Friday morning I facetimed with mom for awhile which was really nice and I felt like I really got to catch up with her!
On Saturday I had my first exam and I think it went pretty well - I should pass.
Saturday afternoon a bunch of us went to Byron Bay to spend the night. We went shopping a bit and got dinner at a mexican restaurant. Then some people from Bond rented a house for the night so we went there for a bit before we went out.
Sunday morning we got some acai bowls and ate them by the ocean. Then we headed back to Bond.
Sunday afternoon I felt pretty bad. I had a really bad tummy ache and fever. I went to the doctor Tuesday for Malarai pills for SE Asis and the doctor thinks I might have got something from Bali so I will take medicine for the stomach ache and hopefully that gets better before I leave for Thailand!
Monday I facetimed both the rents and caught up with them on everything. In the afternoon I mainly just studied for my exam which was Tuesday morning.
Tuesday I had my exam and went to the doctor. This exam was definitely tougher but I should pass the class. hahaha that sounds so bad but grades don't transfer only credits.
Wednesday night after leaving the library it was weird walking back home through campus knowing that school was basically over. I felt kind of sad and was trying to take pictures of campus because it looks really pretty at night but the pictures don't do it justice. Picture is just outside of the dorms.
Thursday morning I had my last exam and I was officially done with the semester! I headed to the mall to run my last errands.
Friday morning I got breakfast with Hannah and Jenna and then went to the beach with Hannah. For dinner Jenna, Hannah, and I went to the Cardamon Pod.
Friday night (now) I am packing up my room. It is a very weird feeling to realize that my time in Australia is over. I am very very slowly packing haha. I am also packing for Southeast Asia so it is also weird that I am leaving Australia and I am sad, but I am also excited to travel to Thailand tomorrow. Very mixed emotions.
April 25th, the day that was built up to be the end of my time here, is tomorrow. In a way it felt like this day would never come because of how accustomed I got to living here. There are so many people that I just won't ever see again. Which, obviously, is a fact of life for a lot of things, but since I came on this trip alone they are all the people that I created my life in Australia with.
Weird is honestly the only adjective that could describe how this all feels. I am also definitely sad. However, I do look forward to coming home and for the things that I have planned this summer. But at this moment it is hard to fully comprehend the reality of leaving Australia.
I'm really going to miss this campus and view.
I have heard so many people say that when you get back home you feel like you have changed, but not much at all changed back home. I can 100% see that being true. I am excited that two of my roommates studied abroad though so we can talk about it all.
I'm officially a senior! So weird to think. How fast my semester at Bond went but as well as college having only one more year left.
For SE Asia, I don't really know what to expect. I am excited. It's funny because my mom thinks that I am going to die, but the people that helped me plan my trip are saying like I'm going to have a blast and its beautiful and I'm going to love it. Haha two very different expectations.
Anyway, there isn't much that I would have done differently while here. I wish more people came alone rather than with friends or schools from home. I think that created a lot of separation between people and groups before even arriving. Other than that, I am so appreciative of how much I've been able to experience and see and loved my time in Australia.
It's crazy to think of how on edge I was about coming to Australia. I didn't really think about what my experience would be like much because it was so hard to even imagine Australia and life abroad. Before leaving people would ask me what day I was leaving and I would say the date as if it would never actually come. As if I wasn't actually leaving.
The days before I left I hung out with a lot of friends and family. I had so much fun and was so happy to be with everyone. I was in the moment and was so content with life and questioned why I was leaving. But the only reason why I was so in the moment was because there was such few days left until I was leaving. There wasn't anything but the idea of Australia to look forward to. So I wanted to focus on the now and not think about leaving.
Looking back, I was beyond nervous to leave and to avoid the nerves I tried to not really even imagine being gone. It's like I put up a mental block. I knew I was going, but the concept was too large and I couldn't wrap my head around it. I thought I'd like studying abroad, and I knew I'd learn a lot, but didn't want to think about it much.
Now, I couldn't even imagine not studying abroad. To experience what I've experienced and becoming more independent are things that I wouldn't have gotten back home in the comfort of the familiar. I can't put into words how happy I am that I was able to study abroad and that I went through with it.
I look forward to bring what I've learned here, back home. I think I have a new perspective and appreciation for how fast time flies by and the importance of making the most of it.
Well, time to finish packing. See you all in 17 days.
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