I am sitting in my sister's room listening to "My Island Home" sung by Christine Anu and searching through hundreds of "job possibilities" on numerous websites. When I came back to the states in November I talked about what I missed from the US (toliet seat covers, yogurt in bulk from Costco) and now that I have returned home I feel that it is only fitting to share what I am missing about that big island across the sea.
My song choice isn't really that random, by the way. I have been listening to a lot of Australian music lately. I have my "Australia's Greatest Songs" mix, the mix of artists from falls festival (the concert from last New Years) and some other random artists thrown in. Sometimes the songs just bring on general nostalgia and other times I get a sharp pang of sadness when I think about Krystle (my housemate) singing at the top of her lungs or Al and I dancing like crazy people at falls. All good memories but the longing is still there...
I miss the amazing weather (when it wasn't raining) and the beach that stretched for miles and miles. I miss being able to say that I "lived" there. I wasn't just a tourist, I was a resident for a short while.
I miss my friends at the gym and that gym in general. I know this is lame but the fitness instructors at my Australian gym were absolutely incredible. I knew then that they were amazing but I still didn't appreciate what I had until it was gone.
I think that is the overall lesson from my experience. I had an incredible life there and although I did realize it I didn't fully appreciate it until it was gone. I didn't fully intend to write a wrap up of my experience today but I guess it just sort of unrolled... my word (ala "Eat, Pray, Love") to describe my experience is fleeting.
