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Blijf op de hoogte en volg Willeke
14 Juli 2015 | Australië, Brisbane
Decided to write this blog in English because I find it easier to express myself in English and it seems only fitting after spending a semester living in Australia.
Well, here we are. I arrived back in the Netherlands a few days ago after more than 25 hours of travelling. It is totally worth it, Australia is the most amazing place, but the trip to get there is brutal. Twenty hours in a plane will never be fun, no matter how cool the destination is.
Leaving Brisbane on Friday was difficult, like really, really difficult. While prepping for this trip I always knew it was going to be just five months and I thought that was a good thing. Long enough to have fun but not too long to be away from home. However, it turned out to be way to short. Every day of the twenty weeks I spent in Australia has been absolutely amazing. I can truly say that I have enjoyed every minute of my exchange semester and have not doubted my decision to travel to Australia for a second. These past five months have been so fantastic that coming back home feels extremely weird and unreal but at the same time everything is so familiar and normal, like I never left. And that feeling may be the most upsetting. Did this past semester really happen? Of course it did. I have so many memories to cherish that instantly bring a smile to my face when I think of them. Yet, after just a day of travelling I am back home and far, far away from my second home in Brisbane. A city that I had never been to before, but that felt like home from day one. Right now, it feels like my life is there, at the other side of the world, and not here in the Netherlands even though it does feel good to see my family and friends again here, of course. In the ideal situation I would just take everyone that I care about from home to Australia and never (or maybe for a vacation every now and then) come back. Unfortunately that is not realistic.
I expected to love Australia but I had never imagined that my exchange semester would affect me as much as it has. I should be happy to be back home but I am not. It is not that I don’t like my life here, but I simply liked my life in Australia better. Australia – and Brisbane in particular- made me feel so incredibly happy. Every minute of every day I felt happy. Life in Australia was so good that it was scary at times. As if it was too good to be true. It was not, but maybe good things just do not last.
I do not mean to sound all negative, I know that this semester spent abroad was an amazing opportunity and I feel extremely lucky that I was able to go and honestly feel like I have made the most of it. I do not have any regrets and had an absolutely amazing time. The best part was without a doubt meeting so many amazing friends from all over the world. Saying goodbye to them was the hardest part of leaving as I do not know if and when I will see them again and will miss them so much. Together we explored our new surroundings in Australia and made the most of the time we had in beautiful Aussie land. I love having such an international group of friends and to spend time with like-minded people who love travelling as much as I do. I am already planning trips to see all of my friends again in all their amazing home countries. Because if there is one thing (among many others) that I have learned in the past five months, it is that I truly love travelling and that I will never stop exploring this amazing world.
Even though I know I will get used to life back home again, it makes me feel sad that I have to because I rather would not. The Netherlands is a great country and I think it is a very good place to grow up in but at some point it becomes too little and too boring and I feel like that is where I am at right now. There is so much out there in the world to see and there are so many adventures waiting that I just cannot stay here. I am sure there will be a point, probably when I am older, where I will want to return home but for now the world is waiting for me and I cannot wait to get on a plane again to somewhere beautiful. Your twenties are the time to go travel and have the most fun you can and I fully intend to use these years to the max for that. I have one more year of university to complete before I graduate and my travel goals can serve as motivation to work hard and get that diploma so I am free to go and do whatever I want. I don’t know where I will go and I don’t know exactly what I will do – which is the beauty of it- but I cannot wait for my next adventure. For now it is back to reality after a dream semester in my favourite place on earth. Thank you Brisbane for making me feel at home and for making me the happiest girl in the world <3
Well, here we are. I arrived back in the Netherlands a few days ago after more than 25 hours of travelling. It is totally worth it, Australia is the most amazing place, but the trip to get there is brutal. Twenty hours in a plane will never be fun, no matter how cool the destination is.
Leaving Brisbane on Friday was difficult, like really, really difficult. While prepping for this trip I always knew it was going to be just five months and I thought that was a good thing. Long enough to have fun but not too long to be away from home. However, it turned out to be way to short. Every day of the twenty weeks I spent in Australia has been absolutely amazing. I can truly say that I have enjoyed every minute of my exchange semester and have not doubted my decision to travel to Australia for a second. These past five months have been so fantastic that coming back home feels extremely weird and unreal but at the same time everything is so familiar and normal, like I never left. And that feeling may be the most upsetting. Did this past semester really happen? Of course it did. I have so many memories to cherish that instantly bring a smile to my face when I think of them. Yet, after just a day of travelling I am back home and far, far away from my second home in Brisbane. A city that I had never been to before, but that felt like home from day one. Right now, it feels like my life is there, at the other side of the world, and not here in the Netherlands even though it does feel good to see my family and friends again here, of course. In the ideal situation I would just take everyone that I care about from home to Australia and never (or maybe for a vacation every now and then) come back. Unfortunately that is not realistic.
I expected to love Australia but I had never imagined that my exchange semester would affect me as much as it has. I should be happy to be back home but I am not. It is not that I don’t like my life here, but I simply liked my life in Australia better. Australia – and Brisbane in particular- made me feel so incredibly happy. Every minute of every day I felt happy. Life in Australia was so good that it was scary at times. As if it was too good to be true. It was not, but maybe good things just do not last.
I do not mean to sound all negative, I know that this semester spent abroad was an amazing opportunity and I feel extremely lucky that I was able to go and honestly feel like I have made the most of it. I do not have any regrets and had an absolutely amazing time. The best part was without a doubt meeting so many amazing friends from all over the world. Saying goodbye to them was the hardest part of leaving as I do not know if and when I will see them again and will miss them so much. Together we explored our new surroundings in Australia and made the most of the time we had in beautiful Aussie land. I love having such an international group of friends and to spend time with like-minded people who love travelling as much as I do. I am already planning trips to see all of my friends again in all their amazing home countries. Because if there is one thing (among many others) that I have learned in the past five months, it is that I truly love travelling and that I will never stop exploring this amazing world.
Even though I know I will get used to life back home again, it makes me feel sad that I have to because I rather would not. The Netherlands is a great country and I think it is a very good place to grow up in but at some point it becomes too little and too boring and I feel like that is where I am at right now. There is so much out there in the world to see and there are so many adventures waiting that I just cannot stay here. I am sure there will be a point, probably when I am older, where I will want to return home but for now the world is waiting for me and I cannot wait to get on a plane again to somewhere beautiful. Your twenties are the time to go travel and have the most fun you can and I fully intend to use these years to the max for that. I have one more year of university to complete before I graduate and my travel goals can serve as motivation to work hard and get that diploma so I am free to go and do whatever I want. I don’t know where I will go and I don’t know exactly what I will do – which is the beauty of it- but I cannot wait for my next adventure. For now it is back to reality after a dream semester in my favourite place on earth. Thank you Brisbane for making me feel at home and for making me the happiest girl in the world <3
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