Hi! The adjusting continues, as I think it will for quite some time. Mostly I’m fully back, but I think of the people and things in Australia every single day. I keep noticing some little things, more differences. My eyes are opened in a whole new way, I see things here that I never noticed before. Some good, some bad. I’m still randomly thinking of things I really liked about Australia as well. It’s strange, that’s for sure, the whole experience. Feelings you can’t really imagine or describe.
One thing I randomly miss about Aus, is that in their regular Skittles, the green one isn’t lime, it’s green apple!! I never eat the lime ones here unless I have nobody around to share with, so I was alone once with a bag there and had to eat the green ones - I was pleasantly surprised! Weird, I know, but it’s something. It is nice to see soooo much green around here, really something compared to draught ridden Australia! I don’t like the vast amounts of overly large vehicles however, I don’t think most people need them, they do too much damage and quite frankly get in the way and annoy me! Dr. Pepper is nice to have again, as well as wild cherry Pepsi! They don’t have either there, everyone is revolted by DP for some reason. It’s also nice to not wear shower shoes, although our units, even the bathrooms, were really quite fabulous. I still have to look at the money, it’s strange. Most of the time I’m fine, but the other day I accidentally gave the lady a 5 and 1 instead of two 1’s and had to slowly count out change. Oh well, I guess anyone could do that. I miss seeing the beautiful sky so so much. It’s amazing. The night sky especially, you can see a million stars, even right on res, it’s absolutely incredible. I could look up forever, it was so awesome! Especially in KC you can really only see a small handful of stars! Even in the country it really doesn’t compare to the southern hemisphere’s sky, I don’t think! I don’t know, I suppose I should stop, I’m making myself sad! I miss all of it so much, just being there. I was in Australia! I really want to go back, and I totally would for a visit over winter break, if I had the money, that’s the only thing stopping me really. Mostly, it is still the people I miss above everything else, without them it wouldn’t have been anywhere close the experience it was! It makes it seem lonely here, not seeing so many friends every single day, that part really makes me excited for getting back up to Manhattan, even though it will be different.
I’ve realized how much I really love writing and reading, and words in general. I wish I were better, some people really have a talent for putting words together that just work so well and sound almost like music or something, even in just a plain old sentence. I’m not sure where this came from, I guess I did a lot more of both this past semester compared to usual. I also absolutely love history, always have. It can tell you so much. I was able to learn a lot of Australian history, even though it’s a young country. I think I know more about the country than a lot of them do! Communication also interests me, kind of goes along with words. How important it all is. People can totally misread things because our words are always so inadequate compared to our thoughts. Even with our huge vocabulary, words don’t do thoughts justice much of the time. The miscommunication is huge since we all interpret words differently, and it can cause problems if we aren’t careful and don’t realize this. It’s also kind of crazy how much stuff I have. I especially notice it after only having two big suitcases of stuff for the past five months, most of it being pretty much essentials. That makes me think why do I have so much junk?! I was fine with what I had for those five months for the most part. Sure every once in awhile I wished I had that shirt or that purse or something, but I have a lot more than even that and I’m not sure why. I guess it runs in the family, holding on to things and having trouble throwing away. Well I’m trying to let go of some of it, as I have for a couple years really. I really don’t know where any of this came from, it’s really not as interesting now that I’m back.
I’m still in the process of writing about my trip, just thought I’d write a little bit more about being home. I’ve been keeping myself fairly busy, although I really miss the money, it’s been so nice to not have to work and let myself get back to normal instead. It has also allowed me to spend time with lots of people which is always good. I talked with my roommate some and we met up for dinner one night which was fabulous! I can’t wait for us to move into our house, with our other roommate! Saturday I went up to Manhattan for the day because Mark and Matt were going to play golf so I thought I’d go along and play for a few hours while I waited for them. That was really nice to drive there and back and get 4 hours alone with Matt, I don’t know the last time I’ve spent so much time with either of my brothers! I’m sure it was tough on him, but I enjoyed it! And while I was there I got to spend time with Carly which always awesome. We talked and went to the pool for awhile and got slushies, all good things. When I came back to KC that evening I met my friend Donald, who I met in Australia but goes to KSU, for dinner at Bravo. That was nice to catch up with someone else and talk about Oz for awhile. Mom picked up the new, and last, Harry Potter book on Saturday so I’ve already read all of that! It was fabulous and kept me busy for a couple days! Now I’m looking forward to a couple Royal’s games, seeing more friends, packing up and moving into our new house, Mark and Talicia’s wedding, heading back to school, and Jess coming to KC in August. Oh, and getting to see my wonderful baby boy, Oliver, again(don’t worry, he’s my hamster)!
Okay, I’ll let you get back to your lives now and keep working on my interesting, exciting retelling of my last trip through Australia! And maybe soon I’ll have a wonderful slideshow of all my pictures ready for your viewing pleasure if you’d like to see them. It’s hard to drastically cut down from 13,000 pictures to something people might actually want to sit through! So just let me know, I’ll be happy to share them. Hope you all are doing fabulously and things continue to be positive. Again, I hope to see you (again) soon. Take care of each other and don’t forget to smile at the world! Quote time:
What oxygen is to the lungs, such is hope for the meaning of life. ~Heinrich Emil Brunner
When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life. ~Jean Shinoda Bolen
The really great man is the man who makes every man feel great. ~G.K. Chesterton
Love, Alissa
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Reflections
Hey everyone! Life in the states…something to get used to! I’ve been adjusting alright, now things are starting to be more normal. There are so many things that I miss about Australia. There are so many things that I love about being home. It makes for some strange feelings. So I’m still going to put off my recounting of my last trip in Oz. Instead, here comes much that has been floating around in my head and heart since being home!
