The Obligatory "I'm Here & Alive" Post

Six days after I was originally set to leave,
Two days after I actually began traveling,
Twenty Six Hours worth of flying,
Eight hours worth of layovers,
Three terrible airplane meals,
Two delays,
One missed flight
One lost (and still not retrieved) bag (with six months worth of clothes in it),
One shocking realization that I will be living with and sharing a bathroom with boys,
One meal with new friends,
One night wandering around a strange campus completely alone in the dark
One mini-shopping spree so that I might have clothes to wear for a few days
and
the help of about 742 random strangers later....


I have arrived in Townsville, Australia.

I'm honestly too tired to come up with anything clever to say, but I suppose I have come to a few realizations over the past 30-some hours worth sharing (maybe. I haven't slept much.)


1) Everyone should be required to take a multi-continental, multi-flight trip, completely alone, before they turn 25. Taking one with friends does not count. Taking one with someone you sort of know does not count. Completely alone. It should be a requirement to do adult-like things. There's a sense of empowerment that comes from knowing that only you can fix the (shitty: sorry, I'm in Australia now and they curse more than they speak regular words) situation you're in, or that it's completely up to you whether you make your next flight or not.

2) People are actually really nice, and a lot of them actually enjoy answering your questions when you ask them in a way that makes them feel important. I'm not talking "Hi airport worker, where is terminal 3," I'm talking, "Excuse me ma'am, I'm so sorry but I'm so turned around and you look like you might know this airport like the back of your hand. Could you point me in the right direction?"

3) Don't be the annoying person on the airplane that talks for 4 hours about the monogrammed jacket you're knitting for your great-grand kitten, but also don't be afraid to strike up a conversation sometimes. This great guy I know recently gave me some of the best pre-trip advice I could imagine: "You can never have too many friends in the world." While I'm no sit-in-the-corner type, I can be extremely introverted when it comes to approaching new people, so I'm attempting to put his words into action by being as open as possible to everyone that I come in contact with, regardless of how far it puts me outside of my comfort zone.


I'll spare you the rest of my realizations. I've been fighting sleep today to try to get on a normal sleep schedule, but it's 8:54 p.m. now, and I say if that's late enough for babies and grandparents, that's late enough for me.

G'night--




Oh & here's the flight tracker image my mom sent me of my flight mid-trip-- definitely a cool and useful app to look into if you're an avid adventurer.