Ever since I was young I have always loved to travel, I had even gone to the Dominican Republic to do a mission project with my church and I believe that helped to kick off my travel bug. When I applied to study abroad in Australia I had no idea it would impact me in the way it did, and I honestly think about this place every day.
It seems cliche I chose a photo I took of the Sydney Opera House to start this page off, but this is where everything became so surreal. We had been in Australia for about 2 or 3 weeks at this point, enjoying all the sites we got to see and really immersing ourselves in the culture (aboriginal and modern day). We were all excited to see Sydney, who isn't? It has a few iconic symbols that people automatically associate with Australia. As we walked up to the Harbor and finally saw the Opera House, we all had a momentary silent pause. In that instant, each and every one of us on that trip all changed and really understood where we were.
There really is something about that country, something magical and something so warm. The people I met there were so excited to have visitors from another country, they were so proud to share and for us to see what a great country they live in. My time in Australia flew by so fast, just as I knew it would, but I still remember each day as if it only happened yesterday. Our professors were amazing and had such a delight taking us all over the country of Australia teaching us the history, culture, ecology, and how to fall in love with TimTams.
As I could go on and on forever about how deeply connected I feel to this country and how much it really has changed me, I better stop before I write a novel. To sum everything up, I owe a lot to Australia. A big thanks really. It changed who I was, helped me grow in ways unimaginable, and really helped me understand that there is so much out there in the world people are blind to. I want to leave this page with a few photos of I took while in Australia. I hope this encourages some more of you to take a leap of faith, go outside your comfort zone and see what our beautiful world really has to offer. |
| Feeding wild wallabies in Alice Springs, Northern Territory (July 2009) |
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| Uluru |
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| Kim & I at Kings Canyon, Watarrka National Park |
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| One of the highest parts of Kings Canyon |
Using my knowledge from this trip, and other smaller trips I've taken, I felt that I could share this to help others out. I offer tips, funny stories, and ideas to help you decide what is a destination you would enjoy to see and how to make the most of it.
