So much and so little has happened since my last post.
I’m still here in Airlie Beach but in between then and now I’ve made a trip back home and several small trips here and there.
When I last posted, I was back in Bali waiting for my working visa to process before heading back to Australia. That trip was surprisingly fun. Although I spent pretty much every day lounging by the pool or the beach, I met some really fun people and got to see a side of Bali I hadn’t on my first trip there.
Once I got back to Australia I quickly found a job at a
local bar and settled into life quite easily. It was nice to have a job and a
routine again and a place to call home and briefly unpack my bags. Living out
of a backpack for months on end does eventually get old.
Not long after I arrived however I set off again for a short
trip back to the other side of the world to see my family. At this point I hadn’t
seen my brother in a year and my mom and dad in about nine months so it was
long overdue.
It actually worked quite well because my best friend here,
Paloma, was flying back home to Seattle, Washington the exact dates that I was
heading home for.
Quick side note. I ended up here in Airlie Beach because of my friends that I met in Madagascar. As previously mentioned in my last post, Sam was born and raised here. Paloma also moved here a few months before I did after she traveled around Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, and Indonesia. She and I have a lot in common and get along really well. It’s been so great getting to live my life here with the two of them.
Quick side note. I ended up here in Airlie Beach because of my friends that I met in Madagascar. As previously mentioned in my last post, Sam was born and raised here. Paloma also moved here a few months before I did after she traveled around Mexico, Turkey, Thailand, and Indonesia. She and I have a lot in common and get along really well. It’s been so great getting to live my life here with the two of them.
So, Paloma and I flew down to Sydney together and did a bit
of exploring before heading home.
Beautiful Sydney from above. You can see the Opera House and the harbour.
On the lookout for Nemo.
I first flew to LA, where I was lucky enough to meet up with
my uncle for the day since I had a long layover. He took me to a SoulCycle
class and we spent the day catching up. My cousins, Lars and Auge and growing
up so fast! I feel fortunate to have gotten to see them, however briefly, while
I was in the states since who knows how long it will be until I’m home again.
From there, I flew to Atlanta where I had a ten hour
layover. I landed at about 12:30am and my flight wasn’t until almost 11am, so I
spent the night in the airport. It was such a creepy experience. I was
basically the only one in the airport so I wandered around the massive empty
terminals before falling asleep on some chairs I pushed together. The Atlanta
Hartsfield-Jacksonville airport is the largest and busiest in the world
actually. All of the music was still playing and the fountains were going but
it was just empty. It almost felt like I was the lone survivor of a zombie
apocalypse. The worst part was that every ten minutes the intercom would come
on full blast reminding ‘everyone’ (also known as just me), to not leave
baggage unattended, etc. So sleep was rough.
I know some people probably think my life is some glamorous
holiday where I trapeze around the world and everything is rainbows and
butterflies, but it’s most certainly not. The reality is sleeping in airports,
taking 15 hour busses, eating strange street food because I’m poor, and staying
in rooms full of dozens of people. Just because I travel a lot does not mean I’m
even remotely rich. It’s quite the opposite.
Anyways, after four flights and almost 40 hours of travel, I
arrived in Mexico the day before my family did. Planning to surprise my mom was
really difficult actually. There were lots of logistics my dad and I had to
figure out and I’m also really, really bad at keeping secrets. So for the month
or so leading up to the surprise, I barely talked to my mom. I just knew I
would let something slip so I thought it would be best to just not call, etc.
So sorry mom, but I think the surprise was worth it. Here is the video if you haven't already seen it:
I met them at the airport and was standing outside the baggage claim. My mom was thoroughly surprised and immediately bawled for half an hour. It was great. Even watching the video now makes me want to cry.
I met them at the airport and was standing outside the baggage claim. My mom was thoroughly surprised and immediately bawled for half an hour. It was great. Even watching the video now makes me want to cry.
Our time in Mexico was a blast. We did a lot of great dives,
drank a lot Mexican beer, and ate a lot of Mexican food. After spending a year
out of the US, Mexican food was definitely at the top of the list for things
that I missed so I was extremely lucky to get to go straight to Mexico and eat
as many enchiladas and fajitas as possible. My mouth is watering just thinking
about it right now.
