BLOG ENTRY 2

 Introduction; 

Hello and welcome back. I would be lying if I said I’m disappointed I didn’t blog weekly during my overseas travels. My expectation was to be blogging every week or so. As we all know life doesn’t always work the way you want it to. Usually at the end of each day my feet were throbbing, I was sunburnt, exhausted, and maybe a little drunk. Still I went to bed each night with a smile and a sense of adventure as there were roads I had yet to walk down, people I had yet to meet and connect with and things I had yet to see. As I laid down each night I had one recurring thought that usually lulled me to sleep. The world is so big and I am so small. As are my worries. Sometimes my worries can feel like a bubble around myself, that no one can see or touch. Like I can feel the weight of it as I walk. But as I traveled the bubble got smaller. Not that I saw other people's problems and they were worse or less worse. But there is growth that happens when you are uncomfortable. Being so uncertain where you’ll be next week or day, not understanding the language around you, or their currency. While traveling I witnessed much love in this world, simultaneously hate. Even though you encounter or observe both. Both are a part of the human essence And don’t go away because you got on a plane. They cannot live without each other. I think being uncomfortable was vital to my travel journey. One of my favorite quotes by Anthony Bourdian. As he says it best.

”Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.”

Part I ; Australia

After a full 24 hours of traveling, Luka and I touched down in Melbourne, Australia on January 23nd, 2025. Our first day of our overseas adventure! Our first day was a bit cloudy but still had a warm breeze. We touched down at Lukas Aunt and Uncle's house, where I had my first “cuppa”. For my Americans it’s the Aussie way of saying coffee or tea. We stayed at their house for a couple days visiting family, talking old stories, and new politics. Eating delicious food and drinking Aussie beer before we made our way to the family beach house in Blairgowrie.

Blairgowrie is a quaint coastal town in the south-east of Australia. There we relaxed, swam in the clear, warm ocean,  drank 3 cuppas a day and ate too many Tim-tams. A day after we got back to Melbourne we were off to drive 2 hours to an even smaller town in the countryside called Maldon. Our first stop in Maldon was at an endearing little cafe to grab some meat pies and a vanilla slice. Both Australian classics. While staying in the countryside we took walks through the fragrant  eucalyptus. On our first walk I witnessed my first kangaroo troupe. They truly are such fascinating creatures, a mix between a deer, a rabbit and a really buff gym bro. We did some more dinners and visited. The house we were staying in was quite special. I was drinking my morning coffee with Mom Kangroos with their joeys eating their breakfast less than 10 feet away. After our Maldon visit we made our way back to Melbourne where we had a night out on the town with Lukas cousins and friends. Every travel trip needs at least one stupid drunken night, in my opinion. Another notable part of Australia that alone could make me move there is the rock pools. Off of the shore of the beach there are giant tide pools some big enough for 20 or more people to swim in. Most of them are a beautiful turquoise color with little black fish that get stuck until the high tides comes back in to take them into the ocean. 

 We were only in Australia for 8 whole days so it did go by quite fast. Having said, I quickly fell in love with Australia. I found there to be so many similarities between the towns I visited and the town I grew up In. Mainly the people walking around with tanned skin and salty sun kissed blonde hair. Where board shorts and bikinis are the most worn outfits. Our next stop; Thailand!