I can't believe that I've been in Australia for a month! time has flown surprisingly fast :) I am starting to become way more comfortable here, it definitely feels like home! Maddie is now 7 months old and has changed so much from when I first got here! She wants to see, touch, & eat EVERYTHING! She will even skip her naps occasionally so she doesn't miss out on anything that's going on! She is getting bigger & stronger every single day. On the weekends when I'm away from the family, I start to think about her and miss her- I almost see her as my own baby <3 This journey has confirmed that I DEFINITELY want to have children someday :)
Miss Maddie!
My host family and I spend time together on the weekdays. We will have dinner together and watch different Australian TV shows- like X-Factor, Bondi Beach (my absolute FAVORITE!), and Boarder Patrol. We'll also watch some classic American shows- such as Project Runway, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, & Friends. We all laugh together and have a great time :)
I have been continuing my explorations around the Central Coast (equivalent of the 'Midwest' or 'New England' in America) and in Sydney. I have been fortunate to visit some beautiful beaches around the area. The sand in Australia is softer than any sand I've ever felt in my life, it will even make a squeeky noise when you walk on it! The waters are forever changing colors of blue- the ocean appears to be a dark/deep blue toward the horizon, then when you get closer to shore, it gradually turns into light blue/turquoise with a touch of beige sand. It is always changing, it kind of looks like tie-dye that's always moving around! Then as the crashes onto shore, it turns into bubbles of white, and as it returns back into the ocean, the water sparkles and makes really neat markings in the sand it leaves behind :) The ocean air is clean and refreshing- it definitely feels like a paradise here :)
Avoca Beach
Cliffs at Avoca
Me at Bondi Beach (well..the cliffs at bondi :))
Bondi Beach
As you can see, I've made some wonderful friends down here! Melanie (left) is from Frankfurt, Germany and Alisha (middle) is from Detroit, Michigan! We also hang out with a girl named Cecilia- she is from Paris! All 3 girls are absolutely wonderful! It puts a much simpler view on the world for me- all 4 of us come from different parts of the world, here in a foreign land, yet we are all incredibly similar! We have the same sense of humor, get along very well, and came here for the same reasons :) While my weeks with Maddie & my host family are quite fulfilling and wonderful- my weekends with the girls are definitely the highlight of my week :)
This past weekend, Cecilia, Alisha and I went to the top of Sydney Tower! It is the tallest point in Sydney and the 2nd highest observation point in the southern hemisphere! We had quite the view from 1,000 feet in the air :)
Sydney harbor & bridge!
Me in Sydney tower!
Afterwards, we decided to walk over to the Botanic Gardens. As any other botanic gardens, it was incredibly beautiful!! Although there were a few extra surprises that we saw that I haven't seen anywhere else...
Bamboo
Bats!
Lorikeets!
Lots of cockatoos and ibis'!! (although the ibis' are quite pushy and bossy...)
These are WILD birds! Some friendly people at the park gave us some peanuts & bread to hand-feed the birds. They came right up to you and ate right out of our hands! A lot of them even perched on our hands/arms!! This was by far the most amazing moment. Australia is home to some of the most beautiful wildlife on the planet, and I was lucky enough to experience it first hand!
I count my blessings everyday and thank my angels that I have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It took a lot of perseverance, hard work, and risk-taking to get here, but I knew in my heart that I had to live part of my life in this wonderful country! As with any time abroad, most of the time it must come to an end. It took a LOT of thinking & weighing out all of my options, and I have decided that my journey in Australia will be coming to an end November 21st. As I am having the time of my life here, the years in my future will better benefit if I return to Chicago to pursue a bachelors degree (and to feed my bank account!) I am looking forward to seeing your bright and smiling faces in 2 months! However, with the clock ticking, I will make sure to make the most of my 2 months left here! I look forward to talking with you and hearing about your lives back home. Please keep in touch and keep smiling every day :) I love you all! Thank you so much for reading :) :)
xoxo
<33holly
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