About a week before I was due to come home, I either got pink eye or some weird bruise on my right eye.  I know, story of my life.  Either way, I was forced to take out my contact lenses.  Although I had glasses to wear, I never see as clearly through them as I do when I have my contacts in.  Everything was blurry. 

It’s been a few days since I’ve been home.  I’m not going to lie; it hasn’t been easy.  The entire time I was organizing myself to leave Australia, I kept saying things like, “Well, I know I’ll be fine, because I have a great home life.”  And while this is true, I completely ignored the fact that coming home might take some adjusting.  So when I got here, I was ill-prepared for the reality of the situation.

I forced myself to see some friends the night I got back.  This was my first mistake.  Through my fuzzy vision and my sleep-deprived state of mind, nothing was making sense.  Each time I thought of Australia, I would tear up.  My friends joked about it because they thought I was just delirious from the flight, and that may have been part of the problem.  But what I realized after careful consideration was that this wasn’t just jet-lag.

I realized life had gone on without me.  Some of my friends had formed new relationships, while others had completely rid themselves of old ones.  Is it possible that all of this occurred while I was across the world?

The next day I completely isolated myself.  I went for a long run to try to sort out my thoughts.  It helped, but not by much.  I then did as much research I could on what is commonly called “reverse culture shock” or “re-entry shock.”  Finally, things started making sense.  When I left here to go to Australia, I obviously knew that things were going to be different.  I was as ready as I could be to come face-to-face with a new culture.  It was, after all, the reason I wanted to study abroad in the first place.

What I didn’t think enough about was the fact that, after almost 5 months, Australia had become my new home.  I had become accustomed to its culture.  So, in a sense, coming back to the United States wasn’t a return for me; I was actually going somewhere new again.  And unfortunately, it took me a couple of days to come to this conclusion.

Now that I’ve done some research and finally gotten a full night of sleep, I think I’m ready to face this situation.  It’s not going to be easy, but I’m going to slowly reintroduce myself to this town, this island, and this way of life. 

Today my eye is feeling better.  Whatever bruise or infection was hurting me is at last gone.  I’m ready to put my contact lenses back in and see clearly again.

Clementine: This is it, Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.
Joel: I know.
Clementine: What do we do?
Joel: Enjoy it.

–Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

A good friend once told me that, while it’s normal to be sad about good-byes, endings are really just a part of life.  Childhood must end, you have to graduate high school, and you can’t stay in summer camp forever.  In preparing to leave Australia, it’s been really difficult for me to wrap my head around this idea.  I have spent every day here growing closer and closer to people that I now consider family. 

One or two months ago a friend and I had been discussing how Australia wasn’t exactly what we expected it to be.  And for a minute there, I actually considered the fact that I might not have chosen the right location to study abroad at.  But as my friends slowly move back to their respective countries, I’m realizing that a place is only as good as the people within it.  Sure, studying in Melbourne didn’t turn out to be one long summer vacation, but that’s not what it’s about.  If I visited a tropical island and the people there were terrible, would it be amazing simply because of the warm weather and surfable beaches?  Probably not.  And what I’m beginning to learn, however late it might be, is that this experience has changed my life.  I’ve met people who have had more of an influence on me than they’ll ever know.  To be yanked from this situation is something I wouldn’t wish upon anybody. 

But I’m teaching myself to take this one day at a time.  This experience is ending.  I may never step foot in Australia again (although I really don’t think that will be the case). Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean that the bonds I’ve created with people here won’t last forever.

Saying good-bye is insanely hard.  I have no idea how long it will be before I can see my new best friends again.  But if my childhood never ended, if I never graduated high school, and if I never left summer camp, I wouldn’t have ended up here.  You have to say farewell before you can come across more good people and other beautiful places.  If you stay in one spot forever, you’ll never get the chance to appreciate all the beauty the world has to offer.

New Zealand was stunning.  In some ways, this trip changed my way of thinking.

For instance, I realize that a vacation doesn’t necessarily have to involve a tropical island and 80-degree-plus temperatures to be beautiful.  This may sound like a joke, but I’m not even half-kidding.  My whole life, if my family has tried to organize a trip to somewhere in the Midwest, or even Europe, I’ve been outspoken about my disapproval.  Last summer, I convinced my mom to book a trip to the Dominican Republic instead of going to Canada like my brother wanted to.  But after this journey, I’ve realized that a solid vacation doesn’t have to be based around the idea of lounging on the beach; it can be full of glaciers, mountains, and temperatures only slightly above freezing.