So, yes, I miss Australia. Heaps! Mostly, it’s the people. I miss all the Aussies, as well as all the Americans - they are some pretty amazing friends. Many of the Americans have all talked about different times and places we could get together, so that’s nice. I can’t wait to get back up to Manhattan and at least have a few friends that were with me in Oz. In January Jared is coming here for a year, so that is something to look forward to and at least I know I’ll see one of the Aussies! I’ve been able to keep in touch pretty well on Myspace and Facebook, as well as email and MSN messenger. Technology is amazing when it comes to keeping in touch around the world!! Between that and keeping myself busy, it’s been alright so far. It’s strange to not see my housemates every day, though. There are so many small things I miss and think of all the time. The food is a big one, namely fish and chips, meat pies, sweet chilli and sour cream chips, Shapes, and Big M Mochas. I definitely miss the clubs and going out, it was soooo much fun. I also miss the accents and different phrases that nobody understands here. I miss walking everywhere, and the beeping walk signals on the streets. I miss the beautiful sunsets, although we have had some good ones here lately. I miss campus and my unit, Evatt 1. I miss the magpies and other birds, I never thought I’d actually say that! Those annoying birds don‘t shut up, but they’re pretty cool really. I miss the lack of humidity compared to here. I really miss being so close to the water. Sometimes I wish I could see the TV commercials, they have some funny ones - "paid for by Australian Government Canberra." I miss seeing gum trees everywhere, and all the other plants there that aren’t here. Really, it is mostly the people. My friends there were amazing, and so fun to be around. It almost feels really lonely now not having them around all the time. On top of my friends, it’s the people of Australia in general. Everyone, everywhere I went, was friendly and happy. The concept of mate is absolutely amazing, and something I wish we had in this country. Everyone considers you a friend, that they will look out for and stand up for, unless you do something to really warrant their disliking you. It’s nice. I also miss the slower, easier pace of life, the no worries way of living. Although I’m trying to live that way anyway, the rest of the country doesn’t as much. I don’t know, there are a bunch of little things I think about every day that I miss, the past 5 months have really been amazing. Being in Australia, and with those people, made me so happy. I really got to live my lifelong dream. How many people can say that. And at only 21 years old. That’s amazing. I’m so lucky, and I love that I got to do this.
There are some great things about being home as well. It is so wonderful to get to see all my family and friends again. It’s nice that after 5 months it still feels like I was never gone with all of them, we go back to normal. I’ve never been able to see or talk to almost all of my family and all of my friends in less than two weeks. It’s fabulous to be able to do that! I love spending time with the people that mean the most to me and it’s amazing that I get to do that so much now, and that they all want to see me and talk to me! That makes being home great and totally worth it. Also, it’s been so nice to be able to drive!! Driving was a bit difficult, just because every time I was turning I felt like turning onto the “wrong” side of the road. It was especially hard to get used to it when there were no other cars on the road and I really had to think to myself, okay, the right side! It feels great to be behind the wheel singing to my music. It’s also nice to have home-cooked meals, as well as the restaurants I’ve missed while I was gone. Food is great! And nothing beats American beef! This may sound weird, but I’ve really enjoyed having carpet to walk on! I wasn’t on real carpet for five months, and I like laying on the floor! Our units had that industrial square carpet you know, not comfortable. The warm weather has really felt good, to have the sun shining and everything. I was getting tired of rain! There’s a certain smell to home too, and that’s comforting. It’s nice to have free unlimited internet as well. Although I haven’t watched much, our TV is also much better for the most part. I’ve enjoyed seeing squirrels around, I’ve missed them! I still get confused every once in awhile when I go to flush the toilet and I have to laugh, I still want to go push the button on top instead of push the lever! Haha. It’s been hard to get used to the money again, especially the coins. I’ve had to really look at them and count it out, people must think I’m stupid! Australian money is much nicer though, the coins are sized as their worth, as are the bills, which are also different colors - makes things much easier. The accents sound more obvious to me as well, and almost seem harsh at times. I really don’t like the word trash, sounds just like it means - rubbish suits me better I reckon! I haven’t been using many Aussie phrases just because I am thinking about it and trying not to because nobody knows what I’m saying! I was talking quickly and not thinking and asked Kirby “How ya goin?” and he was confused, had to stutter! So I try not to confuse people, but it just comes so naturally still for me to say things like that. I still really want to say ta for thank you as well. Again, with being home, it’s mostly the people that make it good.
