I have officially left Australia, and I can't lie.....it was a whole lot harder to leave than I thought it would be. I guess after spending a year (minus 7 days) in one place, it should be expected. Of course there will be adventures ahead but it's hard not to look back on my time in Australia and reflect on it......just a little bit.
So looking back,what did I like about Australia:? Well, there really were a lot of things. I liked the animals (the cute fluffy ones anyway), and the weather (looking back, The Wet Season was not that bad....although I did spend a lot of time with my air conditioning), and The People (well some a lot more than others). And I liked Tim Tams, and cheap mangoes (part of the year anyway) and always knowing what the weather was going to be like (as long as I was in Darwin), and parties on the rooftop and being able to go grocery shopping in my bare feet and never having to leave a tip and not having to show ID to buy alcohol (well that changed July 1st but whatever) and paying the advertised price because they include the tax and never having to see a penny... I just loathe pennies (Please Canada, get rid of pennies). And I liked Rugby (and rugby players) and Aussie Rules Football (and Aussie rules football players) and lawn bowling. And I really enjoyed being able to spend the year with Debi and Scott.
What didn't I like about Australia? You have to know there are a few things. The animals (well the slithery and scaly ones at least), the totally lack of a service industry (seriously, tipping culture makes all the difference), Darwin public transit, the lack of central heating (well not in Darwin but certainly in Tasmania and Western Australia), super weak clothes dryers (they just assume you can hang everything up outside), stores closing at 1730 (5:30pm....seriously when do you shop?), and the fact that there is no safe place for pedestrians (even on the sidewalks, people on bicycles tried to run me over). And Vegemite.....I really, REALLY disliked Vegemite. I don't know who thought eating yeast extract was a good idea but I assure you......it's gross.
What will I miss about Australia? Honestly I haven't been out of the country long enough to have much on my list but you have to know it does not include Vegemite. There certainly are a lot of people I will miss.....and not just Debi and Scott. It seems more than a few Australians rubbed off on me and I like to think in a positive way. Hopefully we will meet again.....sometime soon.
And while I saw a whole lot of the country, I guess there area few things I did miss. I never saw a platypus (a wild on anyway) and I never saw a crocodile (well not in the Northern Territory where there are soooo many of them). I also never made it Kakadu National Park which is so famous but I did make it to Litchfield and I'm told it's a pretty good trade off. Looking back overall I think I did pretty good. Pretty sure I can say I've seen more of Australia than a whole lot of the Australians I met along the way and I'll take great pride in that. Of course any Australian who reads this may have a few things to add and I say add away. If you want me to come back......I need things to see.
Could I have used more time in Australia? Of course I could have. There are so many other places I could have visited and there are certainly some possibilities that will get filed under "well I guess we'll never know". But the future looks bright and I have some great and exciting plans ahead......the very first being New Zealand. I'll tell you about the rest another day.
Julie
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