Tuesday, December 27, 2011

End of the Australian Road (for now): Part 3

Surprise, surprise, it’s almost been a month :/ I think I may have been putting this off, because it’s my last post about Australia, and it’s almost like having to say one more goodbye. Either way, I’ll bite the bullet and just jump right back into my last week in Wollongong so I can tell you about what’s been going on here in my next post!

We all went back to I-House and lounged around for a bit after taking pictures and eating on Thursday afternoon. All too soon, it was time for Justin to go to the airport, and I was lucky enough to be invited to take the ride up to Sydney with him, James, Ves, and Mark. Ves, as usual, acted as DJ and once we started to wear out the dance music, he switched gears to Enrique Iglesias’ “Hero,” which gave the tears that were brimming my eyes the whole trip that final push down my cheeks, and it was all downhill for me from there. Ves’ next choice was the graduation song by Vitamin C with the lyrics like, “As we go on, we remember, all the times we had together,” and “As our lives change from whatever we will still be friends forever.” Obviously, more tears followed. Still, I don’t think I’ve ever laughed and cried so much in an hour, let alone at the same time. Justin, I had such an unbelievably fun time whenever I was with you, and you made my attitude and outlook on life that much more positive, and for that, I can’t thank you enough! ILY.


On the way home from the airport, the crying-laughing continued in full force. Thank you guys for a truly unforgettable car ride and one of the best memories of my entire time in Australia.

After the airport, we hit up Outback for a big farewell dinner with a bunch of people from I-House. Who knew Australia actually had the restaurant Outback Steakhouse? Weird, right?! But still delicious. A bloomin’ onion, cheese fries, and steak were exactly what I wanted.


Afterward, we went out for a last Thursday night at Glasshouse where there were heaps of I-House people again, though maybe not quite as many as on Wednesday. It was still such a good night out, and I didn’t even cry! Ross, Mitchel, and I finished out the night by cabbing it home to I-House where we found a shopping cart that we obviously had to climb into and race around in. A wonderful end to a wonderful night, I’d say.


Friday morning came around rather quickly, seeing as we rescheduled our skydive for 7:30am. We were a much less chipper group this second time around, but by the time we were strapped into our gear and given the safety talk for a second time, the adrenaline came back and woke me right up. We all piled into the van to take us to the small regional airport where the plane sat waiting for us. Like when I came to Australia, it didn’t quite don on me until we were in the air what I was actually about to do: jump out of a plane 14,000 feet above the ground with a stranger strapped to my back who would be responsible for letting a piece of fabric flop around in the wind that would hopefully slow me down enough that I wouldn’t just smear across the ground when I got there. This all occurred to me at approximately 4,000 feet in the air while, on video, the instructor told me to look out the window and explained that we still had 10,000 feet to go. When the few guides in front of us threw open the door to the plane, I half expected to be sucked out the door like what happens in movies, but really, it just became freezing which cued my panic attack and a string of inappropriate four letter words to escape my mouth in rapid succession. Then, since I was the first one out, we moved straight to the door, and we jumped. I screamed. A lot.

It was the most exhilarating feeling in the world! We were free falling for about 60 seconds before the instructor pulled the chute, slowing us down considerably and letting us whip around in circles and turn in the air, which I eventually got to control. We had a surprisingly smooth landing a few minutes later and that was that. I have officially been skydiving! And I absolutely plan to go again as soon as I possibly can. I completely understand how people get addicted.

Afterward, we walked back to I-House in time to catch breakfast. How do you go on about your day once you’ve started it by jumping out of an airplane?? For us, we had to since it meant another round of goodbyes immediately following breakfast. Next out were Elana and Turner, so after breakfast, we all loitered around the foyer. It was quickly becoming the place to just hang around as people passed through either leaving or saying their goodbyes. We said goodbye to Turner and Elana as they got into Vild’s car for the ride to the airport, and I started crying right away again. (You can safely assume, for the remainder of this weekend, that I was in a generally watery state, if not actually crying.) Turner, there was never a dull moment with you, whether it was because you were making me laugh, get grossed out and then laugh, or flat out shocking me. E, you’ve been such a good friend all around, and I knew you were always there for support, a laugh, or a shower party with the Spice Girls! Thanks, guys, for an unbelievable spring break and outrageous memories!