I know that I am a hugely changed person after these five months around the world. Whether you can see it or not, inside me I’m totally different in some ways. So much has happened to me, and it all affected me in countless ways. I think definitely better, though I’m still dealing with a lot of ways I need to improve. I don’t know if I even completely understand everything about me now, so I don’t think I can put everything in words - but I do know a few things. I’m so much stronger, more than you can know. I can handle what life throws at me. I’m a tough cookie and proud of myself for that. I don’t put up with people as much, you’re not going to walk all over me anymore. I may seem more aggressive or something, it’s just that I say what’s on my mind more. I don’t hide as much of anything as I used to, even the positive. I guess I’ve become more open and honest with everyone. I know I have become a lot happier and sillier, while at the same time becoming much more serious. It’s all depending on the subject or my mood or whatever, but I’ve become much more of both sides, and I think that’s good. I feel so much older and wiser, definitely cultured and travelled, even though it was only one English speaking culture. It does wonders. My eyes, and my mind, have never been more open. It opens your whole world that way too. That’s a happy thought I think. It allows for so much more growth. Every experience gives you something you didn’t have before, so I’ve gained loads of stuff! Another contradictory thought, I think I’ve become much more selfish and much more giving. I guess I have learned to be even more independent and alone, and thus do more for and with myself. But also, I think I’ve started wanting to do even more for people, it brings me so much satisfaction. If I can’t do so much for the people I was used to, then I wanted to for more people. I know you can’t fully comprehend what I’m saying here, and the magnitude of what I’ve been through personally, but it’s pretty incredible. I couldn’t ask for much more. I’ve also become more outgoing, and heaps more confident. I know how worthy I am, and that’s a lot. I know I’m capable of so much. I know who I am and who I still want to be. I’m not as afraid of many things as I was before. Do you think there are enough “I”s in this post?!? Anyway, I have changed immensely, in such wonderful ways.
I’m extremely lucky and I love all that has happened to me abroad. It was definitely life changing in a most positive way that you probably can’t quite grasp unless you’ve been through it. I couldn’t even until it happened, in every stage. I love the friends I made and random people I met, the food I tried, the adventures I went on, the places and wonders of nature I got the privilege to see, the paths I walked, the little everyday things of living there. Everything about the past five months has meant something huge to me. It kind of makes life here seem dull, but home is always home. Although, I’ve lived my dream, it kind of makes me think what now, where now. How do you beat the highest high, you know? It has been interesting, and will continue to be as I keep getting used to life back here and find out what the future holds. If you ask me “how was Australia?” I will simply say amazing. I don’t know what else to say, there is way too much, I can’t even answer that question for you. If you start asking me questions about it, I will tell you everything, and keep on going until you stop me. I could talk for days about everything if you wanted to hear it all. I love when people are interested in my time there. It is so important to me and such a huge part of me now. So don’t think I don’t have much to say when I only say it was amazing, I just can’t even begin to describe it!
My welcome home to KC was SOOO much better than the welcome at LAX! My mom, dad, brothers and their fiances, grandma, aunt, uncle, and two cousins were there!! It was wonderful. It made me feel so happy. When the plane landed it felt good, I was HOME. I couldn’t stop smiling, but I also felt a bit nervous! Jenny and I were talking about how excited we were while we waited to get off and everyone was curious about where we’d been and for how long and stuff, so that was funny to talk to everyone about it. It was like they were all welcoming us home as well! Anyway, it was a fabulous welcoming. Then I had a delicious meal waiting for me at home. The next day I got to go over to my other aunt and uncle’s house to see a few of my cousins. That was a great time as well, so nice to see everyone right away and spend time with family! Matt and Laura showed off their home and cooked a wonderful meal the next night as well. Then I got to see my good friend Matt that first week and go on an ice cream date with him, one of my favourite outings! I also got to see Rob and Albert, a wonderful time. I went out to visit my Grandma in Belton one day. My roommate got back from Italy and I got to talk to her some which was amazing! Last weekend I went up to Manhattan Friday afternoon to take care of some business with our old apartment and new house and my scholarships. That was good to get all that done. Then I went to hang out with Kirby all night! We went out in Aggieville with my friend Brian and some of their friends. That was a fabulous time as it was only my second time out in Manhattan since I turned 21 the end of the semester and then left! Then Saturday morning I didn’t do anything before going to get some lunch and using the library to get on the internet for awhile before it was time to go to Talicia’s bridal shower! I was happy she had one after I got back so I could make it. That was great fun, good to see everyone again. Then we had her bachelorette party. That was a blast!! We played some games and talked and laughed, great stuff. Sunday I went over and got to see one of my best friends after about 7 months!!! Carly is living in Manhattan so that was fabulous to hang out with her a little bit. Then Kirby and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!!! How exciting! It was good, though I thought could’ve been much better, didn’t leave me as excited as the others, and it was worse than usual next to the book I thought, but still very entertaining and enjoyable. Now I have to wait a couple days for the last book!! Yippee. We got some Sonic and I went over to see Carly a little longer. Then I headed off to Lawrence to see Motion City Soundtrack in concert with Virginia. Well we were stupid and didn’t get tickets early and they just happened to be sold out, so that sucked. But I had a great night anyway. We walked around a bit and ate some dinner before meeting up with Rob and talking for awhile. Then Rob and I got ice cream before I had to head back home. It was great to see them, sometimes the friends who’ve known you the longest are the best as they’ve proven they’ll stick around! Anyway, it was a great weekend. I haven’t done a whole lot since then. My mom and I went out to eat with Elise and her mom, that was a good time. I got to talk to a bunch of my aussie friends online the other day. That was really great. And Alex called me to talk and totally made my day! I’m almost totally back to normal as far as unpacking and putting things away. My sleeping and eating are getting closer to being back to normal. My life is changing and slowly finding its rhythm again.
