I realised something the other day. Up until now, I still thought of my experience here in Australia as in the beginnings and something I was continuing to get used to. Recently, I’ve been all too aware that this won’t last forever. I think I’m over halfway through my time here (I say ‘I think’, as I outright refuse to think about it) and it’s no longer new to me; this is my life here. Settled down. This is the happy (albeit slightly soppy) part, not the depressing, thinking about leaving Australia part.
I was with some of my close group of friends and we were chatting, having a laugh, and it struck me how happy I am here. The people around me make me very happy and have breathed a refreshing new air into me (I cringed at that myself, but that was honestly the best way I could put it). I love being in Halls again – it reminds me of the fun I had in my first year at UEA, but at the same time, Halls at Monash is completely different. There have been lots of birthday outings recently, beer pong, movie-watching, a shopping trip with the girls and even a girly sleepover – pointless in all logic as we all live less than 100m apart, but clearly we could not part from each other that evening.
I hate knowing that my friends here aren’t coming back with me. They talk about doing things in the future, and automatically include me before we all realise awkwardly that I won’t be around past early/mid-July. An international friend said to me here the other day that when he left America, he wasn’t that sad because he knew he’d be back. He said that leaving here will be so much harder, as he has no idea when he’ll be back and see everyone again. A victim of my denial, I definitely didn’t think of this, but he’s right. Leaving here will be insanely hard, and I’m already planning ways of making money and coming back – or persuading them to come to England or other travelling. Anything that’ll let me see these people again.