That arvo, Ves drove Kathleen, Mark, Mitch, and I around town for our last minute errands, including picking up our skydiving DVDs. Wow, does your face sure look warped when you’re free-falling through the air for thousands of feet! Anywho, we also made a run to Woolie’s to pick up some last minute provision (read: TimTams! I may or may not have come home with ten packages of cookies…), and as we’re leaving the parking lot that you must have a receipt for in order to avoid paying the fee, Ves asked us for a receipt since all of us had bought something. However, none of us managed to walk out with a receipt, despite the fact that getting a receipt was the primary reason we went in in the first place. Ves thought we were joking, thinking that we couldn’t have possibly been so daft as to all forget a receipt. But we had. I don’t know if the woman at the booth at the exit didn’t know how to respond to a car full of kids laughing so hard we were crying or if she plain didn’t care if we had a receipt, but we made it out of the car park without having to pay. Whew!

We all hung out on H deck for the remainder of the afternoon and then went to what I realized was becoming a quieter and quieter, less and less crowded dinner. We went back upstairs and hung around for a bit longer before I left for the local brewery to say bye to Celli. I caught the green bus with Ben, Craig, and Ingelin and stayed just long enough to have a last conversation with Celli and wish him luck on his upcoming year of travels. Thanks, Celli, for the adventures driving around and jumping off cliffs, the cooking lessons, and inspiring me to travel any and everywhere I can!

After the quick goodbye, I headed back to I-House with Angus and Ingelin where my dwindling group of close friends put on Borat in the Red Room, which Kathleen had never seen. So many of my favorite memories and quotes from Australia came from that movie, I’m pretty sure. Kathleen turned in after the movie, but Ves, James, and I stuck it out for a few classic episodes of South Park before heading off to bed.

And then came Saturday morning when Kathleen was due to leave. To say I bawled would be the understatement of the universe. I didn’t think I could make friends as quickly as I did at I-House in general, but to make a friend who I can truly call one of my best friends, who I know is there for me through thick and thin who will never pass judgment but only offer unending support was something I flat out disbelieved, but you proved me wrong Kafreen. Thanks for being a huge part of some of the best months of my life and for making some absolutely unforgettable memories. I’ll be listening to Party Rock and thinking of you and all our good times for the rest of my days!




After that unbelievably painful goodbye, Mitch, Ves, James, Mark, Chris, and I went back to I-House to get beach ready and spend one last day sunning and having fun in the ocean. The weather pulled out all the stops and offered us a cloudless, hot, perfect afternoon and we hung out at the beach with some of the remaining I-Housers. Before long it was well hot and I took to the water with the rest of the boys where I learned one more thing: body surfing! We all tried our best to catch some waves – they were huge and just kept coming – but I just kept getting tumbled and knocked around, and I had more than one close encounter/almost accident with my stupid bikini. I wouldn’t recommend that attire for any ocean activities, but I luckily made it out unscathed and without any public indecency charges! At any rate, I decided to ask James for help and he spent the next hour helping me time waves to catch them the right way, as well as when and how to dive under and through them. One more thing to add to my list of things learned in Australia!

We went back to I-House shortly after I came back out of the water and continued much of the same: hanging out and enjoying each other’s company for our last night all together in Wollongong. I said another painful goodbye to my forever faithful neighbor, Rob. One of the first people I met in Australia, you’ve been such a good friend, always ready with an open ear, an open door, a loaded Nerf gun, a cold beer or a “biscuit,” and an episode of some new series to get me hooked on. I couldn’t have asked for a better friend or neighbor.


That night, instead of throwing in movies in the Red Room, we decided to do the more social thing and go to North Gong for a pint and continue the conversation. The original group of five expanded to include about a dozen others who arrived after us and left before we did, including Claire from my deck, who I got to talk to for a decent part of the night. One of the first people I hung out with at I-House, I somehow lost touch most of the way during the middle of the session, and I wish I wouldn’t have, because the few times we did talk, I really enjoyed myself. Another friendship that I hope continues, even though we never got to be as close in Australia as I would have liked!

When we returned to I-House, the group that had come and gone from North Gong had gotten into the Games Room, the latest dumping grounds for everyone’s clothes intended for the secondhand store, and everyone was wearing the clothes: boys in skirts and button-up blouses, girls in boys shirts and layers of dresses. Naturally, we joined right in and paraded around the college in our dress-up best, which was when someone had the bright idea to bust out shaving cream and attack people. Once the chaos subsided, the boys brought out a celebratory cigar to share and we finished out the night chatting outside the Games Room.


Unfortunately, Sunday morning brought around three more goodbyes: Mitch, Ves, and then James. During hot breakfast, Chris made his getaway. I loved the challenge of thinking up nerdy pick-up lines, watching so many hilarious videos, listening to heaps of dubstep, and learning slang from you! After saying goodbye in the outdoor eating area, a group of us walked with Mitch to the train station to go to the airport where the tears continued to flow. Mitcher, you are part of the three best friends and I can’t think of a favorite memory that doesn’t have you in it: soccer, spring break, basically every Wednesday and Thursday night, and I don’t even know what else!


