Note: I will be including some coronavirus/quarantine memes throughout this post to keep things ~fun~ (I do not take credit for any meme posted)
Hi everyone!! As I mentioned before, I have safely arrived back in the United States. I have been home for 5 days now and I am doing well. I am still struggling to get on a normal sleep schedule and the quarantine definitely is not helping the situation. Not having a regular schedule to keep up with is making it hard to not sleep at odd times of the day. Since being home, I have been doing some schoolwork (or at least trying really hard to find the motivation to), running, going on walks, and sleeping.
I had a very safe and easy flight back to Boston. I departed Bond Uni at 4PM on Monday, 23/3/2020 and arrived in Brisbane about 90 minutes later. When I approached the line to check my luggage, I was asked a few simple questions, including: What country are you a citizen of? Why are you in Australia? How long have you been in Australia? Have you left the country at all in the time you’ve been here? Did you pack all of your bags by yourself? Are you aware of everything that you are in possession of? After answering, these questions, I was ready to check my bags. The line was maybe 3 minutes long (not bad at all).
After checking my luggage, I walked for probably about 12 minutes until I reached my gate. At my gate, I met up with my friend from high school who was also flying back from the Gold Coast to Boston. It was really nice to have someone that I know on the flight with me and to keep my company throughout the trip. We ended up boarding our flight 1 hour late (we suspect because they had to do a deep cleaning of the plane). We then waited on the plane for over 45 minutes…there’s an interesting story behind this. But, let’s just say that a certain college student (that I personally do not know) decided to drink a lot and then talk to the airport staff. He quickly got kicked off and they had to waste time searching for his bag underneath the plane (yikes). Anyways, after that, we FINALLY took off. Approximately, 75 minutes after we were supposed to.
I slept for most of the first flight since it was night time in Australia. I woke up not long before we landed in Hawaii. Customs and security were relatively easy at the Honolulu airport. I’d say the biggest shocker was coming back to the United States and experiencing rude and aggressive airport staff again. In Australia, they were always so nice and helpful. It’s sad that I can’t say the same about most American customer service workers. We got through customs and security in about 45 minutes and then went to find food, since we hadn’t eaten much of the plane food.
Before we knew it, we were boarding our flight to Boston. This flight was LONG. It was set to be only about 20-30 minutes longer than our previous flight, but it felt so much longer. I didn’t sleep much on this flight since it was mid-day in Australia time. I maybe dozed off for 30 minutes, but that’s about it. I watched a lot of movies though. We landed at 5:34AM in Boston on Tuesday, 24/3/2020. Since arriving back in the United States, life has been very weird (because of the coronavirus, but also because adjusting back is difficult).
I knew that adjusting back to life in the United States would be hard. It has been even harder to do it with the state that our world is in. I was totally unprepared to come home when I had to. I was planning on having a lot more time in Australia, finishing my classes, and had a few more adventures planned. I was prepared to leave on April 17th. I knew that by April 17th, that I would be accepting of my abroad experience being over and I would be ready to return home then. However, my experience came to an end on March 23rd instead.
I was nervous to fly home. Being on a crowded plane and going through customs and security (where thousands of people are passing through everyday) is one of the last things I wanted to do. I had no idea what to expect or what I would walking into. I had heard horror stories of the airports when people had flown back weeks earlier than I did.
I knew that home would be different. It has made adjusting back to life here in the United States that much harder. Now, I am not one of those people who goes abroad and comes back and says “WoW aBrOad CHanGeD mE, I Am sUCh a DiffFeREnT pERsOn!!!!”. But, I will say that going away for a extended period of time and exploring a new country with new people does have an effect on you. Especially since I was not ready to come home yet. I feel like I have unfinished business in Australia. Leaving the country almost felt like a break-up. I felt like I was being torn away from something I loved without a choice (I mean that is what happened essentially). I am so happy that I chose to study abroad in AUS. I am positive that I made the right choice. I am especially glad that I chose Bond Uni. Since my uni started earlier than most Australian universities. I only have 2 more weeks of “online” school until I am done for the semester. During these 2 weeks, I just have to put together a presentation and complete 3 final assessments.
Normally, when I am home in Massachusetts, I am very active. I drive around a lot and make my rounds to my favorite places and make sure I see all my family members and friends. So far, the only place I have been able to go to is the track/trails to run. I am practicing social distancing and am not going out to places (other than to just walk/run) until I am sure that I did not get the coronavirus while traveling. So naturally, the transition has been difficult. Especially when I was coming form Australia, a country that hadn’t reached that point yet. However, since I have left, things have changed rapidly in Australia. They have begun to restrict travel and are sending incoming travelers to designated quarantine stations for 14 days. It is expected that the borders between states will close soon. So, I am glad that I got out while I could and when flights were still available.
I miss Australia terribly already. It was hard for me to feel emotional about leaving when I was still there. I think I still couldn’t really fathom leaving, even as all my friends began to leave and I started packing my belongings. It was when I landed in Boston that it all hit me. Sometimes now, I close my eyes and picture various places in AUS perfectly and I get hit with the emo (AKA big sad feelings). Leaving Australia felt so different than leaving Massachusetts to go to college or GW to go abroad. I knew I would be back soon every time I left MA or DC. But, I don’t know the next time I will be in Australia and it breaks my heart. I know that I will be making efforts to return sometime in the near future when the world is in a better state and I have graduated college.
I’m missing my aussie life. I miss night walks to Lakeside for dinner and sitting outside by the string lights as I eat and talk with my friends and listen to absolute BOPS play through the speakers. I miss walking into Bond Express and buying a snack. I miss morning walks to the gym and sweating so much (and smelling so bad) and then immediately taking a shower when I get back to my room. I miss the UV levels of 10-11. I miss the sun and even the rain (which is saying something). I miss taking my flip flops off when it rains so that I don’t slip on the ground. I miss taking the bus down to the beach and laying out in the sun and getting absolutely WRECKED by the waves. I miss getting on planes and trains to travel to new destinations. I even miss sitting in my classes (OK THAT IS REALLY SAYING A LOT). I miss my FREEZING dorm room where I was cold even when I was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt while wrapped in TWO blankets. I miss Bachelor nights in the common room and yelling at the TV with my friends. I miss seeing the same people around campus every day and at dinner every night (Alyssa will know what I mean). I miss being tan and feeling the sun radiating on my skin. I could go on forever, but I will spare all the readers that have lasted this long.
The next few months are going to be interesting as the condition of our world changes. It is hard to even think about what may or may not be coming. I understand the danger of the virus and it is why our programs were shut down and students were told to leave the country. Unfortunately, everyone across the world is missing out on things that they were looking forward to right now. In my opinion, everyone has the right to grieve missing out on those things. This virus has an effect on everyone, regardless of whether they are directly or indirectly impacted by the virus. Right now, I am grieving the loss of the remainder of my study abroad experience and the adventures that were awaiting me. I am sad that I didn’t have the chance to return to GW and surprise my friends by flying directly there as I was supposed to. I am worried about what the next few months have in store. Everyone is worried and everyone is missing out on things. The important thing right now is that people do what they can by social distancing and staying home so that we can fight this virus sooner and get back to our normal lives as quickly and as safely as possible. Support your local businesses. Wash your hands. Call your loved ones that you can’t see in person right now.
Sorry for the little rant right there. To any of my friends that have made it this far through this post, feel free to reach out to me to rant about anything during this difficult time because your feelings and struggles are valid. Thanks for reading this far!!! I appreciate you!!
Next post: my last days in Gold Coast 😦
Ali's Australian Adventures 