Check out this video I put together of our diving:
After getting back from Mexico a day after my family due to
missing a flight since I flew standby, I was able to check out my brother’s
house he just bought, catch up with some friends in Tyler, and have a Taco
Night with my best friends from high school.
Then I left again for a weekend in Austin where Haley and
her boyfriend, Matt, met me. It was so, so, so good getting to see Haley and definitely
a highlight of my trip back home. I feel so lucky to have a friend that drops
everything to meet me wherever I am. When I told her I was going to be back in
the US she immediately planned to make a trip to see me while I was home. She’s
the best and I’m just so fortunate to have such a good friend.
Her, Matt, and I had so much fun in Austin. We walked around
the city and explored and ate yummy food and of course went to Sixth Street. I
also took them to Pete’s Piano Bar which was a blast. We also took a mini road
trip across the state to my parents’ house too. Along the way we stopped at
Bucee’s and the Little Czech Bakery in West, Texas as a throwback to our time
in Prague together. I loved getting to show them around my home state and my
hometown. We hung out on the lake and went for both golf cart rides and a boat
ride. I already miss them both and count down the days till I get to see them
again.
I definitely didn’t have enough time back home and future
trips will need to be longer, but I live and I learn.
I was still happy to head back home to Airlie Beach by the
end of my trip. One of my best friends from school, Torie, also came back with
me! So the travel back although taxing wasn’t quite as bad. We did miss a
flight out of LA though and were stuck there for an extra day. We made the best
of it though and were able to meet up with my Uncle Charles again which was great.
When we got back we moved into our new place which was
really exciting. We have a great three-bedroom apartment with an awesome
backyard. Again, I feel lucky to have somewhere to call home and not have to
carry my toothbrush back and forth to the bathroom. I don’t think I’ll ever
take a room to myself for granted again.
Our double hammocks are the main feature of our backyard.
Since getting back, I’ve settled into life here. I still
work at the Banjo’s which is a local bar that I really like. It’s got a really
relaxed atmosphere and I love the people
I work with. About a month ago I started working day shifts at a café here in
town as well called Treehouse. It overlooks the lagoon and the ocean. It’s been
fun working in hospitality not in a bar-type setting.
Most days that I’m not working I just hang out and do
laundry, cook some yummy foods, go to the beach, have drinks with friends, or
whatever. My life is pretty normal here but with an amazing backdrop. I try to
get out as much as possible and explore the surrounding area as much as I can.
Airlie Beach is the perfect place for me to hang my hat for a
while, save up some money, focus on what matters in life, and enjoy each and
every day. I say it a thousand times a week but life is just too good here. I’m
lucky enough to live in a beautiful, sunny, beach town where I’m surrounded by
really great friends and people. I couldn’t ask for more.
The trees in Queensland are amazing. This one was perfect for a climb.
This is Whitehaven Beach, one of the most beautiful and famous beaches in the world. And it happens to be a short boat ride through the Whitsunday Islands from Airlie.
We've luckily had quite a few good boat days full of whale watching and beach cricket.
This pod of dolphins hung around our boat for a good twenty minutes.
There are lots of great hikes here. Above is Mount Rooper and below is Honey Eater.
I love gettting out with friends and seeing the surrounding area.
Roo's everywhere.
We had a weekend camping trip to Cape Hillsborough a few weeks ago that was such good fun. I ordered stuff online to make s'mores because they are apparently not a thing here and my Australian friends had never had them. They loved them of course.
The sand at Cape Hillsbourough is filled with gold flakes that are so pretty.
Kangaroos come to the beach at sunrise every morning for a feed.
Days off are my favorite. We've had lots of big nights out and big nights in that have been good fun.
Miss Molly getting a little dirty on a low tide walk out to the ship wreck.
We got into the fall spirit here in Airlie Beach even though it's spring time and Halloween isn't much of a thing here.