So I guess that’s all for now. Sometime soon another one will come with tales of a last adventure in Oz. Maybe another post someday, telling you more how I’ve adjusted. We’ll see, you never know, keep you all in anticipation, such an exciting life I have! Okay, so I hope I will see you soon if I haven’t yet, or I will see you again soon. Hope things are happy with you and you’re still smiling. Have a wonderful day! And read my final quotes first!
Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. Dr. Robert Schuller
When a goal matters enough to a person, that person will find a way to accomplish what at first seemed impossible. Nido Qubein
True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful. Author Unknown
Have courage, and be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13
Love, Alissa
So, yes, I miss Australia. Heaps! Mostly, it’s the people. I miss all the Aussies, as well as all the Americans - they are some pretty amazing friends. Many of the Americans have all talked about different times and places we could get together, so that’s nice. I can’t wait to get back up to Manhattan and at least have a few friends that were with me in Oz. In January Jared is coming here for a year, so that is something to look forward to and at least I know I’ll see one of the Aussies! I’ve been able to keep in touch pretty well on Myspace and Facebook, as well as email and MSN messenger. Technology is amazing when it comes to keeping in touch around the world!! Between that and keeping myself busy, it’s been alright so far. It’s strange to not see my housemates every day, though. There are so many small things I miss and think of all the time. The food is a big one, namely fish and chips, meat pies, sweet chilli and sour cream chips, Shapes, and Big M Mochas. I definitely miss the clubs and going out, it was soooo much fun. I also miss the accents and different phrases that nobody understands here. I miss walking everywhere, and the beeping walk signals on the streets. I miss the beautiful sunsets, although we have had some good ones here lately. I miss campus and my unit, Evatt 1. I miss the magpies and other birds, I never thought I’d actually say that! Those annoying birds don‘t shut up, but they’re pretty cool really. I miss the lack of humidity compared to here. I really miss being so close to the water. Sometimes I wish I could see the TV commercials, they have some funny ones - "paid for by Australian Government Canberra." I miss seeing gum trees everywhere, and all the other plants there that aren’t here. Really, it is mostly the people. My friends there were amazing, and so fun to be around. It almost feels really lonely now not having them around all the time. On top of my friends, it’s the people of Australia in general. Everyone, everywhere I went, was friendly and happy. The concept of mate is absolutely amazing, and something I wish we had in this country. Everyone considers you a friend, that they will look out for and stand up for, unless you do something to really warrant their disliking you. It’s nice. I also miss the slower, easier pace of life, the no worries way of living. Although I’m trying to live that way anyway, the rest of the country doesn’t as much. I don’t know, there are a bunch of little things I think about every day that I miss, the past 5 months have really been amazing. Being in Australia, and with those people, made me so happy. I really got to live my lifelong dream. How many people can say that. And at only 21 years old. That’s amazing. I’m so lucky, and I love that I got to do this.
There are some great things about being home as well. It is so wonderful to get to see all my family and friends again. It’s nice that after 5 months it still feels like I was never gone with all of them, we go back to normal. I’ve never been able to see or talk to almost all of my family and all of my friends in less than two weeks. It’s fabulous to be able to do that! I love spending time with the people that mean the most to me and it’s amazing that I get to do that so much now, and that they all want to see me and talk to me! That makes being home great and totally worth it. Also, it’s been so nice to be able to drive!! Driving was a bit difficult, just because every time I was turning I felt like turning onto the “wrong” side of the road. It was especially hard to get used to it when there were no other cars on the road and I really had to think to myself, okay, the right side! It feels great to be behind the wheel singing to my music. It’s also nice to have home-cooked meals, as well as the restaurants I’ve missed while I was gone. Food is great! And nothing beats American beef! This may sound weird, but I’ve really enjoyed having carpet to walk on! I wasn’t on real carpet for five months, and I like laying on the floor! Our units had that industrial square carpet you know, not comfortable. The warm weather has really felt good, to have the sun shining and everything. I was getting tired of rain! There’s a certain smell to home too, and that’s comforting. It’s nice to have free unlimited internet as well. Although I haven’t watched much, our TV is also much better for the most part. I’ve enjoyed seeing squirrels around, I’ve missed them! I still get confused every once in awhile when I go to flush the toilet and I have to laugh, I still want to go push the button on top instead of push the lever! Haha. It’s been hard to get used to the money again, especially the coins. I’ve had to really look at them and count it out, people must think I’m stupid! Australian money is much nicer though, the coins are sized as their worth, as are the bills, which are also different colors - makes things much easier. The accents sound more obvious to me as well, and almost seem harsh at times. I really don’t like the word trash, sounds just like it means - rubbish suits me better I reckon! I haven’t been using many Aussie phrases just because I am thinking about it and trying not to because nobody knows what I’m saying! I was talking quickly and not thinking and asked Kirby “How ya goin?” and he was confused, had to stutter! So I try not to confuse people, but it just comes so naturally still for me to say things like that. I still really want to say ta for thank you as well. Again, with being home, it’s mostly the people that make it good.
