearly and look forward to paying you back in the years to come. To my brother Jesse – you know I always looked up to you and have always encouraged me to pursue my interests and be confident. And to everyone I met along the way – we have travelled, lived, loved, grown, and struggled together. Our bond has been forged in stone and I will never forget any of you, whether or not we meet again.
Chuck, you were my first and greatest companion in our travels and I am truly grateful to have had your company and unwavering friendship. Luke, you were just as special to have met and I appreciated all the time we were able to hang out and just enjoy life together. Emily, you were always easy to be around and are a great spirit – your and Lukes’ love and energy (although enviable at times) were inspirational and I’m glad that we were able to share some adventures together. Julia, it seemed like our relationship only strengthened with time and I will really miss you – you made me laugh and smile more than anyone and were an absolute joy to be around at all times. And finally Chelsea and Jocelyn – I can throw you two in a package, because you were always around UniLodge together and I will hold some fond memories of each of you and thank you for being there on my last night. To everyone else, it doesn’t seem fair to not mention you because you were all so special to me, but I just know I will see most of you again soon and will be counting the days until that time comes.
Well, our plane is preparing for landing and it’s time I check out. In approximately nine hours I will be back in Minnesota and the journey will officially be over. Thank you all again so much…until we meet again…
THE END
