Walk Off the Earth

This was introduced to me by a good friend. I think I like it better than the orig.
 Walk Off the Earth - Somebody That I Used To Know

Australia is Done, Now What?

Adios Australia

So to catch you up, I spent my last few months in Oz working like a slave. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it. My co-workers were awesome, the venue was fun, we got to dress up sometimes - all in all it was a good experience! My roommates and I had decided that we were going to spend New Year in Sydney, which was perfect for me because my flight back to the States was scheduled just a few days after, so I needed to end up in Sydney soon anyway. My last day working at Barkly was Xmas Eve then a few days later me and four other girls packed up everything we owned and shoved it into a tiny baby blue car and drove 10 hours to Sydney. Talk about a good time!

Impressive, huh?

Three of us stayed at a friends house while others dispersed with friends they knew around Sydney and we all just met up for outtings throughout the week. Sydney was so much fun, it was really refreshing just getting out of Melbourne and going to beautiful beaches and not having to worry about work. Shortly after New Year my friends who were staying at the same house as me had to fly to Perth to start their farmwork. This was pretty depressing because A)I didn't know when I would ever see them again, and they had become really great friends of mine, and  B) this meant I had to spend the next week on my own :(. I didn't think I knew how to be alone with myself anymore without feeling awkward?? But it ended up being totally fine. It was actually a really good time to reflect on everything and just spend some time with myself. The past year I hadn't gone more than a day of "me time." It also served to prep me for getting in the mind set of going home. It was definitely bittersweet, as is any ending/new beginning.  

Arriving home was just as good as I thought it would be. You forget how much you miss the comforts of home until you are in it's presence again. Familiar faces, smells, driving...everything is refreshing! But I was well aware, before I even left to come home, that after the honeymoon phase of being home I would get bored and get an itch to do something else. That's just how I am. I constantly need to introduce new things into my life otherwise I start to feel like I'm in a rut. That's why before I came home I made a plan to have one last adventure before I "settle down."

Thailand

While I was in Australia, I had met sooooo many people who had travelled SE Asia and couldn't stop ranting and raving about how it's a must do.  So I figured hey, I worked hard and saved money when I was in Oz, I might as well treat myself and go see SE Asia for myself. I deserve it. It's funny though, I realized that the longer I was home, the harder it was becoming in my head to get myself to leave again. It's really easy to get comfortable, and it's not so easy forcing yourself out of your comfort zone. So my remedy to fix this was to tell as many people as possible about my future Asia plans, that way I couldn't back out. I mean, how embarrassing would that be to tell everyone you were leaving again and then not do it? Sure enough that was the push I needed because a few days later I booked my ticket to Thailand and got all my vaccination shots. As of now my tentative plan is to leave March 5th, 2012 and arrive in Bangkok, Thailand. Travel Thailand for 1 month, then visit Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Bali (if I have the funds), then last but not least end my trip in New Zealand. I had always planned on seeing New Zealand when I was in Australia, but I just got caught up in working and figured I'd just see it after my visa ran out.

New Zealand is set up a lot like Australia visa-wise. You can do a one year or a 6-month visa and work while you're there. So I decided that when I get there I'm going to attempt to do something that is career-oriented for work. This way I can build my resume while I'm away and gain a little more experience in the professional world. I hope this works out as planned. I'll do that for a few months, then travel NZ, then head home! For the sake of my family's sanity, hopefully I will be ready to settle down by that point. As of now I don't think I will stay there an entire year, but we will see. You never know what's going to happen, which is the joy of life.  

Adios Australia, you'll forever have a very special place in my heart.