Week 18 – Bye Bye USA

My final week in America. As you all now there was that little debacle with EF about my flight details, well in the end I had to take the flight. The first flight…I’m not sure how I even managed to walk onto that flight. Every muscle in my body screamed at me and I had to keep my jaw clamped so as not to loose my lunch before the ride even began. Thankfully, somehow, i forced myself onto the airbus for the two hour flight to San Francisco. I slept the whole way. Thanks to my host siblings, Pavel, Louisa and Vanessa (my original host sister who left Rick and Shey and moved in with us on Friday) I was too tired by the time the second flight came around to care and, thankfully, managed to sleep the majority of the fourteen hour flight away. You see, after keeping me awake playing cards until 1:30am (after the EF closing orientation which was a bbq and volleyball with the other exchangees) they hid their phones in my room, setting the alarms so I was awoken periodically throughout the night. After the third and final alarm, I set Louisa’s phone to go off at 3:30am and hid it in the sleeping Pavel’s room. My own little revenge, believing the whole thing was his master plan.

Friday was my final day at Hamilton High School. Leaving was not too hard, I think I was too excited to be coming home to let it get to me. I was sad to say goodbye to my new friends, but it didn’t quite hit me that it’s unlikely I’ll ever see them again, it still hasn’t really.

Anyway, I left America on Saturday night and arrived in Sydney on Monday morning, skipping Sunday entirely. I had no troubles at customs and all my luggage came through…some how I did get away flying on two US air services with a pair of scissors in my bag. o_O Mum met me half-way down the exit ramp (she wasn’t supposed to be there) and we had a little tearful hug.

Now I’m in Sydney, enjoying the greatly overated, but still engaging city. Our hotel is a self-contained unit right on a corner, it’s a little noisy with all the traffic, but quite comfortable. We’re staying in King’s Cross, the red-light district of Sydney that has become less notorius over the years. Still a lot of strip clubs between all the restaurants and shops though.

After walking around the area for awhile mum and I trekked on into the city, catching a picture perfect view of the bridge and Opera House from Circle Quay. From there we took a ferry over to Taronga Zoo. After Singapore Zoo, well, nothing can compare to Singapore zoo. It was a lovely little zoo with great views of the city and a rather entertaining bird shoe where I almost lost the top of my head to a (trained) swooping Wedge-Tailed Eagle. We also spent sometime in the beautiful Queen Victoria Building and had morning tea at the tea house there. It was very proper English style with high-backed cushion chairs, miniture cakes, finger sandwhichs (no crust) and Royal Albert (that really fancy, really ugly china that only your grandmother would ever own) China. We both found it rather funny, me sitting their in my cams, jeans and dog tags, slouching in the chairs and holding the cup all wrong. Great cakes though. Really tasty.

Today, being Tuesday, we headed to Bondi Beach. The beach was quite empty, due to it being quite cold here, and occupied mostly by Asian tourists and Aussie joggers. The occasional surfer decked the waves, though the was not much to be considered rideable. The famous landmark was beautiful, smaller than I expected, but beautiful nonetheless. Every inch of the boardwalk beside it is decorated with mosaic tiles, paintings and well presented shops. It’s very much a tourist precinct.

After Bondi we headed through Chinatown (more like China-street) until we reached the Chinese Friendship Garden. The little paradise held a giant koi pond, a teahouse and landscaping that can only have been designed from the ancient histories of China. Oh, you will not believe how much a good cup of tea (breakfast) and a well brewed herbal tea does for the soul. How did I ever survive five months on crappy US tea? Mum also treated me to a sticky date pudding whilst in Bondi. Yum. Can you believe America doesn’t have them?

Next up…my pie.

It rained today too. I love the rain, especially after a five month dry spell. Rain is purifying and regenerating. As you can see, I missed the rain. It’s supposed to rain all week. We’ll be purchasing a raincoat soon.

It’s not just the rain I missed though, I can’t believe I’d never actually noticed the Aussie accent before. Returning here, after so long, I can recognise the accent and suddenly I know why every other country loves it. The Australian accent just sounds so friendly, we actually sound like larrikans, like we’re always up for a good time and a laugh and don’t take life too seriously. Ah, I really do love our accent, and I am very proud of it. I can only hope that I have not lost in entirely.

I will keep my blog going for now, perhaps even after I return home, which will be Sunday night at around 9pm.

Can’t wait to see you all again! Stay tuned for the rest of my Sydney adventure.

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