jklineJonathan Kline

I'm Jon! I'm studying in Melbourne from Feb '18 to Jun 18'. This is my first time leaving home, and as an introvert it won't always be easy, but so far I'm having a rip snorter of a time! (Aussie slang,=great time)

All articles by jkline

 

Home Sweet Home

(Written July 26th, 1 month since Australia) At last, I’ve made it through this long journey to make my way back home. Months of agonising have led to this point: return to the states, return to home, return to family and friends and the great wonders I once took for granted here. As the one
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Goodbye Australia

(Written 26th June, 1 hour before flight) Well, I suppose this is it. I sit here now, with only an hour to go until I board flight AC038 to Vancouver. It’s a 15-hour flight, followed by a 5-and-a-half-hour flight to Toronto, and finally 54 minutes to La Guardia. I found the gate. I made it
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Australia- Expectations vs Reality

(Written from 19th June, final week) Unlike my other posts, this is going to be more of a list of the biggest 5 things I learned while studying abroad, followed by an explanation. They’re in no particular order. 1. Expectation- Everything while I’m abroad is going to be exactly the way I want it to
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Countdown

(Written 12th June, two weeks remaining) Like a good book, my time in Australia has seen its beginning as something intriguing, new, and fascinating. It has seen its rise: becoming accustomed to life in Melbourne, as a city, as independent, as a new world. The climax, of course, the giant adventures across this massive continent,
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Tasmania

(Written 1st of June, final month in Oz) After having spend a good amount of time in Australia, it’s become very clear to me that each suburb, city, state, and territory is in a very intense but friendly rivalry with one another. Sydney and Melbourne both claim to be the greatest city in Australia (if
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Final Stretch

(Written from 26 May, final week of classes and exactly one month remaining in Australia) There’s no such release as the feeling of finally being done with classes. The time of worry is over! Exams are done, papers submitted, and school a distant memory. You now have the rest of the summer (or in my
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24 Hours in the Outback

(Written from 13 May) Imagine the average bar of soap, with an area of roughly 46.2 cm (I did a lot of math to illustrate this). Convert that to meters, then multiply that by 187,826 or so, and you’ve got 8,460 m. In kilometers, this is an area of 8.46 km. Paint it red, put
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What I Miss From Home

(Written from 6th May, almost 3 months since leaving) So the Australian adventure is here, changing me in more ways than I ever could have imagined. Life has become so much bigger, so much more beautiful. I’ve proven to myself and the world that I, Jonathan David Kline, can take on the world, then thousand
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Yes We Cairns

(Written from 25th April, just past halfway point in time in Oz) You look around and see the great nothingness surrounding you. There is no land, only water. But despite what appears to be emptiness, below you is perhaps among the greatest flourishing of life this world has to offer. Thousands of miles of coral
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P Sherman 42 Wallaby Way

It doesn’t exist. Yep. I’m disappointed too. It wasn’t like the whole reason I CAME to Australia was to find P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way. But while the legendary dentist’s office from Finding Nemo may not exist, there’s so much more in Sydney to experience than I could imagine, and it almost makes up for
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We Were On A Break!

(Written 3 April) Ahhh break. Ten magnificent days out of school, with no worries whatsoever. I have the chance to see so much more of the world, so much more of this great country. Heading to explore the next great cities of Australia: Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, every site and building more magnificent than the last.
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A Day in the Life of Melbourne

(Writing from 28th Mar, 1 day until break and week 5 of classes) I wake up to my roommate’s alarm at six in the morning. I pretend to stay asleep, indeed I wish I were asleep myself. Six is WAY too earlier to arise. He goes to get ready for his job distributing flyers, and
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A Month and a World Away

(Written from 18 March, 1 month after arrival) When I was a senior in high school, I remember stressing about leaving home to go to college. I wasn’t ready to leave home. I was still weak and hurting after only a year prior losing my mom to cancer. I couldn’t possibly do it, go out
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Back to the Old Grind

(Written 9 March, 2 weeks into class and 3 weeks since arrival) There’s a dreadful moment in every student’s life when they realize that break is over, and class is soon to become a defining factor in their schedule for the next several months. It’s a fear that intensifies with age and progress throughout the
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The Greatest Feeling

  (Writing from 1st March, 2 weeks since arrival) I’m walking on a wooden path when a sign warning me about venomous snakes appears. I amusingly laugh and take pictures before I head on my way. It’s a relatively short walk, but as I walk I reflect about this weekend. Over this one weekend I’ve
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Not How I Planned It, but Exactly How It Was Meant To Be

(Writing from 22nd Feb, 7 days since arrival) Imagine the trip of a life time, landing into the beautiful new place to discover and instantly feeling at home. Imagine entering your new kingdom as a celebrity enters the Oscars, arms open wide to your arrival. Everything has worked out exactly the way you planned it,
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The Journey of a Lifetime- Melbourne

(Writing from Feb 11th, 2 days before flight). I’m sitting by the television, eating dinner with my family, I turn my head to look at the window. It’s beginning to snow, just a little bit though, not enough to cover much of anything. The weather, though cold, is supposed to be fine for the next
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