So this past month of living in Brisbane, I've gotten into the habit of going for morning or late afternoon runs along the Brisbane River. I've had time to kill, which for me means I can exercise without stressing out about things that I need to be doing instead. At home I usually head to the gym to do weights or swim laps, or hop on my bike. Here I take advantage of the free method of exercise: running along a path. I put on my organic molecule running shorts (they're neon yellow and have sparkly organic molecule patterns on them; yes I'm a nerd), pop in my headphones and work out playlist, and jog on the John Oxley Path along the Brisbane River through UQ's campus. The path is actually beautiful. It's lined by Eucalypts and there is a great view of the river. It's actually been really healthy and rejuvenating for me to be able to run along this path, take in the scenery, and get some exercise. There's also a really cool bridge, and next to it here is this awesome measuring stick, that shows how high the water was during the Brisbane Floods (see below).
Yesterday during my run, it occurred to me that I have a week left in Brisbane before I begin my last month of travel and then head back to the states. While I won't have to say goodbye to Australia just yet, I will be soon saying goodbye to my adoptive home for the last 6 months: Brisbane. I realize that there are things here that I found starkly different when I first arrived that have become things I love and will sorely miss. I'll miss the sounds of the lorikeets in the morning and at night, that are so loud they drown out every other noise. I'll miss the way it pours rain and then is sunny immediately after. I'll miss the smell of eucalyptus is general, but especially after it rains. I'll miss the city cat ferry, and how it makes getting around the city into a beautiful journey rather than a chore (below). I'll miss South Bank and Streets Beach. I'll miss the thrill of seeing Tim Tams are on sale at the grocery store. I'M GOING TO MISS TIM TAMS IN GENERAL. And my Just Right cereal and Boost Bars and Pies and Milo and Ice Coffee and scones-which-are-biscuts with clotted cream and jam. And also surprisingly Vegemite, which I acquired a taste for here. I'm going to miss not being able to go scuba diving or hiking on the weekends. To go to the beach on a whim. To pick up everything and go backpacking in a new city. Those are privileges that I cherish from my time here. I'm going to miss the kookaburras, bats, lorikeets, geckos, goannas, even those dumb bush turkeys that are EVERYWHERE. I'm going to miss looking for kangaroos when we are on a coach bus, or sharks when we ride the ferry. I'm going to miss walking along the road and thinking 'acacia', 'banksia', 'eucalyptus'. And DO NOT get me started on how much I'm going to miss all the wonderful friends that I've made during my time here, because then I think I might start crying here and now, and I still have a week before I have to say goodbye.
I will need to readjust to walking on the right side of the side walk instead of the left. I will have to remember that common words and phrases here like "takeaway", "queue", "keen", "no worries" "too easy" "capsicum" and "pie" are not used or mean different things back in the states.
My life has been really different here this last half a year. And when I return home I'll be coming back to familiar things. But I'm the one that's changed. I've found that I've explored Brisbane (and let's be honest Australia) more than I ever did in St. Louis, and by doing so become a much more independent person. I feel more confident about my ability to operate in new surroundings without support. I have discovered this longing to go, and see, and do, that thinking back, I think I lacked (or had never tasted) before I came here. I've discovered that I have both the will and ability to try new things and go new places on my own. If people around me don't want to go somewhere or try something I won't let it stop me. I've realized that people from all different places have different backgrounds and experiences to share. I've learned from some of them that I know very little and have a lot to learn, and also that in some ways I'm a lot more mature and then some of them as well.
I've had some long inner discussions with myself about the difference between cultural norms and what is hands-down unacceptable to say. I've had to come to terms (still this always makes me uncomfortable) with how the minute I open my mouth I'm a foreigner here. And then I have to answer the inevitable 'where are you from?' And what I respond will 50% of the time end in ridicule. Saying 'America', 'the States' or 'The US' are all fully loaded. If I say America, the I risk the joking response "North or South, that's a continent you know", if I say 'The States', I risk "We have states here too", If I say 'the US' people sometimes say, "you mean you're an American?" Literally, whatever I say gives an opening to 'screw with the American'. Honestly, why doesn't our country have a simpler name? Then even if I get past the saying I'm actually from the US, half the time people want to start an argument with me about politics, about how stupid we are, about how much they love/hate Obama. It's simultaneously really cool that everyone knows a bit about my country and frustrating, because they immediately have a strong opinion about it. I think that a part of this is something every traveler experiences. You are a sentinel for your country and culture, and it's important to represent it will when you are abroad, so that too has been a valuable experience. These occurrences have challenged the way I think and interact with people, and I really hope that they've helped me become a more open person, a more thoughtful person, someone who is less judgmental.
I know that I'm going to miss Brisbane and Australia… and I think I'll yearn to go back for a long time after I return how. But I think the way I can make it stay with me, is to use what I've learned in my life back in the US, to remember and savor what I did when I was here, and let that remind me of my own personal growth.
So here I am, being really melancholy and feeling a lot sadder than I thought I'd be at the prospect of finally going home. I think this has been really helpful for me to self-reflect, and I think this next week will be the hardest. Because the lead up to leaving Brisbane, the packing and the prep, will be constantly reminding me that I'm leaving. But then I have 2 weeks of traveling, of meeting new people and seeing new places to keep me occupied. And after that I look forward to the excitement (I'm actually already excited!) of seeing my family, sharing Australia with them, and then finally getting to travel around New Zealand! And I think by the end of that month I'll be exhausted and just ready to go home and eat some of my mom's blueberry pie (American fruit pie, I have really missed thee). This is the best possible way for me to end my time in Australia, so I'm going to try and look forward to the new adventures instead of focusing on my sadness that the Brisbane one is ending!
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