Until We Meet Again

The day that I came in a blink of an eye.  My final farewell to the land of Oz.  Blogging while I was here didn’t happen as often as I had expected it too, but I honestly never wanted to spend time blogging because it just meant I had to take time out of my day to disconnect from Australia.  Even staying in touch with my family and friends back in the states was difficult because things stopped directly impacting me the moment I began to live a completely new life here.  It really was a blessing being so disconnected though because it allowed me to experience what every person and every moment had to offer me in these past 4 months. And wow is it going to be hard to say goodbye.  I thought leaving Australia would be so difficult, but in actuality its not Oz that I’m having such a hard time saying goodbye to, I have no idea how to say goodbye to my friends.  I have no idea how I’m going to leave all the friendships I have made here.  As much as I could go on and on about the places and sites I saw while traveling through Australia, Asia and New Zealand, none of the stories would be the same without the people who I experienced them with. I knew I would love to study abroad, but never did I expect to meet and form some of the closest friendships I have ever made while I was here.  I also didn’t expect for so many of them to be Americans!  Did I mention out of the 3,000 undergraduates and Bond University there were over 800 Americans here this semester?  I came here to experience life as a short term Australian, but found myself attending events that involved 99% of Americans. The best part is that it really turned out to be more amazing of an experience than I had ever expected upon arriving here. Lesson number one "If you always have expectations then you'll never be satisfied, because 9 times out of 10 you’ll be let down." This goes for everything about studying abroad.  The moment I made that switch in my mind, my trip was enhanced unbelievably.  I began to meet more and more people and have the opportunity to get to know them for who they truly were.  It was like being apart of a ripple affect every time I had the opportunity to open up and share my story.  If you take the time you’d be surprised by how similar you are to people, even when your lives are completely different.  Have you ever thought about the first time you met someone that you are close to now?  It’s actually pretty funny looking back on my first impressions of some of my closest friends here...

Cory was that dude with the board and blue eyes

Luke as the harvard boy

^^ team ReRe

Matt was drunk and so was dad

Julia... the Bra

Christi and no carbs left behind

Lord Disick

Meeting minnesota boys half way across the world that that live literally 3 blocks from me in St. Paul

Jack mac getting his tv show marathon in in Fiji

Charming Ally Mills

Brendan my twin

Kyle and his mob accent plus his 11 out of 10 smile

German Max and Ben somehow managing to drive and get lost in the jungle with us

Tim tam the candy man

british bunny Zoey

backpackin Jason and Aidan 

Carson’s sock swag

and thats not even scratching the surface of the amazing people that I met along this journey abroad.  It would be impossible to truly tell someone exactly what living here was like because the only people that really know are the ones who faced it all with me in Oz. A quote I saw today that really describes my final thoughts of leaving is,  “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”  So thank you everyone, for expanding my heart and love for life greater than I ever thought was possible.  Back to the real world, it’s been good Oz.  Cheers!

Keep it simple and keep smiling 

P Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney

I apologize for not being consistent with my blogs the past few weeks.  I've been a bit lost in the land of Oz, but I'm still here and loving life!  These next few blog posts will be an attempt to recap the past 6 weeks in Australia.

SYDNEY

Arriving in Sydney was one of the most surreal moments of my life.  Even though I had just visited the exotic islands of Fiji, words can not describe how excited I was to finally arrive in the place I had been dreaming of for far too long. And by dreaming I mean an obsession.  Lets just say mermaids, dolphins and the ocean have been in my vocabulary for a very.. very long time. I don't think there has been an episode of Life or Planet Earth that I haven't seen that has to do with the ocean.  There has only been one other place in the world that I have had an unexplainable passion and interest in and that was Egypt.  Arriving in Australia felt more right than any choice I have ever made.  I hope you have felt this feeling before because it's truly amazing what it feels like when you listen to your heart and stop listening to your head.

Our closely knit Fiji family was beyond excited to be in Sydney, especially a few of us that took advantage of our free international flight beverages.  Next stop was the suburb Manley where we would be staying for the week at the college dorms of ICMS.  This college also happened to be the mansion where the filming of the newest remake of the Great Gatsby was... good you?  This was also the first time that we would meet the rest of the students from the TEAN program.  Our Fiji family of 25 would grow to our Australian family of 45.  One big ole pack of tourist americans roaming the streets of Sydney was quite the site with our trip leader "Dad" leading the way.  

Day 1-... 6, 7 or however long we were there 

(I've stopped keeping track of time)

I woke up pretty early the first morning and decided to go for my first beach run in Oz.  6 am in the morning and my eyes couldn't believe what I saw.  Never have I seen so many people up and being active at such an early time.  Surfing, wake boarding, cross fit, beach volleyball, running, walking the dog, you name it.. the Austrians were doing it.  I also learned my first lesson about the rules of the road.... stay to the left NOT the right.  And you do NOT have the right away.  (I'm still trying to get used to the cars driving on the other side of the road) After my satisfying run it was back to the Gatsby Mansion for the famous  bridge walk.  Standing on top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge was when it really hit me where I was.  Sydney is by far the greatest city I have ever been to in the world so far.  Its a mixture of San Francisco hills, New York City pace, Los Angeles style and then just the Sydney touch that makes it unique.  The only downside about the Sydney Harbor walk was our tour guide breaking the news to us that P Sherman 42 Wallaby Way Sydney does not exit.  Ill just look for Nemo when I get out to the Great Barrier.

