Today is a pretty strange day for me. I woke up knowing it was my last full day in Australia but it still hasn't truly hit me that this amazing year is coming to an end. It won't really be real until I'm on that airplane tomorrow afternoon. How can a full year have passed?
The past few weeks have been full of mixed emotions as I get ready to go back home. There have been long, pleasant days spent at the beach and there've been cool, rainy days spent contemplating my options in Canada over a cup of coffee. As it stands, I'm heading back to Saskatchewan for at least the next six months. And I'm OK with that. It's been years since I've spent more than a few weeks at a time in my home province and I miss the place. Spring is just around the corner and it's pure magic when the snow begins to melt on the Prairies.
It was cloudy when I got up today and I spent most of the morning packing and trying to get organized. (Note: trying to put all of your personal belongings into one large duffel bag after a year abroad is not a fun task.) Then suddenly the sun came out after lunch and I knew there was something I just had to do. I grabbed my towel and my Mp3 player and jumped on the bus to Bondi Beach.
Bondi was the first beach I visited in Australia and now it's also the last (for now). As the bus rolled through various neighbourhoods I was struck once again by Sydney's diversity. Sydney is beautiful beaches, charming buildings, winding leafy streets, a gorgeous harbour, and a relaxed (yet gigantic) seaside town. It's also gleaming ugly office towers, hustle bustle, and occasionally rather ordinary. Just when you think you understand Sydney it throws another curve ball at you. And that's what makes you love the place all the more.
The bus ended up taking me to a part of Bondi that I'd never been to before. Strolling down a sidestreet to the beach, I felt as though I was in some sleepy town, not in a city of 4.5 million people. So this is why people love living in Bondi so much. Granted, Bondi does not always reflect the reality of living in Australia. But it's certainly a big part of what lures people to the island continent's shores. One dip in the waters, and you're hooked.
Before I left the beach I took my final swim in Bondi's blue waters and soaked up a few more rays. There's just no way I'm going home without that killer tan.
See ya soon, my fellow Canucks.
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5 comments:
I glanced at my calendar and the note that you will be flying to Fiji today, and wondered how you would be feeling about it all, and hoping you were able to get everything in your bag to trek back to the great white North. Enjoy the last leg of your journey. We welcome you back with open arms!
Love Auntie S.
Hi Tyler,
I will miss your blog and the exciting travel descriptions. What a year you have had... something you will never learn in an university.
See you in Regina.
Janet
Tyler, thanks for letting us in on your year-long journey and having us get a taste for down-under. I'm sure it's bittersweet to be heading out, but an awesome feeling to say you've done it and lived it.
À bientôt, John (Paris/Seattle)
It was fantastic to visit and holiday with you for a month. Christmas concert in the Sydney Opera House, New Year's in Melbourne and beautiful Tazmania and Ularu.
We saw and did so many amazing and beautiful things. It was hard for me to leave and I was only there for a month. I'm sure it will be much harder for you to leave it all behind. We will be glad to have you home and we welcome you back with open arms and open hearts. Love MOM
hello, just found your blog today because we both have "australia" in our interests. let me just say: i am super jealous you got to spend such a long, incredible time there! what a life experience!! thanks for sharing it!
(I am hoping to finally go there this Summer....)
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