The only downside of life here is that Torie isn’t here anymore. After
about a month she decided this wasn’t for her. She stayed another week or two
so that we could go on a fun trip together though which we definitely made the
best of. We flew down to Melbourne where we wandered around the city, ate
delicious food, and checked out different areas of the city. It was really nice
being back in a city setting.
We also rented a car and spent the day out in the Yarra
Valley touring wineries which we really enjoyed.
Torie and I are both a fan of trying new foods and drinks so we visited a local brewery, Green Mountain Brewery.
Torie's first hostel experience.
When we were supposed to fly to Sydney, all of the flights
were cancelled due to bad weather, so we were each put on a different flight
the next day and were stuck another night in Melbourne. The next morning, we
turned up to the airport and my flight was cancelled but hers wasn’t. Luckily,
I pestered the airline staff enough and they let me have first priority standby
for Torie’s flight so by some miracle I made it on and we were off to Sydney.
We had beautiful weather in Sydney and went all over the
place. We went to the zoo and the Opera house and Manly beach and Bondi Beach
and the Glebe markets, etc. It was a busy few days and really, really fun.
I loved visiting the zoo. You take a ferry out of the city to get there.
Seeing a buddy from Madagascar in a zoo in Australia makes me happy.
I loved getting to see all of the cool Australian animals like this Cassawary!
The animals are long said to have the best view of the city.
The infamous Bondi Beach is a highlight of any trip to Sydney.
The walk from Bondi to Coogee is probably my favorite view in the whole city.
We managed to find a good mexican restaurant in Glebe!
Saying goodbye to Torie was definitely sad. I was so happy
to have a friend from home join me on my adventures, but I guess it just goes
to show that this life isn’t for everybody.
I think everyone would be surprised by the amount of people
that constantly tell me how ‘lucky’ I am and how they wish they could do what I
do.
The truth is, I’m not lucky. I have taken a lot of steps and
put a lot of work into the life I’ve created for myself, so it kind of annoys
me when people tell me I’m lucky. Yes, I completely agree that I’m very
fortunate to have the life I do. But it’s not like everything has fallen into
my lap. I’ve put in a lot of hard work and heart ache to get to where I’m at.
No one sees the hours and hours that I work and plan. That’s like me telling
someone with a good job, good wife/husband, good little children, and nice
house that they’re lucky. Luck doesn’t get you very far in life.
Anyone could honestly do what I do. It just takes a lot of
effort, perseverance, and commitment.
I think what most people would find though is that it’s not
as great as they thought. Like I said, most people probably think my life is
just one big, fabulous holiday, but it most certainly isn’t. I pretty much live
a normal life, just in interesting places.
It’s also not as easy being on the other side of the world
from all of your friends, family, and everything you’ve ever known. Going on
vacation is one thing because you still have your normal life to return to. But
when you don’t have that safety net, you’re far outside of your comfort zone.
In my case, I’m extremely independent and extremely happy on
my own. I make friends easily and look forward to immersing myself in new
experiences. All of these characteristics I think I’ve developed over the last
few years which makes me well suited to the life I’ve been living.
Anyways, I’ll end my rant. The moral of the story is that I’m
sad that Torie went back home to Texas, but I’m so grateful for the six weeks
that we had together. Part of this lifestyle is not getting to spend a lot of
time with the people that matter, so getting to spend so much time with Torie
was great. We had a lot of good times and adventures that I will never forget.
My parents will actually be on their way here in just one
week’s time. I cannot wait to see their beautiful faces and give them the
biggest hugs! How fortunate am I that my parents make the effort to come see me
wherever I’m at? Living abroad has definitely showed me who matters the most in
life when it comes to both friends and family.
We have a good two weeks planned here with lots of sight-seeing
and diving! I can’t wait to show them around Australia.
I’ve also got a few other trips in the works that keep me
both happy and working hard. I can’t believe 2017 is already almost over, but I’m
excited for everything the future holds.
Bonus: While hanging out at the lagoon one day, a reporter from the local newspaper ended up chatting with me and then featured me in the paper. It was quite a funny interview. I mailed a copy of the paper to my mom and dad.