Our days were jam packed and after about one day of tour with a group of 45 people, we decided to venture off on our own to explore Sydney.  Within 30 minutes we found ourselves stubble upon a hidden restaurant called Frankies.  This hidden restaurant that was actually underground, became our first home away from home.  It was my first experience with the Australian hospitality.  Free food, drinks, new friends and exchanging travel stories was exactly the ideal place for me.  Surprisingly Australian actually has more immigrants than the United States.  For example a few of the bartenders that we met were from London, Israel, and Paris.  I was so grateful to experience this amazing place with 4 amazing girls I had met through my program.  I'd get lost in a foreign city with them again any day. 

The days were great the nights were hilarious.  Huge shout out to the group of guys that literally made me laugh harder than I ever have before in my life and the girls that reminded me how important true friends are.

There were many highlights about Sydney and so much to say about them, but I keep it short and sweet because this blog is just a snapshot of my travels.  Going to the Sydney Zoo was like a little kid walking into a candy store; the night life was a dream; australian accents hypnotic; kings cross will never be spoken of...; harbor cruise was classy with a side of booze; but the best part of all was my day trip with my dear friend Cassie.  Deciding to adventure off with her was the greatest decision I had made so far.  Its amazing the things you can learn about yourself when learning about other people.  Just another moment of my life reassuring me that everyone I meet are significant, I just have to be willing to be present and set distractions aside.  We ventured to Bondi beach which we both fell absolutely in love with.  Stumbled upon our first Aussie Barbie.  Everyone sat on a hill where the sun hit last while enjoying food and each others company.  Talk about slowing down and being present... this was being present in every shape and form.  I remember sending my sister a text message trying to describe how happy I was at that very moment in time and can still remember what it felt like. This was only week two of study abroad.... I could only imagine what was in store for me in the Gold Coast.

Cheers!

Keep it it simple and keep smiling

On Fiji Time

BULA

No picture, no video and no story could ever describe what the paradise of Fiji truly is.  How do I describe things that are so simple, yet in the grand picture are the reason why paradise is paradise.  When theres so much beauty in such a small place its hard for the eye to see how simple paradise is.  My amazing and humbling experience in Fiji all started with the renowned Fijian greeting "Bula." 

Bula comes from the Fijian culture and means anything from hello, goodbye, welcome, love and more. It means LIFE. The saying quickly caught on with our group of 25 students and we were constantly saying it. Every moment in Fiji was an expression of Bula.  Here is an example of a day living with Bula on the mind:

We first would wake up to the morning sun.  Most of us restless from our late night activities, or the fact that all 25 of us were living in a one room hut with bunk beds.  To say the least we got to know each other really well, pretty fast.  My personal favorite part about our hut was that the ocean was at our door step.  The sounds of the rising swells and changing tides were one of the most calming and relaxing sounds I've ever heard.  Our group leader Christian was typically off relaxing on his own, leaving all of us free to do as we pleased. There was no reason for him to worry about us though because once the sound of the drums came, all 27 of us would assemble one by one to meal time.  We came to love that sound, considering it came only 4 times a day.  Once for breakfast, lunch, tea time! and dinner.  And did I mention the food was all fresh from the island?  Doesn't get any better than fresh caught Spanish fish and coconut milk sauce.  In between meals we were free to roam the island as we pleased.  Snorkling, swimming with mantray, kayaking, climbing trees for coconuts, beach volleyball vs the Fijians (yes we did eventually beat them) hiking and basically anything we could think of.  Rough life huh? 

 For the first time in a very very long time I felt like I was breathing again. The American fast pace culture has it all wrong because there truly is nothing else like Fiji time. 

 The Fijian people had a huge impact on my heart.  Their kindness was never ending.  For example, I decided that drinking Fiji tap water would be ok considering Fiji water bottles are still expensive even in Fiji.  Well I soon after learned the hard way that just because its Fiji water doesn't mean its like the Fiji water bottles. Employees at our small resort by the names George, Moses and Missy didn't hesitate a moment to help me once I reached out to them for help.  George actually brought me on a private hike to teach me about all the plants they use for healing.  Anything from a tooth ache, birth, migraines, fevers, cuts and in my case... digestion problems.  Made me think about the Nutritional Weight and Wellness community back in the states!  I collected a few of the plants and have them in my journal in hopes that they will be of some use to my future research in the health care field.  You never know!

Fiji alone was unbelievable, but the group of students I got to experience it with were what made the trip unforgettable.  All the way from west coast Cali Jack to Long Island Dory.. I mean Cory, we all clicked pretty quickly.  Actually a guest staying at the resort that wasn't apart of our program made a comment asking if we were on a reunion from from how good of friends we seemed.  That comment was made on Day 1.  It amazing how a group of such different people, from all different backgrounds, could have so many things alike.  We all came to study abroad for our own personal reasons, but in so many ways those reasons are very similar.  I'll always hold my American Fiji family close to my heart and thank them for helping me remember how important it is to recognize and appreciate the little things again. BULA!

Keep it simple and keep smiling