Sunday, January 16, 2011

Australia Highlights

I was thinking about writing an entry on distance, and I have been thinking about that for a while, but being I left Australia today, and miss it horribly, instead I will write about some of the highlights of my trip

1 - Watching Pokemon - gotta be the top, me and Mark busted through the first season of Pokemon and the movie in my last two days, and we had so much fun laughing as we watched it, and just so many good times
2 - The smells - there were so many good smells, even just walking from the apartment to the train station each night. Smelled lovely.
3 - Cricket - Australia lost. A lot. But it was still fun to watch and learn more. Still so much to learn! But at least I can watch a match and have -some- idea of what is going on.
4 - Mangoes - MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM sooo good. No mango ever compares to them, and I hear the ones I had were just average.
5 - Meeting random strangers - I met so many different people on the trains and walking around, ended up in a lot of random conversations, and that was pretty cool
6 - Singing carols at a dinner for the homeless on Christmas
7 - Playing this weird dot game at FHE. So much fun, laughed sooo much
8 - People at church always looking to me for a starting note, and also commenting how it just lifted the congregation's singing when I showed up.
9 - The trees at Hyde Park. Seriously those trees are legit.
10 - Talking to my mom on the phone. I think it worked out so well because of the time difference, so I could be available to talk in the middle of the night, and it didn't have to be the middle of the night for her. We talked a long time, and that was awesome.
11 - Playing through Sonic 4. I actually filled out a chart...almost. 7 years at TSC. Yep, that impressive.
12 - Coming to myself. Had a really great experience that was just so healing, and helped me just be self-assured and feel like I am 100% back.
13 - Dancing around the kitchen, singing and dancing with Mark while making carmels.
14 - Singing together as we went to the train.
15 - Playing 500 with real people...who also know the game! It was fun.
16 - Secret delicious secret~
17 - Meeting my baby. He's amazing and beautiful, and I love him so much.
18 - Being hugged
19 - Mark liking the soup I made. :)
20 - Dancing in the rain and doing cartwheels. Had a lot of fun random moments there. Man, rain is amazing. Glad I didn't get flooded though.

I'm not going to lie, the trip was not easy. There were lots of really rough times while I was there. But it was great. All the positives far outweigh the price for them. And especially this last week, it was simply amazing. I cried so much...well, and I have been crying all day long, just at the thought of leaving, and then leaving, and then being gone. It's been hard to be gone, and as I walk down the sidewalk on the left, and see someone coming at me, I have to remind myself "You're in America" and shift back over to the right. I was one of the last people on the airplane in Sydney, and the guy sitting in my row said to me, "Got here at the last minute?" And I said "Nah, was just trying to delay my goodbye as long as possible. Incidentally, don't mind me if I cry a ton." "Aw sorry. Hopefully you'll get to come back soon." "Yeah, I hope so."

And then getting to America, going through immigration, you know, guy asking me where I was born etc, and at the end he said, "Welcome home wonderful lady." It was a nice gesture, but I felt anything but happy to be back. I loved Australia. Love love loved it. I mean, I loved spending time with Mark, but I loved Australia besides.

But yeah, when I am sad and missing things today, it is my son that I am missing, and his smile and laugh, and his insults, and eyerolling, and everything that makes him him. But though there is this kind of all around dull ache that sometimes leads to tears, I can still think of those specific things about him, and things that happened, and they just make me smile. It was the trip of a lifetime.

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