I am afraid if I don't do this now, I will get lost in the hustle and bustle of arriving home and never get around to it.

So, after a few days of being stretched thin, low on sleep and high on caffeine, I finished my last exam and even found the energy to celebrate Canada day. While many of us were not Canadian, it was a great time with everyone before we all went our separate ways to our separate continents. The following day, I made my way to the airport at 4am to start my last hoo-rah before returning to the states. Naturally, things got a bit complicated. Arriving in Sydney, I stood up to what can only be described as a bit of a breeze. I knew there was a small rip in the butt of my jeans, but it was nothing worth worrying about. I felt around, and it did not feel much bigger. Upon further inspection in the bathroom, my one inch rip had turned into about three inches or so. For some reason this did not bother me. I went to my hostel, locked up my bag until I could check in at noon, did a slight rearranging of undergarments, and made my way north through the city. I walked for about an hour, snapping photos frequently, until I noticed everyone was looking at me - or so it felt. All of a sudden rather embarrassed, I slid down a side street to try and nonchalantly rearrange once again, and found the rip was even bigger. Somehow, and most definitely not by accident, "Just Jeans" appeared. You can guess what they sell. I walked in, told the gentleman at the front my predicament, and he loaded me up with about seven pairs. I made my way to the dressing room and walked out in my new jeans shortly after. After that was settled, I could finally get a coffee.

The sun was bright and wonderful. It has been overcast and rainy for three weeks straight in Adelaide, and I could not get enough. I found a nice little cafe, ordered a latte and the biggest muffin I have ever seen, and sat outside with my coat off, feeling the sun warm against my neck. It was truly wonderful. After I made my way back to the hostel to check in, I practically ran to the harbor. I had wanted to see it right when I arrived, but had only paid to store my bags for a few hours. With the sun still persistent, I came around the corner to the bridge and opera house. Pam, a Canadian I met here, had told me how overwhelming the sight of the Sydney harbor would be. And it was. I definitely had my first "oh my goodness. I am in AUSTRALIA!" moment in a while. Sydney as a whole, is actually out of control beautiful. After sitting and staring in amazement, I met up with a few girls I met in Adelaide who were also in Sydney for the weekend. We took a tour of the Opera House. Which, by the way, (and it didn't take the tour for me to notice this) is not one building? I had no idea. I guess it is always photographed from an angle that makes it appear as one harmonious building, but it is actually a few separate ones. Anyway, the tour was interesting. For dinner we headed to a nice restaurant (which I did not write down the name of) that overlooked the harbor. I had the salmon. (And for Jethro- that is the saul-man, please.) Walking back to the train from dinner, we came around the corner to something magnificent. Fireworks- yes, fireworks over the Sydney harbor. I have no idea why, but I was not asking.




The next day I went on a day tour through the Blue Mountains. The three girls: Sara (Canadian), Ren (American) and Bree (Australian) actually came on this with me. Our tour guide was massively annoying. It honestly cannot be described. I am super empathetic to the human race, but I wanted to hit this dude. I realized how lucky I have been in regards to tour guides. We were able to see a lot, perhaps most notably, the Three Sisters. It was rather cold up there, but it was really pretty.


It should be noted that public transportation in Sydney is exceptionally easily maneuverable. I felt confident every time I got on the train that I was actually going the right direction. Which, haha, is never the case.

My final day in Sydney was July 4th. Ren and I had our little high five in the morning and that was about it for my Independence Day celebration. I mean, for the most part, it is just better to blend in as Canadian. haha. When discussing how it would be received if we put on American flag stick-on tattoos and carried around the American flag (similar to what we did on Canada day- which was very well received)- a lot of jokes were made from all parties. This lead to a nice conversation about America that ended with good things about Obama. Sometimes I am still really, really excited Barack Obama is the president of the USA. We took a bus to Bondi Beach and got coffee. Later that evening we went out and Sara tried to get us an "American Shot". Not really knowing what to get, she asked the bar tenders and they could not think of anything. She she got us Jose, trying to stay in the right continent. I thought this was hilarious.

The next morning I flew to Hervey Bay. I arrived at about 9am but it took me two and a half hours to get to my hostel. I will save you that story, but the shuttle service gave me my ride for free because I "did not complain once!" haha. Not expecting much warmth, despite flying a great distance north, I was very surprised. A few people were even in the water, splashing about. I stayed dry, and on land. Hervey Bay is dangerously small, and one of those towns were the hairdresser is called "Hairdresser" and the grocery store is called "Grocery Store", because why waste time thinking of something fancy. It is basically used as an outlet to Fraser Island. I found it massively ironic that I decided to come here after spending three days in the bustling Sydney, but it made sense. I was given my time for reflection that I so desperately wanted, but I actually spent more time focusing on the future. At this point, I had been running on about three to four hours of sleep a night for about a week, and went to sleep at 6:30 pm, only to be woken up by my alarm 12 hours later. I was heading to Lady Elliot Island for the day to go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef.

This proved to be a completely worthwhile experience despite the price tag. We flew in a tiny airplane, only holding 10 people including the pilot. We had to stop over at the Bundaberg airport to pick up a few more guests. In Bundaberg there was an air show going on, so the line for fuel was very long. There were tons of small planes (I am not educated in the plane department to give more details), but some were from the US Army and Navy. I found them surprisingly interesting to look at. The flight was only about 30 minutes, but was beautiful. My pictures don't really do it justice and they were out of the window. The day began with a tour of the island, which is tiny. You can walk across the thing in 15 minutes. Nobody lives on the island, and there is one resort. It is private so you cannot just arrive there and pitch a tent either. There is one store, that is open for two hours every day. And some bathrooms and a place to rent scuba and snorkeling gear. Besides that, it is very quiet and tranquil. I would suggest it to anyone looking to get away from humanity. I rented a wet suit. They said the water was 22 degrees Celsius (about 70 F), but they were lying. It could not have been that warm. It was bloody freezing. I was so excited I did not care. The first time around the guy tried to give me a wet suit for a ten year old. I returned from the bathroom and said, "I am flattered you think this is my size, but my torso is about twice this long." Anyway, snorkeling was awesome. The water was so clear and so blue. Immediately I was surrounded by so many fish I did not know what to do. It was not real. I kept smiling and then choking. haha. Quickly I discovered how to smile on the inside, as to not let water in. I saw a turtle and I touched it! I think turtles are my favorite animal, starting right now. I was with a few other people, and after they all left the turtle, I just stared at it. Watching it move made me elated with joy. I took one of those cheap under water cameras. I have no idea if I got a picture of anything. I just kept snapping away. Oh my. I can't believe I didn't already say this! On my flight over to Lady Elliot Island, I saw a whale! And it was jumping. And then on the snorkeling boat I saw about three more. I think this is my first whale sighting. My parents can correct me.

On the Hervey Bay Pier


Picture from the flight to Lady Elliot Island


My final day in Hervey Bay was sort of uneventful. It was overcast, the only day of my trip that was not sunny. I walked. a lot. And when I was about give up on the day, I made my way back to the beach to discover a beautiful sunset. It was perfect. After this I bought a pizza, and headed back to the hostel. Again I slept long hours. In the morning I headed back to Adelaide. That basically brings me to now, where it looks like my apartment vomited my things. Everything is on the floor, and I am not sure how it is all going to fit into my bags.



Tomorrow if my official last day in Oz. It has not hit me that I am going home. It is not fathomable; home is like an alternate universe. But I am excited to go. Very excited. Now if all this stuff would pack it self, that would be nice.