 (Left) A beautiful view of the city of Perth from King's Park. (Below) This is our group when we arrived. Thinking back on all that happened, I realize more than ever what an important and amazing time I had in Australia. (Click on photos for larger images.)
Good-bye Australia
I made it. I’m now on the opposite side of the world, back in good old Houghton. It doesn’t seem like too much has changed. There are a couple new buildings going up, as well as a couple new houses; but other than that, Houghton is the same fun small town I’ve always lived in.
I started my trip in Perth at six in the morning on Sunday and then flew to Sydney, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and finally back to Houghton. I had roughly a thirty-six-hour long Monday, but it’s great to be home! When I arrived at the airport in Perth, we discovered that it was closed, but they let us in so we didn’t have to stand outside for the hour until it opened. Arriving in Sydney, I had a quick layover and made it to my next flight. The flight from Sydney to Los Angeles was the longest at thirteen hours, but the time went by surprisingly fast as I was watching movies, trying to sleep and eating seemingly endless amounts of food. My most nerve-wracking part of the trip was passing through customs since I didn’t know what kinds of questions they would ask me. But since I am an American citizen, the process was relatively easy—they just made sure that I wasn’t bringing any fresh food into the country. The trip from Los Angeles to Minneapolis seemed incredibly short after my thirteen hour flight and after it, I just wanted to get on my last flight to Houghton. After getting home, I found out that neither of my suitcases had made it home with me; I got one the day after I got home, but another one is still missing. Hopefully I’ll get it soon so I can finally unpack!
 So many people asked me what the first thing I would do when I got home, and it was to eat a bowl of Mackinac Island Fudge Ice Cream. After seeing my family, and getting home, it was finally time to relax and enjoy being home. I noticed a lot of things when I got home. Driving on the right side of the road felt really weird, and still does. I have to make sure that I pull onto the right side before I leave to go anywhere. I have had many people ask me where my Australian accent is, but I don’t think I’ve gotten one. If anything, I got teased for talking like a Yooper while I was down in Australia.
It’s been great to see so many of my family and friends since I’ve been home but it’s also caused me to realize what an important and amazing time I had during my trip. I miss Australia and the people I met there immensely, and even though I will see my Michigan Tech friends again, I don’t think it will ever be the same as the time we had in Australia. As of now, I can’t wait to go back. But, I have no idea when that will happen.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading my articles this semester, it’s been great fun writing them!
Farewell Australia! Pictured left to right: Zach, Ryan, Adam, Wade, Heather, me, and Marlena
G'Day Mates,
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