By the time we got back from the train station, it was Ves’ turn to take off. Vez, you’re one of the most genuine and funniest people I’ve had the pleasure to meet, and I can’t even tell you how much fun I had every single time we hung out. You’ve made a lasting impression, to say the very least, and I can’t thank you enough for it.


We watched Ves pull out of the car park, and then it James’ turn for a goodbye. James, thanks for beginning to teach me how to shuffle and body surf, for so many memorable car rides, and showing me how sunglasses (mostly) cover and hide crying eyes, at least until the tears start falling from underneath them! I miss you all and can’t wait for the visits to start.


I spent the rest of the afternoon by running to Crown Street with Tom, watching more people filter out of I-House, and eventually got around to finishing my packing. Before heading out, I made sure to say goodbye to Ole. Ole, you were one of the first people I met in I-House, and I’m so glad that we stayed close, got to become good friends, and do so, so many things together, including the train ride that began an epic spring break trip! I said goodbye to Dylan that afternoon, too, who I will forever think of at every daylight’s savings! Thanks for explaining your life philosophies to me, not embarrassing me too badly at soccer and being a good teammate all around, and for always being entertaining when you torture Ross. That Sunday night was spent in Manly, basically in Sydney, at Phil’s where he was kind enough to put me up for the night and keep hold of my massive amounts of luggage until it was take off time for me. Though we crashed fairly early, we woke up at 3am to watch Chelsea’s English Premier League match, the only one I saw (and slept halfway through) the whole time I was in Australia. Monday, we walked around the Manly area, had ice cream, and hung out at the beach where I had my last swim of the session – the rest of the week proved to be abysmally rainy and dreary.

After catching the train from Manly back to Wollongong, I caught up with Ben and Craig who put me up for the better part of the last week. That night, however, I found myself at Tadros and Jonesy’s place along with Mark, Ross, Tom, AJ, and Jason. We continued the chilled out pattern that had begun at the end of exams and just relaxed. It was Mark’s last night in Wollongong, and it was fun to spend more time with him, with the two of us being the last remaining of our core group. I walked back over in the morning to say goodbye. Mark, my English companion, I so enjoyed our literary and linguistic jokes and YouTube videos, and I can’t tell you how much I miss your sense of humor. Thanks for all the help with my papers and for letting me work with you on some of your work, as well as being there to offer all other kinds of advice.


I spent most of the rest of that Tuesday hanging out at uni with Ross, even though I thought I’d already said goodbye that weekend! It was great to get to sit and talk for the afternoon before getting picked up by Jonesy and Tom to head back to Tadros and Jonesy’s for one of the best home-cooked Indian meals I’ve ever had. Wow, was it good! Perfectly spicy. Of all the foods I had in Australia, I’ll certainly miss the Indian and Middle Eastern foods, including kebabs, which I think I ate every single day during my last week in Oz. Anyway, it got to be so late that I crashed at Tadros and Jonesy’s for the night, which worked well because I got to stay and say bye to AJ that morning. I was so glad to spend some of my last days with AJ, Tadros, Jonesy, Tom, and Jason, since I feel like I didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time with them as a small group and just talk. There are so many more people I wish I could have gotten to know better and deeper, and hopefully I’ll get the chance to right that in the future and I’ll be able to stay in touch with everyone through Facebook, Skype, and the amazingly handy WhatsApp that allows you to text internationally using the internet, so no cost (hint: hey, family, go get this app!). After that I said bye to Ross, who was heading back to Sydney. Ross, it's been so, so good playing soccer with you, trading jokes and insults, and talking for hours and hours, and I really hope we'll cross paths in Europe soon!


I went back to Craig and Ben’s after saying goodbye and hung out there until Charlotte came and picked me up along with Loretta, Andreas, and Tim to hang out in Sydney for the night where we met Annabel and some of their school friends. Of any night in Australia, I think I was the biggest drag this night, and I apologize to you guys for that! Between being so tired from refusing to sleep to spend as much time with people as possible, preparing to leave the country two days later, and having all these goodbyes replaying in my head, I reckon I wasn’t so chipper or much for that night. Still, I had a great time and wouldn’t have given up the chance to see Annabel and Charlotte again. I think out of anyone, I said the absolute most goodbyes to those two Aussie girls, since we kept trying to say goodbye (which was long and tearful) but then kept running into each other or getting the opportunity to hang out once more. Charlotte, I loved each and every one of our adventures, especially going to your house, and you’ve given me a new love and hope in op-shopping as well as a new life motto (life isn’t that hard), and I’ll definitely be keeping positive with this in mind.