I know that I am a hugely changed person after these five months around the world. Whether you can see it or not, inside me I’m totally different in some ways. So much has happened to me, and it all affected me in countless ways. I think definitely better, though I’m still dealing with a lot of ways I need to improve. I don’t know if I even completely understand everything about me now, so I don’t think I can put everything in words - but I do know a few things. I’m so much stronger, more than you can know. I can handle what life throws at me. I’m a tough cookie and proud of myself for that. I don’t put up with people as much, you’re not going to walk all over me anymore. I may seem more aggressive or something, it’s just that I say what’s on my mind more. I don’t hide as much of anything as I used to, even the positive. I guess I’ve become more open and honest with everyone. I know I have become a lot happier and sillier, while at the same time becoming much more serious. It’s all depending on the subject or my mood or whatever, but I’ve become much more of both sides, and I think that’s good. I feel so much older and wiser, definitely cultured and travelled, even though it was only one English speaking culture. It does wonders. My eyes, and my mind, have never been more open. It opens your whole world that way too. That’s a happy thought I think. It allows for so much more growth. Every experience gives you something you didn’t have before, so I’ve gained loads of stuff! Another contradictory thought, I think I’ve become much more selfish and much more giving. I guess I have learned to be even more independent and alone, and thus do more for and with myself. But also, I think I’ve started wanting to do even more for people, it brings me so much satisfaction. If I can’t do so much for the people I was used to, then I wanted to for more people. I know you can’t fully comprehend what I’m saying here, and the magnitude of what I’ve been through personally, but it’s pretty incredible. I couldn’t ask for much more. I’ve also become more outgoing, and heaps more confident. I know how worthy I am, and that’s a lot. I know I’m capable of so much. I know who I am and who I still want to be. I’m not as afraid of many things as I was before. Do you think there are enough “I”s in this post?!? Anyway, I have changed immensely, in such wonderful ways.
I’m extremely lucky and I love all that has happened to me abroad. It was definitely life changing in a most positive way that you probably can’t quite grasp unless you’ve been through it. I couldn’t even until it happened, in every stage. I love the friends I made and random people I met, the food I tried, the adventures I went on, the places and wonders of nature I got the privilege to see, the paths I walked, the little everyday things of living there. Everything about the past five months has meant something huge to me. It kind of makes life here seem dull, but home is always home. Although, I’ve lived my dream, it kind of makes me think what now, where now. How do you beat the highest high, you know? It has been interesting, and will continue to be as I keep getting used to life back here and find out what the future holds. If you ask me “how was Australia?” I will simply say amazing. I don’t know what else to say, there is way too much, I can’t even answer that question for you. If you start asking me questions about it, I will tell you everything, and keep on going until you stop me. I could talk for days about everything if you wanted to hear it all. I love when people are interested in my time there. It is so important to me and such a huge part of me now. So don’t think I don’t have much to say when I only say it was amazing, I just can’t even begin to describe it!
My welcome home to KC was SOOO much better than the welcome at LAX! My mom, dad, brothers and their fiances, grandma, aunt, uncle, and two cousins were there!! It was wonderful. It made me feel so happy. When the plane landed it felt good, I was HOME. I couldn’t stop smiling, but I also felt a bit nervous! Jenny and I were talking about how excited we were while we waited to get off and everyone was curious about where we’d been and for how long and stuff, so that was funny to talk to everyone about it. It was like they were all welcoming us home as well! Anyway, it was a fabulous welcoming. Then I had a delicious meal waiting for me at home. The next day I got to go over to my other aunt and uncle’s house to see a few of my cousins. That was a great time as well, so nice to see everyone right away and spend time with family! Matt and Laura showed off their home and cooked a wonderful meal the next night as well. Then I got to see my good friend Matt that first week and go on an ice cream date with him, one of my favourite outings! I also got to see Rob and Albert, a wonderful time. I went out to visit my Grandma in Belton one day. My roommate got back from Italy and I got to talk to her some which was amazing! Last weekend I went up to Manhattan Friday afternoon to take care of some business with our old apartment and new house and my scholarships. That was good to get all that done. Then I went to hang out with Kirby all night! We went out in Aggieville with my friend Brian and some of their friends. That was a fabulous time as it was only my second time out in Manhattan since I turned 21 the end of the semester and then left! Then Saturday morning I didn’t do anything before going to get some lunch and using the library to get on the internet for awhile before it was time to go to Talicia’s bridal shower! I was happy she had one after I got back so I could make it. That was great fun, good to see everyone again. Then we had her bachelorette party. That was a blast!! We played some games and talked and laughed, great stuff. Sunday I went over and got to see one of my best friends after about 7 months!!! Carly is living in Manhattan so that was fabulous to hang out with her a little bit. Then Kirby and I went to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix!!! How exciting! It was good, though I thought could’ve been much better, didn’t leave me as excited as the others, and it was worse than usual next to the book I thought, but still very entertaining and enjoyable. Now I have to wait a couple days for the last book!! Yippee. We got some Sonic and I went over to see Carly a little longer. Then I headed off to Lawrence to see Motion City Soundtrack in concert with Virginia. Well we were stupid and didn’t get tickets early and they just happened to be sold out, so that sucked. But I had a great night anyway. We walked around a bit and ate some dinner before meeting up with Rob and talking for awhile. Then Rob and I got ice cream before I had to head back home. It was great to see them, sometimes the friends who’ve known you the longest are the best as they’ve proven they’ll stick around! Anyway, it was a great weekend. I haven’t done a whole lot since then. My mom and I went out to eat with Elise and her mom, that was a good time. I got to talk to a bunch of my aussie friends online the other day. That was really great. And Alex called me to talk and totally made my day! I’m almost totally back to normal as far as unpacking and putting things away. My sleeping and eating are getting closer to being back to normal. My life is changing and slowly finding its rhythm again.