I’ve also realized from this trip how little I need a cell phone.  None of us (except Tracy for about one day) had service on our phones whilst frolicking through New Zealand’s landscape.  It was strangely liberating to not have to worry about the outside world.  All we needed were each other, our camper van, and the gorgeous New Zealand landscape.

One final realization I came to after the New Zealand trip is that I legitimately love traveling at this point.  There is so much out there to see, and so much that I have no idea about.

Anyway, here are some photos from our beauteous  voyage:

Inside our camper van.

Outside view of our camper van.

Hamner Springs.

Again.



When a herd of cows rapidly came toward us.


Glacier.

Tracy jumpin’ for joy.



Queenstown.

Again.

Kiwi statue!

Christchurch.

We saw so many different types of landscapes in just a few days.  It’s amazing how little I knew about New Zealand and how much I ended up liking it.  Basically, the moral of the story is that, if given the opportunity, I would now travel to Europe, Canada, or even the Midwest in a heartbeat. It’s amazing how a 6-day trip can have such an impact on one’s way of thinking.

There are only 13 days left before I am back in the US.

I can’t even begin to describe how I feel. Mostly because I have no idea. All I know is that I’ve never been this torn about leaving a place in my entire life. This is the most I’ve ever felt like I want to stay and go home at the same time.

It’s not that I like Australia more than my home. Actually, I’d much prefer to be on sunny, warm Long Island right now. But, at the same time, being here place just feels right. See, I’m attempting to describe how I feel, and I’m making absolutely no sense. I apologize to anybody reading this. It’s probably really hard to follow.

All I know is I will NEVER regret coming here.

Anyway, I handed in my last paper today. That means I only have two finals left. I’m leaving for New Zealand on Wednesday. That should be amazing. Although, I’m beginning to wonder what we’ve gotten ourselves into; I was recently advised to invest in some chains for the tires on our camper van in case it snows. What? I hate snow. And winter. I’m sucking it up, though, and going with it.

I’m just glad to be spending my final days with these new people I’ve fallen in love with.

People say that with every ending comes a new beginning. And I guess that the ending of this trip is pretty near. I have about three weeks left until I travel back home; that’s absolutely nuts.

Classes ended May 30^th, and since then my time has been pretty much consumed by studying for my structural kinesiology exam. Casey and I took the test on Friday. We both think we did relatively well. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this was the hardest class I’ve taken in a long time. There was so much self learning involved. We seriously had to know almost all of the bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and systems within the body having to do with movement. You have no idea how in depth this class went. But hopefully we will have passed with flying colors. Unfortunately, we won’t know until July. I might be OK with not worrying about that for a while, though.

Now that that test is over, I’ve had a bit of time to relax. I have a paper due next Monday and after that, nothing until June 23 and June 24. I make it a point not to waste my days away, though. I’ve been getting up relatively early (for a college student), going running, keeping my room clean, studying a bit, and trying to appreciate my last few weeks here.

On June 18^th, Casey and I will be flying to New Zealand for a few days and meeting up with Tracy and Katie. We’re renting out a camper van type vehicle, and hitting the road. We’ll be traveling all around the south island. I’m convinced that half of the trip will be made up of us laughing at ourselves. I have a feeling that the four of us driving a huge van, trying to navigate our way through an unknown country, and all the while reminding ourselves to drive on the left side of the road will prove to be very interesting. After what I’m hoping will be a grand trip, I’ll have about a week left in Melbourne, and then I’m headed home to USA.

As much as I’m looking forward to going home and being on Long Island for the summer, I know it’s going to be devastating to leave certain people I’ve met here. But like I said, every ending comes with a new beginning. And when I get home, my new beginning will be waiting for me…in the form of a black lab puppy!

It will pain me to leave, but that’s life sometimes. Nothing can last forever. You’ve just got to learn to see the best in every situation, and then you’ll be OK.

Maybe it’s because I’m entirely too optimistic, but it seems to me that almost every time my friends and I decide to take a day trip into the city, the weather is beautiful. Yesterday was no exception.

