Last Dash

My last week was spent rushing to say goodbye to what I would miss, and hello to a few things I knew I couldn’t miss. I fit quite a bit in that final week—I said goodbye to the skyscrapers and the trams and my beloved balcony, I ducked into the national museum and spent an afternoon in the botanic gardens, I went to the market and bought all the fruit I knew I’d never see stocked at home and I managed to squeeze in some studying for that last exam. I managed to cross a lot off my list, everything from visiting the sharks at the children’s hospital to eating the best meal I’d had in Melbourne by far to wandering around the Docklands, I also sang in St. Paul’s Cathedral, played my final game with my team, checked out the Dandenong Ranges and visited Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary. Plus I packed up and moved out of my apartment and took my last exam.

There’s a moment when you’re saying goodbye to acquaintances at the end of the semester when you have to double check that they realize this is goodbye not just for the winter holidays but for…..a lot longer. I convinced my roommate to come visit me sometime in the near future, though and I can’t wait until I get to have the role of showing off my country and home. I still have a ways to go before I return there—these next weeks I will be investigating other parts of the country followed by a quick tour of New Zealand. All in all, my excitement for these travels (and the end of school) eclipses the sadness I feel at leaving.