So I guess that’s all for now. Sometime soon another one will come with tales of a last adventure in Oz. Maybe another post someday, telling you more how I’ve adjusted. We’ll see, you never know, keep you all in anticipation, such an exciting life I have! Okay, so I hope I will see you soon if I haven’t yet, or I will see you again soon. Hope things are happy with you and you’re still smiling. Have a wonderful day! And read my final quotes first!
Better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly. Dr. Robert Schuller
When a goal matters enough to a person, that person will find a way to accomplish what at first seemed impossible. Nido Qubein
True success is overcoming the fear of being unsuccessful. Author Unknown
Have courage, and be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13
Love, Alissa
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Leavin on a jet plane...
I’m in the US! Sitting here waiting in LAX, anxious to get home. This airport doesn’t give a very welcome home feeling - now that I’m in the same hemisphere I just want to be home. Soon enough. I’m sad and tired and not impressed with America. But hopefully that will change soon. I’ve been up for 22 hours and only slept an hour or so on the plane ride here, and I’ve got another 8 hours til I’m home! I don’t feel like recapping my travels the past two weeks at the moment, so I think that post will have to wait a few days. Maybe this will be a reflection, more emotional, since that’s how my mind is currently working. Although I could also include the past few days. I think I need food and a bed. I apologise in advance if my grammar is poor or I don’t make sense, forgive me.
So I got back to Melbourne on Wednesday, July 4. My flight from Canberra was delayed by an hour so that wasn’t too fun, but no biggie. I got into the city and checked into our hotel by 12 or 1 I think. Then I headed to Elizabeth St for some quick lunch and stopped by the Immigration Museum on my walk back. It was free for concession so I checked it out. The guy seemed weary of me having concession, but I showed him all my cards! The museum wasn’t that cool really, I wasn’t too interested I guess. It’s in the old Customs building though and that was a pretty cool building. I came back and waited in the hotel for the others to come. Jared picked up Loretta and her sister Martha from the airport and brought them in. I came out and we carried all our luggage in, that was fun, especially with our small room. It was so nice to have a real hotel room, especially with our own bathroom, a real treat! We headed out to happy hour at the Hard Rock Café as soon as we got settled. We just ordered drinks for a couple hours and talked and whatnot, it was a great time. We walked back toward the hotel, practically the entire central business district, and stopped for food at Lord of the Fries, yum! Jono came in on the train and was waiting in the hotel when we got back. We all just hung out in the boys’ hotel room for awhile before bed. The next morning we slept a little bit and repacked all our stuff for the trip home from our travelling. We didn’t have a specific plan for the day, but had some ideas. Our first stop was lunch at this café that had fish and chips, one last time before we left, and it was great! We went over to the Eureka tower, the tallest building, to go up to the top. They have the observation deck, but also this thing that’s all glass that sticks out over the edge and it’s opaque until you get over the edge then turns clear. Well for some reason that part was closed that day and we didn’t care as much to go up in it just to see, as Loretta and I have already done that in the Rialto towers. So we needed a Plan B. The boys wanted to check out the Crown Casino, so we walked all through in there without spending a dime. Then what to do. We weren’t sure, but thought we’d check out the IMAX. It was across the city, and had nothing good playing in the afternoon. So we wandered upstairs from the theatre to the Melbourne Museum, it was free for concession, but not adults. Martha was an adult and we didn’t think it would be worth paying to go in for her, so we left. Then we headed to the Aquarium across the city again and went in there. I had been there, but it was good. I enjoyed that and so did everyone else, even Jono who is scared of fish! After a couple hours there we headed back to the hotel to relax a bit and get ready for the evening. Jono had to catch the train home around 6, so we said goodbye to him at the corner 7-11, that was a difficult goodbye for us. Then we left for dinner at the Hard Rock Café and met Loretta‘s friend Elissa there. We got there in time for a couple happy hour drinks before dinner and then had a nice dinner. It was Loretta’s birthday, that’s why we went out nice and such. We made a reservation and so they put balloons on our table for her! They brought her an ice cream sundae for dessert with a candle and made her stand up and we all sang for her, good stuff. The Australian way of singing Happy Birthday is better than ours I reckon, they add hip hip, hooray three times at the end. We were going to take the free tram back rather than walk, but it didn’t come after half an hour so we decided to walk. There was some crazy girl walking around who must have been on drugs or something and yelled at us, it was strange. Elissa was shocked, she said she’s never seen someone like that in Melbourne, she’s from here, or there I guess I should say now. Anyway, interesting little bit there. So we walked home and relaxed and got ready for the morning and leaving before heading to bed. I had trouble getting to sleep because I had so much on my mind with leaving and coming home and such. I did eventually though.