Casey, Katie, Tracy and I thought it would be a good idea to catch a train into Flinder’s Street Station at around noon yesterday, and go from there to St. Kilda. We never really know what to expect outside of Flinder’s, but there is always something random going on. This time we were immediately drawn in by vibrant colors coming from some sort of attraction.

Notice the inflatable, colorful object to the left? Clearly the simple things grab our attention. Anyway, it turned out that we walked right into Melbourne’s Italian Festival! Hearing the Italian language being spoken around me was strangely comforting. We decided to stick around at the festival for a bit, and we stumbled upon a section of small kiosks made up of elderly Italians cooking delicious food. Casey and Tracy picked up some pizza. Katie and I were craving Diet Coke. We all felt somewhat at home because of the strong Italian presence in New York.

Feeling fairly saturated with the Italian culture, we then decided to go to St. Kilda. Apparently there’s a market every Sunday near the beach. We hopped onto the tram and made our way in that direction.

After slight travel complications (the tram line was being repaired), we arrived at the market! I thought it was going to be very touristy and full of “I <3 Australia” t-shirts, but I was happily surprised when I saw it was more of an arts and crafts market. Artists and small business owners lined the streets with their small tents and tables covered in beautiful hand-crafted products for sale.

The variety of things for sale was pretty overwhelming, so we didn’t buy much. But we did make a pact to come back another time. Plus, we unfortunately didn’t get to go into Luna Park, which is something I really want to see. So we’ll definitely have to get back to that area before we go home.

In between browsing, I forced my friends to pose for pictures. It’s just such a pretty location. There are a ton of palm trees, and it’s right on the beach. But eventually I left them alone and just took some photos on my own.

After wrapping up our time at the market, we were very hungry. The four of us went out to dinner at La Porchetta (the only Australian place I’ve been to so far that gives out FREE BREAD before your meal! Very exciting). After eating an insane amount of Italian food, we began our journey back to Flinder’s. There we met up with Liam, who was just getting out of class (he has weekend-long workshops — bummer), and traveled back to the Student Village.

Although I feel like I end every post similarly, it really WAS a great Sunday. And I’d rather be an optimist any day than to end every blog update with “…and all I want to do is CRY”, or something upsetting like that.

Last Friday my classes were canceled because my teacher was sick. Although I sincerely hope he’s OK, it was so great to have the day off. It was beautiful outside; temperatures were in the upper 60s and the skies were clear. I woke up early, went for a run, and then looked for something to do all day. Originally, Eva, Liam, and I were going to go for a walk to the park. I know this doesn’t sound very time consuming, but because Eva’s foot is still mildly crippled, it would have probably taken half the day. HA Just kidding; I love you, Eva.

On our way toward the park, we ran into our friend from Mexico, Alejandro. We then realized that both Eva and Alejandro were wearing Von Dutch brand hats. I clearly had to take advantage of the photo-op.

(My amazing editing skills + Microsoft Paint. Impressive, I know.)

We decided a trip to the park was not going to happen, so we visited our friend Westy’s room instead. Inside were Scott, Shiv, and Alex. We only stopped by for a little, and then we decided to go check on Katie and Tracy.

When we got to Katie and Tracy’s room, neither of them were home! But their Japanese suitemate, Natsumi, answered the door. We were so excited that we took a picture with her.

In the middle of our picture taking moment, who walks in but KATIE! She was very surprised. We convinced her to hang out with us rather than to do homework or something like that. We’re obviously a really great influence.

We packed up our things and went back to Eva’s room. We just hung out and talked about how little time we have left in Australia. It’s crazy that we literally have a month until we go back to America. To get my mind off the issue, I took multiple pictures such as these:

(Look! Liam is biting off Alejandro’s head!)

Hours later, we realized we had been neglecting our hunger. We decided to cook an absolute feast. Everybody contributed something, and Tracy met up with us in the kitchen. I love pot-luck dinners. I think what we did can be classified as that. It was nice until my stomach was so full I felt like I was going to vomit. But I didn’t vomit, so it’s OK.

All of us decided we needed to relax after eating our meal that could have fed a small nation. We decided to watch a Japanese animated movie, Howl’s Moving Castle. It’s directed by Hayao Miyazaki, who also did Spirited Away. These movies may be animated, but they’re definitely not solely aimed at children. They’re really beautifully done, and the underlying themes are remarkable. I definitely recommend them to anybody.

