My dear friend Jeff, who I met while studying in Australia and with whom I backpacked through New Zealand, passed away unexpectedly in December. He would have been 22 years old today. He was hilarious, creative, and exceptionally kind, and I was incredibly fortunate to have known him, however briefly.
You know that phrase? The one that goes something like, “Time flies”?
I have been back in the States for exactly two and a half months, and I just eclipsed the one-year anniversary of the day I made my decision to study abroad in Australia. I’m fully settled back at OU, so much so that If I don’t actively think about the fact that I lived in another country for five months, I feel like it never happened.
Which is weird, because it definitely did happen.
Things I miss about studying abroad:
Such an immense, rewarding experience. I don’t regret a second.
The view from our amazing room in the Surfers Paradise Marriott.
We had a lot of time to kill between the end of our exams (I was done by 12 June) and our flight back to the States (30 June). Most of us made travel plans, renting vans and booking continental flights for our own mini-vacations. A surprising number of my close friends chose to explore the east coast of Australia, weaving up and down the edge of the country in rented vans, wandering through coastal towns within days of each other. I ended up traveling with Lex and Kayla, who I just started getting to know after spring break; we bought cheap Jetstar flights and headed up to Surfers Paradise.
This is a good representation of the environment in which I lived for five months. By extension, the language is NSFW.
I’d seen posters and notes on Facebook about a powderpuff game, to be held in the Village, that would decide once and for all which was the best American-Australian study abroad program: AIFS (mine) or AustraLearn. Having spent at least a few days with our program groups before arriving in Sydney, many of us felt a strong allegiance to our programs, and the idea of the ladies duking it out on the field was pretty hilarious, but I didn’t really think anyone was going to follow through with it.
The morning of the supposed game, I was at a friend’s house when through the window we spied about 20 girls from AIFS, dressed all in black, carrying bags of goon (boxed wine) and signs proclaiming what was sure to be our eventual victory. So I obviously grabbed my cameras and followed them to the field.
The result? AIFS pulled it out and won in the end, after lots of alcohol, screaming, confusion, and the first full rainbow I’ve ever seen. It was quite a day, and remains one of my favorite memories from study abroad.
Leon and Erik
The farewell dinner hosted by our study abroad program, AIFS, was held on Saturday, 13 June, at the Sydney Aquarium in Darling Harbour. From what I understand, the dinner is usually at the Sydney Tower (think rotating elevated restaurant), but because there are 60 of us, we had to negotiate for a larger space in the aquarium.
Despite the fact that some people (myself included - long story) didn’t RSVP, causing a bit of stress and delay, the evening was a good one. We got to eat beside a huge tank of sharks and fish, took a lot of overdue group pictures, and then went out to Cargo Bar (the first bar in Sydney we went to as a group, back in February) and Bungalow 8 for drinks and dancing. It was a nice little wrap-up to our group escapades, for sure.
Most of us
The weird thing about being on the opposite side of the world is that the seasons are flipped around. I was taught this phenomenon in school (most recently in my college astronomy class), but experiencing it has been really odd. When we arrived in Australia in February, every day was sunny with a high in the ’80s. Once we hit June, it was time for sweaters and changing leaves and hot coffee rather than iced. While my family and friends back in Ohio were turning on the air conditioning, I was bundling up in my scarf and jacket for autumn.
The thing is, I LOVE autumn. Adore it. But it felt weird to be experiencing the trademarks of the season without an impending holiday, so my friend Matt and I thought it appropriate to plan a little Thanksgiving celebration for our friends.
LINUS:
This is not unlike another famous Thanksgiving episode. Do you remember the story of John Alden, and Priscilla Mullins, and Captain Miles Standish?PEPPERMINT PATTY:
This isn’t like that one at all.-A CHARLIE BROWN THANKSGIVING (1973)
So we made a guest list, and assigned the dishes (it was a potluck), and crossed our fingers that people would come. And they did! Over 20 people, with smiles on their faces and yelling “HAPPY THANKSGIVING!” when they walked through the door, all with homemade food in hand. We had a veritable feast: Perfectly cooked chicken (no turkey in Oz, apparently), green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, rolls, amazing mac ‘n cheese, stuffing, corn, Tim Tams, wine, and the most beautiful selection of desserts.
Feast!
There were flowers on the tables and good conversation all around. Through it all I was just so happy to be living in a beautiful country, celebrating an arguably anachronistic holiday with truly special people. Happy Thanksgiving, indeed.
Matt and Laura approve this message
Jewel!
Jewel (@jewelequalslove on Twitter) has been my best friend since our first day in Fiji, when we found out we were roommates at our little motel in Nadi. She understands me on a level few others do, and some of my best memories from Oz (and NZ, and Fiji) are with her. Our friendship has been an integral part of my study abroad experience, so when it came time to celebrate her 21st birthday on 22 May, it was important to both me and Scott that it be an epic celebration.
And epic it was.
Two days after our trip to the zoo, we got to visit another Sydney landmark: The infamous Sydney Opera House. After my internship, I went out to dinner with Jewel and Scotty. After trying in vain to find a quality sushi place around the QVB (are there really no mid-range options in that area for good sushi?) we decided to eat at a nice place in Circular Quay whose name escapes me.
Trio! Me, Scotty, Jewel
Then we met up with our finely-dressed AIFS group at the opera house. We (unfortunately) didn’t do a tour of the facilities, but took in a performance of “Nutcracker: The Story of Clara” by the Australian Ballet. Surprise surprise, this ballet was not the actual “Nutcracker” ballet, but rather an Australian interpretation of Clara’s life. It’s like “Nutcracker: The Sequel”.
Entrance to the Taronga Zoo
We took a day trip to the Taronga Zoo on 9 May. For some reason, I barely took any pictures of the animals…but it was a beautiful, fun-filled adventure all the same.
The past month has been very eventful - I finished both the school semester and my internship, traveled up the coast to Surfers Paradise and Byron Bay, planned a study abroad Thanksgiving, attended the AIFS farewell dinner, and began the daunting process of packing up to return home.
Instead of recapping that, we’re going to play a little game called What’s In My Bag?. I always find it fascinating to see the contents of a woman’s purse, so here’s a little peek inside mine.
My bag!
01. Black canvas bag from Glassons
02. Red ruled Moleskine journal
03. Small ruled notebook from a cute little stationery boutique in Leura
04. Kleenex
05. Medicine (Advil, mainly)
06. Nikon Coolpix S550
07. Silver iPod Classic, 80 GB, with earbuds
08. Cheapy Vodafone
09. Purell hand sanitizer
10. Olympus WS-311M audio recorder
11. Cough drops
12. Flip MinoHD video recorder
13. Extra peppermint gum - I prefer Orbit, but I don’t think it’s sold in Australia
14. Tide-to-Go pen (a true lifesaver)
15. Cheap BiC pens are my favorite
16. Small hairbrush from Priceline
17. Penguin Classics are awesome and inexpensive ($9.95/e)
18. Dooney & Bourke wallet - gift from Mama for my 18th birthday. Best wallet ever, probably.
19. Burt’s Bees lip balm
20. Australian coins
21. 2 GB USB flash drive, for emergencies
22. Australian money, university ID/key card, bus pass
23. Adorably dented white Sigg water bottle
