(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 leaves around 6:30 or so. I close my eyes to sleep once again, only to wake up to the alarm at 7:45. The Circle of Life blasts from my phone jumping me awake, as well as likely half of Footscray. I’m really not that heavy of a sleeper, but I need motivation to wake up. I don’t have it at quarter to eight on a Wednesday. Nevertheless, I have to get up, and by eight, I do. Opening my box of Froot Loops is a disappointment, they’re not as fun and colorful as they are back home and cost a hell of a lot more. The milkaholic I am, I chug down about half a liter of milk; telling myself I need to limit. It really has become a problem, not so much for my body but for my wallet.

It only takes ten minutes tops to actually get ready: wash my hair, put a shirt on, and brush. But like a blossom opening up in the sunlight, I need time to warm up. I listen to encouraging music, making me feel strong and ready for the day, and pray for my family back home, as well as the chance to brighten the world. By 8:50, I leave my room with my backpack for the dreaded class: Irish History. Not being Irish myself, I don’t exactly care much for the class, nor do I enjoy the long lectures. I still learn, today about emigration (seems the Irish didn’t care for Ireland either), and a good part of is somewhat interesting.

My phone accidently goes off in class, which I quickly silence. Morning is the best time for reaching home, and my sister texts me either some joke she finds funny or some problem she needs my help with. Surprisingly, I miss a lot less from home than I thought I would. The food and cheap prices mostly, but most everything can be compromised by something else here. But if there’s one thing I do truly and genuinely miss, it’s my sister. We’re best friends, and it really does suck being so far away from someone you love so much. She finished up her senior acting troupe show over the weekend, White Christmas, which I desperately wish I could have seen. Of course, I also want to see her get her driver’s license, decide where to go to college, go to prom, and graduate high school in June. But in the same way this trip is making me more independent and ready to take on the world, I have to believe is happening to her as well. I love it here, but I cannot wait to see the woman she’s become in June, and be able to share all our stories and adventures once again.

With class FINALLY over at 10:00 (can an hour really pass so slowly?) I have two hours free. The room is open and empty, so I head there. I grab my laptop and start editing some pictures I took from Saturday. I went with some mates out to Ballarat Wildlife Sanctuary, a long trip away but one well worth it. They had a good enough amount of animals to go and view, something which I love to do, but the main attraction is the free ranging kangaroos that come up to people for food and attention. We spent hours upon hours with them, feeding, petting, and cuddling the roos like you would dogs (stay away from the koalas, I’m told they carry STD’s). On paper, it’s not something that sounds overly exciting or thrilling, but it really is quite the quintessential Aussie moment that I’ll definitely carry forever.

Lunch was next on the priority list, and I heated up some left-over Mac and Cheese from the night before. I’d cooked dinner for myself and the other mates, and although this was my first time cooking it, it turned out surprisingly well. Being here has taught me a lot about how much goes into making food: having to buy it, prepare it, clean it up, and constantly repeating the process. I’ve also learned quite a bit about cleaning, which is that things need to be cleaned, often. And while I had to clean at home as well, it was not nearly on the scale of a whole apartment room (which in these moments seem much bigger than upon first arrival). Though I’m not a neat freak, it’s clear that I took the relative cleanliness, or at least organization, of home for granted, and that here I have to be more consistent and dedicate some effort to the task. Unfortunately, while I received this ground breaking revelation, it has yet to hit my roommate.

Class was to start again at noon, and after cleaning up lunch I made my way back to campus. This class, The World Before 1700, is probably my favorite: I like the professor, the content, delivery, and time frame. We learn about the Romans, a point of history that always fascinated me. The lecture goes on for longer than Irish History does, but I don’t mind. After this class, I head down to the river, finding a nice spot on the grass to spend the hour long intermission I have. I have no agenda, no plans other than be back at three. It’s special to sit here along the river, listening to and watching all the strange Australian birds that I’ve come to love. They’re much different than the ones at home, parrots and magpies instead of robins and mourning doves. I sit here reflecting on how special it really is for me to be here, in Australia. There’s more to explore over the mid semester break, which for me starts tomorrow with the aquarium. I certainly still have a tourist mindset, but I genuinely love it here. I feel new and transformed, like I have a new and special life here. I don’t know that I want to leave.