We were all fairly tired after the movie, so we headed off to bed early. It was a pretty random but epic day. I feel like I should be spending a lot of time traveling around Melbourne and exploring, but sometimes it’s important to have a lazy day and just be with your friends.

I don’t know why I haven’t mentioned this until now, but I have a few relatively distant relatives here in Melbourne, Australia.  My grandma’s cousins, who lived across the street from her growing up in Italy, settled in Australia after World War II.  They’ve lived in Melbourne ever since.

When my grandma’s cousins, my Zia Maria and Zia Teresina, found out I was studying at Victoria University, they jumped at the opportunity to be the hospitable Italian women I imagined them to be.  So far, Casey and I (I got to bring a friend) have gone to Zia Maria’s house twice for dinner.  Both times the meals were pretty elaborate.  This past Sunday she made homemade gnocchi bolognese, veal cutlets, potatoes, salad, and cake.  It was absolutely delicious.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  You know yours is, too.

After Zia Maria found out I had my gross stomach virus incident earlier in the semester, she made it VERY clear that if I was in that situation again, she’d be here to take me to the doctor.  It’s really comforting to know that I have family so close by, even if they’re my 4th cousins (or something really distant of that nature).  Hopefully I’ll see them before I have to leave Australia!  They’ve been a big part of my Melbourne experience.

I’d first like to preface this entry by saying:  Yes, I do realize both this post and my previous one’s titles contain the words “feel” and “like.”  They just happen to accurately describe what’s going on in my head, OK?

With that said, I can move onto the heart and soul of this update.  This past weekend, Katie, Tracy, Casey, Liam, and myself all went on a magical 5-hour journey to Liam’s farm.

Our trip began with a woundrous, Britney-Spears’-greatest-hits-filled sing-along, as well as a stop at McDonald’s, as every important voyage should.  Because we weren’t able to hit the road until 4pm on Friday (we all had class), our main objecitve was to make sure Liam didn’t fall asleep at the wheel.  Thankfully, we achieved our goal and no lives were lost.

We arrived at Liam’s home town a little after 8:30pm on Friday.  He gave us the grand tour of his household, and we got to meet his mom, dad, and brother.  We were greeted with an amazing home-cooked meal, something I haven’t had in quite some time, a hug from Liam’s mom, and a handshake from his dad.  But don’t be deceived; although they live on a farm, these people are NOT country.  His parents both at one point lived in Melbourne, so they’re not what you’d expect for people living in a rural location.

After a delicious meal, Liam’s dad asked us if we wanted to go “spotlighting.”  I had no idea what this meant, but I was soon to find out.  The six of us squeezed into a 5-passenger truck (but not without some trouble closing the door).  We brought along with us a really strong, large flashlight-type device.  At first we just drove around the farm a little, seeing what the property was like.  Liam’s dad shone the flashlight on the arid land, showing us where crops once existed before the drought.

Then we hit the road.  We drove into wide open fields in search of kangaroo.  In the beginning we had absolutely no luck, and then I heard Liam shout, “Dad!  Look, there’s one!”  His dad FLOORED it.  Now, in traditional “spotlighting”, the kangaroos are shot.  I was grateful we were only chasing them.  Nevertheless, it was easily one of the most exhilarating things I’ve done in Australia.  Being out in the wild and watching kangaroos in their natural habitat is something I imagine very few Americans get to experience.  These animals are absolutely beautiful.

When we got back to Liam’s house, we were so tired that we felt as if we’d been chasing the kangaroos by foot rather than by car.  We relaxed in Liam’s living room for a little while, and watched Friends (yeah, I know, a quality “Australian” program).  Liam’s mom brought out a dish of candy and said goodnight.  We finally climbed into our respective beds and fell fast asleep.

