Life in the Land Down Under

I have officially survived my first week! For those of you who know how much of a homebody I am, this is huge. Although I may or may not have called a few people crying and wanting to go home.. But that's not the point. I stayed and I survived! This past week has been a whirlwind. I left the rest of the group of interns, flew to Melbourne, moved into my apartment, and started my internship all in a matter of 24 hours. Since my blog was down for the last five days, I've got a lot to cram in here so y'all bare with me.

Public Transit:

This has been an ordeal. I have never used public transport except for the ebus to 6th street. Other than that, I turned 16 and got a drivers license. Trams don't exist in Texas. So this in itself is weird. And then I had to worst luck getting a tram card. I walked to two different places to get a card..only to find they were both closed. (Because the entire country shuts down on Sundays. It's weird.) I was exhausted and in tears because I had to have the card to get to my internship the next day. (This may or may not have been the time that I was possibly calling people wanting to go home..) Buttttt, then the caretaker of my apartment drove me to the shopping center to get my tram pass. Alls well that ends well.

The next morning, I took the tram to work the way I was advised by the information desk. The other teachers asked how I got to school and just about had a heart attack. Apparently, I had gone 45 minutes out of the way. Coooool information desk. Cool. So they all figured out the best way for me to get to the school and back and now I'm a tram pro! 

My internship:

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. My kids are angels. My supervising teachers are a dream. I'm so incredibly blessed to be working at Glen Waverley. Don't worry fellow educators. I'm going to have an entire blog post soon dedicated to my teacher nerd out.

But remember how I said my students were angels? I wasn't kidding.

 

They are so sweet and well behaved. I absolutely love teaching at Glen Waverley.

On Thursday, the students had a middle school social. If you ever want to feel old..even if you aren't..help supervise a middle school dance. I didn't know most of the songs and I kept thinking, "What on earth is that little girl wearing?" That's when it hit me. I'm 21 and I sound like my mother. Granted, she's basically the coolest person I know, so I can't complain.

 

The social was glow in the dark themed. Everyone was awkward and adorable and I loved it.

Tourist LE:

So after my first week of teaching was over, I had a chance to pop into the city and look around. I ended up taking a double decker bus tour, like you'd see in New York. Melbourne is beautiful. Everywhere I looked there was something magnificent. Around every corner they'd say, "And if you look to your left, this is over 100 years old. And if you look to your right, that's also over 100 years old." It was just breathtaking.

This week has been amazing and scary. I'm so blessed to have this opportunity. I can't wait to see what else is in store for me during the next month!

All Aboard

I'm sitting in the international airport terminal waiting for my flight to Australia and it hit me. 

I made it. 

Obviously not literally, since I still have 23 hours until I arrive in Cairns, but I made it. I am leaving the country and studying abroad. All. By. Myself. 

With all the down time before my flight, I was reading a letter from a dear friend of mine that told me to live selfishly while in Australia. That sentence seems rather strange, but she followed it with telling me to get everything out of the experience I can and to grow for me. Not for her, not for my family, not for anyone else. That's when it hit me. This trip is mine. Now that is a freeing but fearful thought. I am petrified of what is going to happen in Australia, but I know that when I return home to the beautiful state of Texas, I will not be the same. I don't want to be the same. This is the trip of my life and the airline is calling my name. Once I get on the plane, life as I know it will change. 

Next stop Brisbane. 

Final destination? Growth. Acceptance. Freedom. 

Melbourne.

The Final Week

Well folks, it's down to eight days. I've been pretty calm up until now, but last night I had a minor panic attack. All the things I use are American products. My shampoo. My toothpaste. My underwear. My tampons (sorry guys!). What if they don't have what I want in Melbourne? Well this idea sparked a pretty ridiculous shopping spree.. I have enough tampons for 6 months. I kid you not (sorry again guys!). I went crazy at Victoria's Secret buying underwear, because there isn't one Down Under (no pun intended). This whole thing is rather irrational, but heyy, I've never left the country y'all!

The good news is, my passport is HERE! And I turned in my pre departure paper. All I have left is a huge to do list and to get on the airplane. 

8 days!

A Place to Call Home

There's times in everyone's lives when they are in limbo. Just waiting for things to happen. Desperately wanting answers. I've been there, anxiously waiting. I've lived my last few months in this state, wondering where I'm going. Wondering what I'll be doing. Wondering where I'll be living. So many questions and all it took was one word to shatter the silence.  

Melbourne. 

I'm going to Melbourne.

For ten beautiful and amazing weeks I will call the city of Melbourne home. I will live there, work there, shop there, and possibly never sleep there. There just might not be any time for it. My head is spinning with all of the possibilities. Everything I research seems perfect and wonderful. I'm counting the days and hours until I step off the airplane. I want to see everything from the tourists traps to the local bakery. I want to soak in their education system and the lives of all of my students. Everything is real now. I have a location. I have a school. I have an internship.

46 days and 19 hours