I survived the flight and made it to Sydney! The flight was fairly uneventful, although,
it did not start out that way. As I sat down in my seat to begin the long
flight I immediately noticed three babies within a one seat radius of mine, one
of whom was already throwing a whopper of a fit. All I could think to myself was ‘Whyyyyy?’ After the initial shock of that, things went
pretty well. With the help of Nyquil and
noise-canceling headphones, I was able to get a decent night’s sleep. I slept for about ten hours and watched
movies and TV shows the rest of the time, and ate. The good thing about paying way too much for
a flight around the world is that they take good care of you.
We arrived in Sydney bright and early, and on time. Sydney, my friend, has to work until 4:30
p.m. today so I will be on my own until then.
I was a little anxious about this for a few reasons. First, I had little knowledge on how to get
to the city from the airport. Second, I
had no place to store my luggage, which meant I would be wandering the city by
myself with two bags for the day. With a
little bit of direction from Syd via iMessaging, I was able to take a train
from the airport to a station near the coffee shop where she worked. Once I got to the city, I found an ATM to get
some cash and parked myself at a café to get my bearings. I also NEEDED a good coffee. Sadly, the coffee was less than stellar, but
the experience gave me a few minutes to gather myself and form a plan for the
day. I honestly had no idea what to do,
but after taking in the Harbor for a few minutes I was excited. To understand my excitement better, it would be
helpful to understand the last few weeks of my life.
Without going into too much detail, the last week of my life
has been incredibly exciting, but along with that came stress, good stress. Last Friday, Nick found out he had a job in
Indy, we signed a lease on our new apartment, and he proposed, all within about
30 minutes. It was truly a “Good Friday”. The timing of everything was perfect, but
also terrible. All of our prayers for
the last several months had been answered on one day; however, that brought
about so much that had to be done before I left for Australia. We were in Jasonville all weekend for Easter festivities,
which was wonderful to be able to celebrate with family. That only left a couple days to get moved
into the apartment, at least partially.
The goal was to get enough stuff there so that Nick can live in Indy when
he starts his job, which happens to be while I am on this trip. On top of moving, I had to work Monday and
Tuesday, plus get everything packed for my trip. It was very hectic and the complete opposite
of how I like to do things. I need a
plan, and I need organization. It just
was not possible in this case. We
survived though. Nick got moved in, I
got packed up, and I made it to the airport.
Ok back to my excitement about spending a whole day in Sydney
by myself. This was an opportunity to
just be me for a day. I sat along the harbor,
sketched, photographed, and people-watched for hours. I explored the Opera House and public space
surrounding it. I wandered into the nearby
historic district, The Rock, and came across a Friday ‘Foodie’ Market. I must have walked miles, which the only
downside to that was the fact that I had 20+ pounds of luggage with me. It was not as bad as I was expecting though,
great exercise at least. All in all, it
was a refreshing day, which I enjoyed so much more than I was expecting to. I had a chance to reconnect with God and
myself after a crazy, hectic, exciting week. I believe this experience speaks to the culture
of the city. It has been a great day
because despite me knowing absolutely nothing when I arrived, the people were
incredibly friendly. I feel safer here
than I have in most cities, including Indy at certain times. It seems that everyone is willing to share
space, hospitality, and kindness, especially to outsiders and visitors like me.
The afternoon rolled around and I got a message that Sydney
got off work early. So I met her right
outside the café where she worked. It
had been a year and a half since I have seen her, so it was great to be
reunited! The rest of the day we
wandered around, still with my bags, catching up and seeing more of the
city. We stopped for delicious
milkshakes which served as an early dinner, before sitting at the harbor as the
sun set. As we sat and talked, we
listened to street performers play popular cover songs. Several times I had a surreal feeling that I
was not actually sitting in Sydney, talking to my best friend, Sydney, and
watching ferries come in and out of the harbor, as lights from the Opera House
lit up the atmosphere. It is one moment
that will be hard to forget.
Both of us exhausted, we began the trek back to her
temporary home. She is house-sitting for
a couple that lives south, just outside the city. It is quite a bus ride to get here from
Sydney, but worth it. We will be staying
here (for free) for two nights before the owners return from vacation. After that, we will be in hostels, which are
still manageable and cheap. The house-sit
worked out perfect though. It’s so nice
to have my own space after such a long travel day. Here’s to a relaxing shower and a full night’s
sleep.
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