Saying Goodbye

The morning of the 28th, Mikey and I left around 8am for the airport. I had my bags weighed (23 kilos -- the maximum, and 32 kilos). I had to pay $50 extra to get the 32 kilo bag sent home. After my bags were checked, Mikey had to hurry up and get to a lab at Uni, so we had to say goodbye. I don't think I have ever, in my life, had to do something so difficult. It was like a flip was switched the moment he said he had to leave, and I started bawling. Bah, it was not a fun day. I finally let go and watched him walk away. I went to the gate to find Brendan, one of my friends from Canada who lived in SBCA with me. It was nice to have a friend to sit at the gate with when I wasn't in the best mood.

The flight from Australia to LA went fine. I slept for the most part, and watched three movies. Going through customs and picking up/checking back in my bags at LAX was absolutely horrible. I had too many layers on and my bags were so heavy, I was pretty much drenched in sweat by the time I made it through security! NOT fun! My flight from LA to Dallas and Dallas to MN were pretty uneventful. The fact that I was going to be home didn't really hit me until the pilot announced we were going to be landing in Minneapolis, and my stomach just sank. I really wasn't ready to go home. As I was walking out of the international gate in MSP, all I wanted to do was turn around and go back. When I came out and saw my parents, I started crying. My dad kept saying 'Don't cry, you'll get tears on the baby'-- I kept saying DAD! I am not even going to see the baby until tomorrow. Just a second after that, Alecia and Justin came around the corner with my little nephew in his stroller. I started to get really emotional, not only because I was away from everyone and everything I loved in Australia, but I was finally meeting my baby nephew.

My sleeping pattern was screwed up for almost two weeks. I couldn't sleep until 4 am and would sleep until 2 in the afternoon. It was really rough, because after being with people all the time, it was really lonely to be awake in the middle of the night all alone and not be able to sleep. I spent most of the few weeks I was living with my parents with my sister and Jackson. It has been so amazing to watch him learn new things everyday, and I am so thankful for the few weeks I was able to spend almost every day with him!

I moved back onto campus on August 21st. It was so great to get back into Alpha Chi and see all of my friends. I started up school again on September 3, and I continue to notice how HUGE the change is between the Australian and American school system. I miss only having a few big assignments each semester!

I miss Australia so much, so I am planning a trip back this January! I called my travel agent (a good friend from HS mom) to book my flight (which was originally $1500) and it went up to $1800! I was pretty upset, but I am determined to make this work and go back for three weeks over Christmas vacation! I will keep everyone posted, and wish me luck on the price of flights going back down!

For all of you who have followed my blog, THANK YOU, and I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about my experience!