This morning we woke up at 5:30am Melbourne time. We got ready and loaded our luggage into Jared’s car and were off to the airport, one last view of Melbourne. It was pretty sad. We got there in plenty of time and so waited for Jenny to arrive and check in. We found out that she was actually on a different flight than us to LAX, she was stopping in New Zealand first. But her and I are on the same flight back to KC. So Jared couldn’t go past the silver doors there so we waited for awhile. Then we had to say goodbye to him. That was a rough one as well, but made better by the fact that he’s coming to California in January for a year, yay! We went through customs and I got stopped and asked to weigh my carry on. They care what it weighs over there. It was definitely over, but I still had tears in my eyes so that helped, he let me go with it after a few minutes. So we got to our gate and each got a muffin for breakfast, I used the internet kiosk real quick and we were about ready to board then. They boarded us super fast which was impressive since that plane is sooooo huge! I was lucky with my seat, I was one away from the emergency exit and in the aisle, with a guy in the window seat but nobody between us. That made the 14 hour flight so much better since we could spread out a bit. I watched four and a half movies, and a couple TV shows as well as listened to a couple different CD’s. I fell asleep for an hour, maybe two, a little over half way through the flight. They fed us lunch when we got up in the air and it was actually pretty good. Then they gave us our snack packs and a couple times they walked around with juice for us. It was good service really. They served us breakfast before we started our landing and that was nice as well. Everything went well and we got off pretty quickly. We had to collect our baggage and take it through customs, although they didn’t do anything to it or check it at all. We just had to drop it in an area for the appropriate flight we were connecting to. Going through customs I had to answer that I was bringing in chocolate and stuff as the food. Then the second guy asked me how long I was out of the country and I said five months. He looked at me and said “Five months?! What were you doing gone for that long?” I told him I was studying and he just gave me this horrible look. He seemed to think it suspicious I was gone that long I guess. He asked why I was studying and what I studied. It was sort of like, have you never heard of people studying abroad buddy, it’s quite normal! He even made me show him my id card from uni, even though it doesn’t say anything on it and he doesn’t know anything about that anyway. I understand they have to ask questions, but who am I? I just studied in a different country, and he was so rude about it all, like I had done something wrong. It’s not a good way to come back into the country. The LA airport is not a friendly place. It makes me miss Australia. Plus, it’s so intimidating with all the intense security around here, it’s crazy compared to what I got used to over there! And it’s even worse than when I left here actually. They had to search through my bag and I felt a little violated, like the girl went through absolutely everything. She had a long look at my big block of chocolate as well, like it was hiding something, I’m like, it’s just chocolate! Anyway, just extra frustrating when you’re tired and sad and such. Makes me wonder though, it intimidates me who would never do anything, but to someone who would do something, would they really be intimidated enough by it? I don’t know, kinda strange the whole security issue, are they doing it as efficiently as possible. It all seems fairly unorganized and rushed as well. I guess I’ve just gotten so used to something different. I already miss the more relaxed lifestyle of Australia! I’ll just have to make it for myself. I really can’t wait to get home home now. That should be excellent.
And I know this is really short, but I think that is all for this post. I still have ones planned in my head sort of. I need to write on all of my travels the last two weeks. I also wanted to do more of a reflection on what I’ve learned and picked up and how I’ve changed and things of that sort, bring it all together. Anyway, they may take awhile as I’m adjusting to being back in the land of the free, but they will come. I have incredible mixed emotions now so forgive me. I am really excited to be home for different reasons, but I’m also terribly sad to not be in Australia still, it’s incredibly bittersweet. So with that, I am going to go change and clean myself up for the last leg of the journey home and get some food in my belly. I can’t find great quotes for the moment, so I will leave one that sort of suits. I shall see you soon!
Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can. ~Danny Kaye
Love always, Alissa
So I got back to Melbourne on Wednesday, July 4. My flight from Canberra was delayed by an hour so that wasn’t too fun, but no biggie. I got into the city and checked into our hotel by 12 or 1 I think. Then I headed to Elizabeth St for some quick lunch and stopped by the Immigration Museum on my walk back. It was free for concession so I checked it out. The guy seemed weary of me having concession, but I showed him all my cards! The museum wasn’t that cool really, I wasn’t too interested I guess. It’s in the old Customs building though and that was a pretty cool building. I came back and waited in the hotel for the others to come. Jared picked up Loretta and her sister Martha from the airport and brought them in. I came out and we carried all our luggage in, that was fun, especially with our small room. It was so nice to have a real hotel room, especially with our own bathroom, a real treat! We headed out to happy hour at the Hard Rock Café as soon as we got settled. We just ordered drinks for a couple hours and talked and whatnot, it was a great time. We walked back toward the hotel, practically the entire central business district, and stopped for food at Lord of the Fries, yum! Jono came in on the train and was waiting in the hotel when we got back. We all just hung out in the boys’ hotel room for awhile before bed. The next morning we slept a little bit and repacked all our stuff for the trip home from our travelling. We didn’t have a specific plan for the day, but had some ideas. Our first stop was lunch at this café that had fish and chips, one last time before we left, and it was great! We went over to the Eureka tower, the tallest building, to go up to the top. They have the observation deck, but also this thing that’s all glass that sticks out over the edge and it’s opaque until you get over the edge then turns clear. Well for some reason that part was closed that day and we didn’t care as much to go up in it just to see, as Loretta and I have already done that in the Rialto towers. So we needed a Plan B. The boys wanted to check out the Crown Casino, so we walked all through in there without spending a dime. Then what to do. We weren’t sure, but thought we’d check out the IMAX. It was across the city, and had nothing good playing in the afternoon. So we wandered upstairs from the theatre to the Melbourne Museum, it was free for concession, but not adults. Martha was an adult and we didn’t think it would be worth paying to go in for her, so we left. Then we headed to the Aquarium across the city again and went in there. I had been there, but it was good. I enjoyed that and so did everyone else, even Jono who is scared of fish! After a couple hours there we headed back to the hotel to relax a bit and get ready for the evening. Jono had to catch the train home around 6, so we said goodbye to him at the corner 7-11, that was a difficult goodbye for us. Then we left for dinner at the Hard Rock Café and met Loretta‘s friend Elissa there. We got there in time for a couple happy hour drinks before dinner and then had a nice dinner. It was Loretta’s birthday, that’s why we went out nice and such. We made a reservation and so they put balloons on our table for her! They brought her an ice cream sundae for dessert with a candle and made her stand up and we all sang for her, good stuff. The Australian way of singing Happy Birthday is better than ours I reckon, they add hip hip, hooray three times at the end. We were going to take the free tram back rather than walk, but it didn’t come after half an hour so we decided to walk. There was some crazy girl walking around who must have been on drugs or something and yelled at us, it was strange. Elissa was shocked, she said she’s never seen someone like that in Melbourne, she’s from here, or there I guess I should say now. Anyway, interesting little bit there. So we walked home and relaxed and got ready for the morning and leaving before heading to bed. I had trouble getting to sleep because I had so much on my mind with leaving and coming home and such. I did eventually though.