Of course, I must at some point. I head to class again, a continuation of the last one as a tutorial rather than lecture. I sit next to Matt, one of the Americans I came to Australia with and a good friend. Class is decent, although the quiz he’s given us appears to require a bit more effort than I’d care for. Discovering it easier to do the quizzes after class, Matt and I team up and head back to his place to knock it out before break. His suite is much bigger than my room, though not as ‘clean’ (clean being extremely relative). The quiz takes about 20 minutes, and afterward I decide to hang around a little and watch some TV and eat some cake. I get to talk to some of his mates, who although I don’t know well are all good guys, if a little crazy, and with a good sense of humor. But, overtime the introvert in me calls, and I make my way back to my room for dinner. I try to avoid spending much time in my room, there’s not much to do there anyway and I can easily do that at home. The oven is in the kitchen in the common area, so I head there with a pizza to warm up. I run into Joseph, another close New Paltz mate, and briefly discuss our plans for the aquarium tomorrow and break overall. While other friends of ours are doing adventurous trips to Tasmania or Queensland for break, due to our regard for our budget we ended up stuck in Melbourne (being responsible sucks!). But, I cannot complain, as there’s still much to see and I’m sure to have a rip snorter (great time).

In the evening, I sit on the terrace on the fourth floor (really the fifth, Australians number their floors weird). With pizza in my belly and a day full of excitement, I find inspiration to write part of my book, something I had been able to do less of at New Paltz but have been trying to pick up again coming here. The tales of glory such as that of Rome, of adventurous trips across the world, of calm moments on the water and laughs with friends molding into a beautiful piece which I can only hope one day I manage to finish and publish. I look as the sun sets across the beautiful Australian sky. It’s beautiful so far, but I still believe in more. I may not yet know where it will take me, or where it will end, but I am assured that this will be a damn good story. And I’m glad to be living it, watching it unfold before my eyes one small piece at a time.

(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 on my own and experience a new life, my life. I only barely found myself able to find the strength to leave high school for community college. I was still at home, still safe, still secure. Only, there were small things pushing me ever slowly toward independence and life in the adult world. Finding a job of my own free will rather than forced by my family. Slowly exploring the world around me with my new driver’s license and experiencing both the freedoms and chains that come with having a car. Spending time alone, even for an introvert like myself more than I would have liked, but discovering myself and the strength I had inside but until now never believed in.

Naturally, when 2 years of community college ended, I was a different man, changed and more able to take on the world. Of course, I still had my fear, my doubts of old when it came to truly be leaving home. But I had persevered then, why not at New Paltz? As it turned out, I was even more excited to spend the semester away and grow than I had thought. Not only was I ready for leaving the nest, I was flourishing in this new life. So it came as a shock, even to me, that I was now planning to take such a big risk as travelling to Australia. What I had at New Paltz I loved and was comfortable with. And now, for the first time since losing my mother, for the first time in years I had been genuinely happy and at peace, I was about to throw everything away for the unknown. This was too much, wasn’t it?

It now occurs to me that in a mere four weeks I have accomplished more than in four years of grief. Not to say I haven’t made great strides then: four jobs, a driver’s license, a high school and then associate’s degree. Even half a book written (one day, look for my name on the best seller’s list!) But I have proven to myself over these years, and especially over this single month, that I can accomplish so much more than I once thought I could. Here, I’ve discovered a new world and have learned how to craft it into something personal. Things as simple as learning what foods I do and don’t like, or how make a train ride or the walk home more enjoyable. I’ve found my favorite spots to write my book, times and routes to walk and explore, things to do with new found friends. I’ve learned that I not only can I survive away from home, ten thousand miles away from everything I knew, but that I can, in a way, make this a home.

In a month, I took my first commercial flight (to the other side of the world, mind you), and ended up in an undiscovered world but making my own. I found out I’m actually a decent cook (too bad I don’t eat more!) and learned how to budget and prioritize my money reasonably well along the way. Through trial and error I mastered how to navigate the city and public transportation, and on several trips realized why you can never be too safe on the Australian beach (jellies, rip tides, sunburn… ‘thankfully’ I’ve only experienced the latter). I’ve surfed, hiked in the bush, booked trips to Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef for April, survived being lost in the city at night, gone to horse races, made dinner for friends… All things that may not seem like much, but all things I never thought I could do before, until this trip.

And I continue to grow, as my mom would wish, discovering what it means to be Jon Kline and how my future lies ahead of me. I can only imagine, if the success I’ve had in this amount of time is so great, what more is to come from this? Maybe nothing. But I have to believe that my destiny lies ahead, and that slowly, I may be finally discovering it and unleashing my true potential.

