I am preparing for my return to the United States and am in the beginning stages of reflecting on this trip. I’ve traveled a lot in my life and each trip has its own energy. Road trips are always frenetic, amazing, and you feel like you’re in a remake of a really cool movie. Trips to visit family are always a little stressful initially until that one moment that is so ridiculous you just bust out laughing. International trips inevitably push your buttons in ways that you don’t anticipate and that was the case with this trip.
Last year when I put my vision board together I had pictures of Hawaii and Australia on it. I had a couple of other amazing things that were on the board that also came together over the year but having actually visited these two places after dreaming about them for so long kind of blows my mind.
Whenever I travel to an English speaking country I find that I get homesick a little more quickly. Why don’t they “get me?” Usually comes up. Basically, I subconsciously expect that it should all be the same as home-but, of course it isn’t.
Highlights of My Trip:
- Catching up with friends that I’ve known for a long time on their home turf
- The Great Ocean Road-Absolutely one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.
- Tim Tams-I have an addiction and my friend is now on notice to ship me them from time to time. They are delicious cookies wrapped in chocolate love.
- Realizing that we really don’t speak the same type of English with hilarious results.
- Meeting new fabulous people-with a special shout out to all of the amazing people from Melbourne that I met.
- Going on a Hike in the Blue Mountains with a Meetup group. Walking in circles for 6 hours when the group accidentally split up and then getting bit by a mysterious insect on my thigh. The bite was 5 inches wide by the time I took some medication for it.
- Seeing a Koala with her baby on her back
- Watching a ridiculous amount of tennis at the Australian Tennis Open in Melbourne
- Going to the beach.
- Eating lamb and it was sooo delicious and affordable.
- Seeing the fireworks on New Year’s Eve
- Just getting to visit the country!
- Returning home-the irony.
Low points of My Trip:
- While I did enjoy staying in the hostels that I stayed at, I did have some dud roommates. That just happens.
- Hearing anti-American sentiment from time to time in a country that consumes a ton of U.S. goods/culture. I just wanted to say “If you dislike us so much, please stop using all of our goods, listening to our music, and watching our shows.” I do expect this when traveling, but was a bit taken aback by the negative impressions that people have of the U.S. Then I discovered that these people had only visited L.A. and NYC. Enough said. No one had visited: Chicago, Austin, D.C., Miami, Denver, Portland, Nashville, Charlotte, Portland, Maine and the list goes on. I’m proud of my country and will make it my mission to get people to travel to at least ONE other place besides L.A. and NYC. Also, Australia has 23 million people and the state of California has 38 million people (per Wikipedia) You cannot compare the two countries. Please stop.
- The Internet Connectivity. Sigh.
- I got homesick to the point that I almost burst into tears when I got exceptionally good service at a store from a young lady whose mom was American. I should mention that this was the best help I had received in 2 months.
- Leaving Australia-the irony.
Obviously, I’m no longer burnt out and I am very, very excited to start working on my projects for 2015, redo my vision board and start moving towards fulfilling my goals for the next couple of years.
Trips, vision quests, or moments when you take the time to create a shift in your life are super powerful. I feel the most like myself and am the most focused that I’ve been in years. I did question if this was the right choice for me because it was such a big risk. But, I feel like I’ve done the right thing for me and I am looking forward to reconnecting with the wonderful people that are in my life in Denver and the States. I also am looking forward to the change in my professional life and seeing what I can make happen.
Can’t wait to get back! Thanks for all of your support and kind words as I worked out what I wanted to do next. You lovely people allowed me to bounce off ideas, freak out about things, and shared thoughtful insights that helped me move forward. There are some big things that I would like to manifest for myself financially this year and moving forward. Am looking forward to sharing those things soon.
I rambled a little bit!! Next time you hear from me I will be in Hawaii, slowly making my way back to Denver 🙂
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Welcome back Michelle and even though I wasn’t with you I enjoyed the trip thru your blog. So where are we going next summer?
Petrish-it’s your turn for a big trip! I will be living through you next time around. LOL!
