Tomorrow is December 19

Since I left in September, December 19 has always been an important date I'd remind myself of frequently. "Don't worry, I'll be back December 19" or "We have so much time before December 19, lets plan something" I always had something else to do before then, even when I packed last week. I was packing to go home, but still had my trip to Melbourne to look forward to. Now I'm back (after another flight cancellation and rebooking)... went to North Head to watch the sunset one last time, sat on the beach looking at the stars one last time (well I guess that might happen again tonight), slept in my bed one last time. Tomorrow is December 19, the day I come home.

A few people from our program are leaving today, most of us are going tomorrow or Sunday. Its unlikely that I'll see most of them again, although its possible. Its going to be hardest leaving people I know realistically I may never see again. I sincerely hope I do, but that'd require a lot of traveling and schedule aligning. I've never had to say goodbye to people and move a continent away knowing that I won't be back in three months. I came home last night to a card and Christmas gift from my roommate Dana. I said goodbye to Jolly last week already, although I believe she is coming back for a few things and I'll say goodbye again. Dana started tearing up when I left for Melbourne already, tomorrow morning is going to be hard.

I've been told that coming home is even harder than leaving...things change and you just aren't the same. I thought they were kidding, but now I'm hearing it first hand from friends that have been abroad this semester. I am really excited to see everyone again, forgive me if I seem a little out of it for the first week or so. Between jet lag, the cold, and anything else that might be different/unexpected... its hard to tell what is going to happen. I'm going to hope for the best. With the holidays around the corner, I'll be seeing lots of people right away. I really am excited about it, but it doesn't leave much time for getting over a 17 hour time difference.

Thanks again to everyone who has kept in touch and helped me through my semester abroad. It was always nice to hear from people back home. I hope everyone is doing well and can't wait to see everyone!

Few more language things:

Row=an argument
Neat= a shot, you can get spirits "mixed" or "neat"
Entree=appetizer
Pissed=drunk, not angry
Arvo=afternoon

Kind of a lame last post, but this is probably it. I might feel compelled to blog about my journey home. We'll see.