For a little while I had forgotten I was on a farm.  And then our deep slumber was interrupted by Liam’s sheep herding dogs early in the morning.  Yeah, he has SHEEP HERDING DOGS.  This is so unusual for me, but equally amazing.  We got ourselves out of bed and took a 45-minute-ride into Swan Hill, the town closest to Liam’s house.  The town itself is really pretty.  It kind of reminds me of a small Long Island suburb.  But then again, I tend to relate everything to my hometown.  I think it’s some subconscious desire to feel at home.  That’s kind of deep.  Anyway, we stopped at a store so Liam and his sister could pick up a mother’s day present for his mom, and then found a cafe to eat breakfast at.  Afterward, we drove past Liam’s high school, which I decided was entirely too pretty to be a high school.  We also saw the river, a big fish (of which I failed to understand its significance) and a historical area, all of which were stunning.

(Liam’s high school)

We drove back up to Liam’s house and he took us to the river closer to him.  It was so pretty, even though the water level was really low.  It’s kind of sad to see such an important natural resource diminish like that.  Liam’s dad has a really great outlook, though:  “What can you do?  You change.  You adapt.”  Smart man.

Later that evening Liam’s extended family came over and we had a big barbecue.  It was, yet again, wonderful to have a home cooked meal.  And this one was a feast.  We answered a lot of conversations about ourselves and our hometowns, and soon got to talking about more serious things, like American politics.  It was interesting to hear an Australian perspective.  I’m kind of ashamed about the fact that these people knew so much about our presidential race, and yet I can’t even name the current Australian prime minister.  But anyway, it was a real great conversation.  The meal was seemingly never ending, but it finally wound down, and we got our stuffed bodies into bed.

The next morning was Mother’s Day!  I didn’t even occur to me until we got to Liam’s house that we might be intruding.  To help counter this fact, we went ahead and bought pancake mix, eggs, and bacon.  We woke up early and cooked Liam’s family a big meal to thank them for being so hospitable toward us over the weekend.  Soon after that we packed up our things and were once again on the road.

Getting back to the village was mildly depressing.  The entire weekend was a small taste of home.  Don’t get me wrong; I am not for one second ready to leave this place.  But being with a family is a warmth that isn’t easily forgotten.  Hopefully we can return back to Liam’s farm before leaving.  I feel as if I’ve acquired new family members after this weekend, and I want to be able to say good bye.

That’s all for now.  Until next time, peace, love, and congratulations on finishing up the semester all you New Paltzians.

P.S.  I don’t mean toot my own horn, but I love these pictures so I wanted to include them:

Melbourne, as well as much of Victoria, has been suffering from what appears to be a pretty serious drought over the past several years.  Thus, the rain this past weekend was widely appreciated.  Except for the fact that it ruined my plans to have a picnic in the botanical gardens.

My friends Leanne and Nicole from home,  who happen to be studying at Deakin University in Melbourne, met up with my friends and I from the Student Village at Flinder’s Street Station in the city, and we had all of these great intentions to have a sunny, warm, picnic-y day.  I even bought salads to share, and I don’t often share food.  But I guess it’s more important for Melbourne to stop having a drought than for me to eat a meal outside.

We then stumbled upon an outdoor festival dedicated to the fact that the Olympics are going to take place in Beijing, China.  There were so many people there in support of the event.  But again, it was too cold and rainy for us to thoroughly enjoy the situation.  We stuck around for a little, ate some food, watched some performances, and decided on a new game plan.

Instead we thought it would be fun to go to a nearby casino.  I figured it sounded like a fresh idea, even though I don’t gamble.  A game that involves potentially losing money just isn’t fun to me.  I’m also really bad at poker and such.  Exhibit A:  I once bet all of my money on a pair of two’s and was surprised when I lost.  However, Tracy forgot her ID, and couldn’t get into the casino.  I personally think it was a blessing in disguise; I probably would have left the casino bankrupt.

We finally decided to just go to a local coffee shop and chat.  We thought it would be a bright idea to enjoy our warm beverages in the outside dining area.  Unfortunately, this thought process occurred in between rain clouds.  Of course it started raining again, and we had to rethink our seating strategy.  We moved underneath a pavilion so the rain couldn’t hit us, and the employees moved these portable heaters next to us.  It kind of reminded me of drinking hot chocolate during a snow storm.  Except we weren’t drinking hot chocolate and it wasn’t snowing, but you get the idea.

Overall it was a gorgeous day, even if the weather didn’t reflect it.  It’s refreshing to know that, even when you’re across the world, sitting in a coffee shop talking with your friends can still be the best day ever.