(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 years in school: while first graders might not mind so much, middle schoolers are disheartened, and high schoolers generally appalled. But, despite negative connotations, the structure of school has benefits to organization and preparation for life in the future, as well as other unexpected perks, or so I’ve been told. This moment of realization happened shortly after my triumph at the Twelve Apostles, on the way back from a wonderful orientation weekend, and knowing that the next day, I’d have to settle into a new structure in which school once again dominates all aspects. Further, I wasn’t certain if staying in touch with everyone was as certain as I’d assured myself, and that perhaps the ‘friendships’ I formed were only temporary.

My first class started at 4:00 on Monday afternoon, leaving me plenty of time to sulk and complain before heading to campus. The campus is actually very pretty, despite the fact that good chunks of it, and the area surrounding UniLodge, are always under construction (not too different from upstate NY in that regard, especially Albany). It’s not too difficult to find your way around, with every building and class clearly labeled, so I ended up making it to my first lecture about 15 minutes early. I walked in the door to a big theatre style room, which would soon become dotted with about 40 students. Scanning the room you could see no one was dressed sloppily, which was somewhat (much) different from New Paltz, and a wide range of students from different backgrounds and ages. The professor soon entered, set up her presentation, and began. And by began, I mean, began. There was, of course, and introduction to the course, but within half an hour we were on to class material and learning. Another strange concept, being used to at least a week if not more of basic orientation.

That was over at 5, and I was quickly on my way to my next class: a tutorial. Each unit, in general, consists of both a lecture and a tutorial, with the lectures being used mainly to cover content as a big group, and the tutorial to apply it in a more personalized manner. So this class, serving as one of the tutorials for the previous lecture, was only half the size of the previous, with the professor more personal and giving us time to introduce both ourselves and the concepts of the class. Within the hour, we were done, and I was on my way back to the lodge. Two classes down, six to go. Tuesday’s and Thursday’s being my free days, my next day of class of Wednesday, at 9:00 in the morning, and naturally, it was the class I already knew I didn’t really want to take but had to because of a lack of alternatives. After the dreary lecture, a long but somewhat well split up day letting me go home whenever I didn’t have class for an hour or two, and ending altogether at 4:00. Friday would follow a similar schedule, with minor differences but still a 9-4 day.

Overall, classes seem easier than at New Paltz, but there’s a lot less that goes into the grade itself. Whereas at NP, the grades are split between several different factors, here there are only three or four, which means you have to focus heavily on those parts (usually a final exam, essay, presentation, and something else). In general, I find the lectures are more informative but more boring, and the tutorials more entertaining but somehow less useful personally. Taking mostly history classes, the style is very easy to get used to across the board, and the way the classes are designed means that you only need to focus on one section at a time, which works well. My favorite class is probably either The World Before 1700, a history class spanning most of earlier history, and Impossible Worlds, my one elective in creative writing and something I really want to get in to more. Least favorite is definitely Irish History: I didn’t really want to take the class, and I’m not at all Irish or connected to the Irish (that said, I’m learning a lot and some parts are somewhat interesting).

Although a certain amount of effort has to be put toward school, I still find plenty of opportunities to do things, and with my schedule now well divided it’s easier to prioritize and plan what do when. Instead of just wandering the streets of Melbourne aimlessly (which don’t get me wrong, is definitely something to do), I now actually have to plan where to go and when, giving the overall experience more structure. Last Saturday I went with a few friends through the school to a wildlife sanctuary, and loved seeing all the cute Australian animals (as well as some scarier ones!) Another ‘welcome to Australia’ moment, seeing all the local wildlife is something I certainly enjoyed, and the koalas are even cuter in person! I’m still able to go into the city on non-class days if I like, or even after class, and one thing I especially enjoy is heading down to the river as a nice respite from a long day of classes. Tomorrow, I’m planning on going to the horse races for the day, and after that, who knows?

Unfortunately, as I had anticipated, some of the bonds I made over orientation trip were indeed temporary. While there are many I’d like to keep in touch with and hang out with, due to both a result of smaller more exclusive groups being formed as well as different schedules and plans for the semester (and also a good part due to me not being overly outgoing), the vast number of new acquaintances turned out to be just that. That said, everyone I met is still a friendly face, and as it turns out, I began to fall into my own smaller group of friends as well. Each of them I’ve gotten to know more and more, and we actively try to spend time with each other and do things. It really is strange: one month ago I hadn’t met most of these people, and suddenly we’ve become close friends. But, that’s part of the weird transformation you go through when you study abroad. And honestly, if I come home having made just one or two friendships that’s close and meaningful and lasts post-Australia, I’m happy.