Annabel, between soccer – outdoor and indoor and the rides to and from, shower parties, running around in the rain, post-Harbour Cruise, and more I can’t begin to tell you how much fun I’ve had with you. All these are memories that I do and will continue to hold on to remind me how to let go and just have fun with life, and I can’t thank you enough for teaching me to live!


I trained it back from Sydney with Andreas, Loretta, and Tim, which was a fun adventure in and of itself, even if I did pass out on the train on the way back. On Thursday, I finally made it in to the library at uni to get some paperwork done for France, which seemed like such an odd way to end my time in Australia. Not that it was a hassle, but it didn’t seem right to be spending time shut up in a computer lab and worrying when I could have been seeing friends and really living up the last few days in Australia. Still, from where I stand now (and I think I knew it then, too) I’m so glad to have stayed on top of things, because I’m now prepared for France and have everything (mostly) in line to go! Later that afternoon, I headed to Crown Street where I met Short for lunch, my across the hall neighbor from C deck. We went to a great little Thai place off Crown Street and finished off with coffee at Gloria Jean’s, which is everywhere in Australia, but I haven’t seen it in the states since they closed the one in Tri-County Mall about ten years ago. Short, it was so good getting to catch up and see you that one last lunch and really get to talk for an extended period of time; I certainly miss all your puns and jokes and, of course, watching you torment Rob. During lunch, Charlotte came through to say goodbye as she was passing through Wollongong, so tally one more goodbye, for a total (I think) of four Charlotte-goodbyes!

I went back to I-House one last time to say goodbye to Dubbo, but was lucky enough to see Ali and Vild to say a real goodbye to them too. Dubbo, you sure gave me hell throughout the session, but then again you told me that would be the case right from the start, so I guess I can’t blame you for that; thanks for being a great soccer coach and being nice to me those few times when you could see I actually needed a friend. To Ali and Vild, I’m looking forward to staying in touch with you guys even though we didn’t get quite the one-on-one time I would have liked.

I went back to Craig and Ben’s for the night, where Andreas, Loretta, Grace, Tim, and another housemate Shane, and I hung out on their back porch talking and debating about music for the night. It was Craig who deemed Birds of Tokyo’s song Plans to be the official song of I-House, and I’d have to agree after listening closely to some of the lyrics, plus it’s just a good song. Have a listen here, and thanks to Craig for giving me another song that will forever remind me of Australia. Thanks, also, for running me back to Tadros and Jonesy’s to say goodbye to them and Tom, the last of my must-say Wollongong goodbyes. We hung at Craig and Ben’s for the rest of the night, two more people who I felt close with especially at the beginning and end of the session, but lost touch with a lot in the middle. Still, I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality and taking me in for my last week in Australia. My door is open any time you can make it to the states, and I really, really hope I can return the favor some day!

I shoved off to the train station on Friday morning, only to find that I would have to transfer and catch a bus to take me a few stops since a train had run off track and then transfer back to a train to get to Central Station in Sydney where Phil was waiting with the rest of my luggage. I finally made it to Phil, despite my being directionally challenged and taking even longer than anticipated, and we took off for the airport. We had more lively banter and engaging conversation on the ride, nothing I wouldn’t expect. Phil, I genuinely enjoyed every one of our conversations that covered about every topic I could think of, as well as soccer, both playing and watching. You were unbelievably helpful in my last week, letting me stay with you and running me all over the place, and I promise to return the favor when you get to the states, too.


I struggled my way through to the check in with my three checked bags and two carry-ons that Phil expertly packed onto a trolley, and then made my way through to my gate. As my last meal on the plane, I went with Sweet Chili flavored Grain Waves (crunchier, thicker, better Sun Chips) and Thai Sweet Chili flavored Red Rock kettle chips. Once settled at my gate, I dug into my chips and called home for the last time in Australia. In Cincinnati, Thanksgiving was in full swing, and my parents passed me around to cousins, aunts, and uncles, and I immediately wished to be back home-home. I choked back tears while I was on the phone, tears for leaving Australia, and tears that I wasn’t home yet. I hung up when it was time to board, took my last breath of real Aussie, ocean-filled air as I went through the tunnel, and promised myself that I would come back to the land of Oz as soon as was humanly possible for me.

Australia, I-House, everyone I had the pleasure to meet, I love you with all my heart and miss you heaps to say the least. You've given the greatest gift, the best collective five months of my life. You're the best, and I can't wait to see you SOON :)

Here and there,
Kiley

1 comment:

  1. Kiley - Just finished reading (and crying!) Must run in the family...I'm dreading your departure for France, but it makes me happy knowing that I'll get to continue to follow your blog. You're a fabulous writer and you make me proud. ILY Mom

    ReplyDelete