Well, I am back in the United States. It seems like forever since I left, but it was only one month! It is crazy that I made so many friends, visited places I had only ever dreamed about and learned so much in such a small amount of time. It is bitter sweet because I missed my friends and family while I was in Australia, but now that I am home, I miss my friends and family in Australia. I consider my group family because we were all so close and literally spent every day together for an entire month. We all became very close.

This is a picture of the entire group minus our intern/cameraman, Keith on Lady Elliot Island.

This is a picture of my closest friends. We decided to head to Sydney for our free time our last week.

When I arrived in Australia I was tired and a bit frazzled. I arrived on a different flight than most of the other people so I was alone and probably looked like a crazy American. The first steps I took in Australia were in Sydney but it was a very short lived arrival because I had to run to catch my flight to Brisbane (which I ended up missing anyways). At the time it seemed like the end of the world, but looking back I can only laugh because my experience arriving in Australia and then Oregon were so different. By the time I stepped off the plane in Portland I had been one 12 different airplanes in the last month, two of which were long enough to count as more than one and had been across the world. Arriving in Portland I was so relieved to be off the plane and to not have to think that I pretty much collapsed at my moms feet and said, “Take me home please.”

Coming home with a different persepective makes me miss the little things. I miss being around so many people and always having something to do.

This is the first Manta Ray that I saw while snorkeling. While abroad I spent most of my time in the water.

I also miss the beaches. White sand and crystal blue water everywhere is not a bad way to spend the day at the beach.

This is a picture of the Champaign Pools at Hervey Bay on Fraser Island. We spent a couple of hours the first day swimming and relaxing on the beach and in the pools.

Although I miss Australia, I do not miss the prices. Their minimum wage over there is about $18.00 so that means they can afford to pay more for items. A cup of coffee that is smaller than our small would normally be around $10. A small bottle of pop would be anywhere from $3-5 and it was generally smaller than what we have here as well. When we went to Sydney, we were given $50 for meals that we would be reembursed. Sometimes It was very hard to stay in that budget because prices were so high. I also appreciate stability. While I was gone I was constantly on the move. We were up at 5-6am and went until 10pm. We crammed probably three months worth of stuff (possibly more) into four weeks. I will never complain about this because I had the time of my life, but I am glad to be able to slow down and breath and be in one place for more than a couple of days. That being said, I will probably be complaining I am bored in a week.

Like I said earlier, I miss my Australian friends. The hardest part was saying goodbye at the airport in LA. There are a couple friends that are in California so it is relitavely easy to visit eachother, but I have two other friends who live in Alabama and Kentucky. There was a big part of our group from the East Coast. It was very hard saying goodbye knowing that I may never see them again. That being said I wouldn’t trade my experience for anything. I got to do and see things that I never thought I would. It seemed like such a struggle in the beginning when I was deciding to go abroad, but now I am very glad I did it. I can officially say that I have been to Australia and cross that off my bucket list. Where to next? I am not sure, but I hope it’s somewhere exciting!

This last picture is of the Sydney Opera house and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. I chose this picture because this is what many people think of when they think of Australia. I chose to visit Sydney and spend my own money because it was a chance of a lifetime. I had always wanted to see it and finally did!

I am still reajusting a little to my life here. I went back to work Monday and have seen some of my family and friends. It is a weird feeling because it is like I was picked up and dropped in another country for a month (seems like shorter) and then was picked up again and was dropped back home. I still feel a little out of place and like I have missed so much, but I know that will soon pass and I will be back to my old life in boring Monmouth/Independence. With the conclusion of my trip also brings the conclusion of my time at Western. I can offically say I am done and it is time to apply for grad school. Not a bad way to end my time here =)

Katherine