This morning we woke up at 5:30am Melbourne time. We got ready and loaded our luggage into Jared’s car and were off to the airport, one last view of Melbourne. It was pretty sad. We got there in plenty of time and so waited for Jenny to arrive and check in. We found out that she was actually on a different flight than us to LAX, she was stopping in New Zealand first. But her and I are on the same flight back to KC. So Jared couldn’t go past the silver doors there so we waited for awhile. Then we had to say goodbye to him. That was a rough one as well, but made better by the fact that he’s coming to California in January for a year, yay! We went through customs and I got stopped and asked to weigh my carry on. They care what it weighs over there. It was definitely over, but I still had tears in my eyes so that helped, he let me go with it after a few minutes. So we got to our gate and each got a muffin for breakfast, I used the internet kiosk real quick and we were about ready to board then. They boarded us super fast which was impressive since that plane is sooooo huge! I was lucky with my seat, I was one away from the emergency exit and in the aisle, with a guy in the window seat but nobody between us. That made the 14 hour flight so much better since we could spread out a bit. I watched four and a half movies, and a couple TV shows as well as listened to a couple different CD’s. I fell asleep for an hour, maybe two, a little over half way through the flight. They fed us lunch when we got up in the air and it was actually pretty good. Then they gave us our snack packs and a couple times they walked around with juice for us. It was good service really. They served us breakfast before we started our landing and that was nice as well. Everything went well and we got off pretty quickly. We had to collect our baggage and take it through customs, although they didn’t do anything to it or check it at all. We just had to drop it in an area for the appropriate flight we were connecting to. Going through customs I had to answer that I was bringing in chocolate and stuff as the food. Then the second guy asked me how long I was out of the country and I said five months. He looked at me and said “Five months?! What were you doing gone for that long?” I told him I was studying and he just gave me this horrible look. He seemed to think it suspicious I was gone that long I guess. He asked why I was studying and what I studied. It was sort of like, have you never heard of people studying abroad buddy, it’s quite normal! He even made me show him my id card from uni, even though it doesn’t say anything on it and he doesn’t know anything about that anyway. I understand they have to ask questions, but who am I? I just studied in a different country, and he was so rude about it all, like I had done something wrong. It’s not a good way to come back into the country. The LA airport is not a friendly place. It makes me miss Australia. Plus, it’s so intimidating with all the intense security around here, it’s crazy compared to what I got used to over there! And it’s even worse than when I left here actually. They had to search through my bag and I felt a little violated, like the girl went through absolutely everything. She had a long look at my big block of chocolate as well, like it was hiding something, I’m like, it’s just chocolate! Anyway, just extra frustrating when you’re tired and sad and such. Makes me wonder though, it intimidates me who would never do anything, but to someone who would do something, would they really be intimidated enough by it? I don’t know, kinda strange the whole security issue, are they doing it as efficiently as possible. It all seems fairly unorganized and rushed as well. I guess I’ve just gotten so used to something different. I already miss the more relaxed lifestyle of Australia! I’ll just have to make it for myself. I really can’t wait to get home home now. That should be excellent.
And I know this is really short, but I think that is all for this post. I still have ones planned in my head sort of. I need to write on all of my travels the last two weeks. I also wanted to do more of a reflection on what I’ve learned and picked up and how I’ve changed and things of that sort, bring it all together. Anyway, they may take awhile as I’m adjusting to being back in the land of the free, but they will come. I have incredible mixed emotions now so forgive me. I am really excited to be home for different reasons, but I’m also terribly sad to not be in Australia still, it’s incredibly bittersweet. So with that, I am going to go change and clean myself up for the last leg of the journey home and get some food in my belly. I can’t find great quotes for the moment, so I will leave one that sort of suits. I shall see you soon!
Life is a great big canvas; throw all the paint on it you can. ~Danny Kaye
Love always, Alissa
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