Aw. I thought you would stay there longer Michelle. That being said, it seems like you really had fun in Australia. Among the highlights you listed, which one would you consider the best you’d like for us to experience firsthand?
Two months was the perfect amount of time! I was getting really homesick towards the end. You know it’s bad when good service makes you want to cry. You MUST make sure to go to The Great Ocean Road. Take a 2 or 3 day tour (I only did one super long epic day). It is STUNNING. Sydney-just go to the different smaller coves for beach days. Bondi is meh (too many people). Melbourne-the people really are awesome. Just wander around the back streets and discover the hidden alleyways.
I had to chuckle when you said you can’t compare two countries when their populations are so different. As a Canadian, this happens ALL. THE. TIME!
Glad to hear the positives seem to have dominated on this trip. It’s great that you were able to push reset for a while and refresh.
I used to live near Canada-so I know why this drives you crazy. Sometimes I would just think to myself-you only have to many 23 million people in Australia. We have to manage 310 million there is no way to fairly compare the 2 countries. I am ready to work my tail off now that I’m back.
“Then I discovered that these people had only visited L.A. and NYC. Enough said.” Ouch! Welcome back and I hope the experience was everything you dreamed it would be.
I have my biases Tonya! That did come across a little harsh. I will admit that I’m more of an NYC girl. But L.A. is so much like Sydney to a certain degree I don’t see why people visit. There’s more to that conversation-offline.
I’ve always wanted to see a koala in real life. That has been on my bucket list forever! I’m so jealous!
Seeing a Koala was also on my bucket list. The baby was so freaking cute!!
The ups and downs of animals in nature… super cute koala (I’m jealous) vs. obscure bug bite (why did it take you so long to take meds?). I also relate to wanting to make a huge change in life. I feel that way too. The downside is that with two minis, my ability to go to Australia for a month is a bit hindered. I’m sure I’m just making excuses and there are a zillion things I could do at home to kick-start the change, but I’m just not sure what. I’m thrilled to hear about you feeling better. Can’t wait to hear about your big plans upon returning to CO. Keep the updates coming – I shall see that change vicariously through you…
I also had heatstroke afterwards so I fell asleep for 10 hours. When I woke up I was like CRUD!!! I have a crazy huge bite.Australia is one of the most family friendly countries I’ve traveled to. They are having a huge baby boom so if you took the minis you would be in good hands. I saw a ton of families (with teeny tinies) at the Sydney Central YHA (Hostel) they just reserved the family room. You will figure out a process that works best for you and your situation 🙂
“Trips, vision quests, or moments when you take the time to create a shift in your life are super powerful. I feel the most like myself and am the most focused that I’ve been in years.” I love it when things like that happen. I’m glad to hear that you’re feeling refreshed, focused and ready to get down to business when you get home. Enjoy Hawaii!
I’m feeling pretty good. I have some big things that I have to manage as soon as I get back to Colorado-but that’s life. I feel very up to the task and we’ll see how it goes.
Lamb… It’s funny you mention Lamb. I remember being in the meat section of a Canadian supermarket and seeing a very scrawny excuse for a leg of lamb and it was HUGELY expensive. Blew me away almost as much as the orange cheese! 🙂
Hopefully you’ll get to visit us in Aus again.
Oh, and a bit of trivia on Tim Tams: One of Cate Blanchett’s first acting roles was a TV advertisement for Tim Tams. Just Google “Cate Blanchett Tim Tam”.
The lamb is so good in Australia. We do eat lamb in the States…but, a lot less of it. So, it can get kind of expensive if you want good quality lamb. I had an Australian boyfriend who got me into eating lamb so I really like it. I have a wedding that I’m supposed to go to in Sydney. So, most likely I will be back in the next year. I love the Tim Tam trivia. From humble beginnings Cate!
So, can you tell us more about these vision boards? Are they literal boards? When do you make them and how do you consider what to put on them? I’m intrigued.
You know what-I will write a post about how to put a good vision board together for Monday! Thanks for the post idea-tehe.