The Journey
Wednesday, August 30, 4:45am:
The car is packed. Matt, my mom, and I pile in. My mom starts the car. I start to sob. Not sure why it took me so long to feel the impact of a four month excursion to the other side of the world, but it had finally hit. I was an on and off again wreck all the way to the airport. By the time Matt and I walked into the baggage check-in area (my mom trailing close behind), my sunglasses were strategically in place. The three of us stretched out our time together with hopes of stopping it, I think. But eventually I had to make my way through security. Matt and mom were more composed than I could have hoped to be, and I think the only reason my mom didn't cry was because Matt kept throwing out the positive vibes, reminding me what a great experience I was about to have. I caught his drift, but I'm pretty sure he caught my drift, too: my inability to share the Australian landscape with him was what would be the hardest.
I did pretty well through security until the woman going through my backpack looked at me and asked, "Are you okay, honey?" I absolutely lost it, as if I had no idea I was in public. No, I was obviously not okay. I'm pretty sure I didn't care if everybody knew it. I eased up on the sobbing as soon as she reached into my bag and pulled out the mace that I forgot I had. Oops. "I hate to do this, hun, but because this is illegal in Massachusettes, I have to call a state trooper over."
The state trooper was probably the coolest state trooper in the tri-state area. He told me that he had no problem with women carrying around that kind of protection, and although he had to take it away, he advised that I drive up to Maine and buy another one as soon as I return to the states. So much for the legal system. Good thing, too.
I just about missed my flight to L.A. They had closed the doors and the plane was ready to depart, but I found a woman at a nearby desk and although she, unlike the trooper, was the meanest lady in all of New England, she managed to get me on the flight really easily. As she walked me down the corridor, maliciously berrating me for my tardiness and obviously judging my character based on that alone, I began (again) to sob. She morphed into an entirely different human being. She got me on the plane, gave me a bottled water, told the flight attendants to take good care of me because I was a "mess," and told me to sit anywhere I wanted.
And thus, Killian learns her first lesson within the first leg of her trip: when girls cry, they get things!
I was pretty miserable on the flight, started questioning why it was I left so many good and comfortable things behind to embark on the unknown, where I could potentially be isolated and lonely for the next four months of my life. I had thoughts of jumping out of the plane and flying back to Boston with some kind of superhuman skill; I kid you not.
By the time we touched down in L.A., I was tired of being miserable, so I decided to turn it into boredom. Thus began the 12 hour layover in Los Angeles. I still felt entirely alone and ended up calling Matt every other hour to update him on my boredom. Thankfully, my good buddy Keith lives in L.A., so I hopped on a bus at around 4pm and met up with him for dinner and drinks. my saddness was beginning to fade. We didn't have a lot of time to spare, but he managed to show me a good time, nonetheless. Keith is good like that, even when he's peer pressuring me into one more drink for Australia's sake. Only it wasn't for Australia's sake, it was for his sake. Keith just wanted to see me blitzed as he dropped me off at the airport, so he could laugh at my misfortune all the way home. Unfortunately for Keith's twisted sense of humor, I was not blitzed. But I was feeling sociable, which brings us to the third leg of my journey.
Wednesday, August 30, 10:30pm:
I get to the gate for an 11pm flight out of L.A. headed to Aukland, NZ. I sat down next to this kid reading a book, and figured I might as well strike up a conversation. The kid ended up having a name; Todd, and he turned out to be a great choice as far as conversation striking goes. We were fast friends. His girlfriend, Katie, who is also on the trip, is a film major. So obviously, we can't go wrong. A twist of good fate, and we discovered that we were seated in the same row. We were flight buddies, and it was good. Long, and restless, but I got to see Thank You for Smoking, finally, so I was happy. And all of the misery that I had felt originally had completely faded away.
13 Hours Later:
We land in Aukland for a two-hour layover. Todd and I separate from the rest of the group and tool around in a music store and end up getting coffee at some cafe in the terminal. We sit down in some nice comfy chairs and this other American guy strikes up a conversation with us. He's 39, from Cali, and a total surfer dude. His friends are journalists/photographers/skiiers for Powder Magazine and they're meeting up with him to take him to Fiji to photograph him surfing for National Geographic. Really cool guy. Those two hours flew by because of him.
And then we were on our way to Sydney. A three hour flight. I sat next to Irene, a fellow senior at BU, and she also turned out to be really cool. Two out of two ain't bad. I watched X-Men III. I thought it was good.
Friday, September 1, 11am:
Finally, we land in Sydney. It didn't take long to get through customs and out the door. Sept 1 is their first day of spring. It was absolutely beautiful out. Dry, warm, a bit breezy, sunny. Gorgeous. I was immediately turned on by the environment. And I knew right away that I had made the right choice to come.
This whole weekend has been a slough of Orientation goods. We got settled into our rooms, got our books, got the Sydney info, and have been super busy running around with the group. We've had a harbor cruise, which was a three hour tour around the harbor. It felt like 30 minutes. Everything was so beautiful. The Opera House, the sailboats, the skyline, the water. Everything. The sun, the bridges.
Today we were lectured to about beach safety and we all signed up for a weekend of surf lessons. I'm pretty pumped. It's gonna rock.
We went to Bondi Beach today. It's beautiful. The waves are awesome and the sand feels like powder in my toes.
We've seen so many cool cultural things... but I'll have to go into that at a later time, because trying to fit an entire weekend (as busy as this one has been) into one post is almost impossible to do.
I promise my next post will be a little more exciting, more Australia-focused, and less focused on me and my sudden ability to sob on the spot at airports.
Stay tuned.
The car is packed. Matt, my mom, and I pile in. My mom starts the car. I start to sob. Not sure why it took me so long to feel the impact of a four month excursion to the other side of the world, but it had finally hit. I was an on and off again wreck all the way to the airport. By the time Matt and I walked into the baggage check-in area (my mom trailing close behind), my sunglasses were strategically in place. The three of us stretched out our time together with hopes of stopping it, I think. But eventually I had to make my way through security. Matt and mom were more composed than I could have hoped to be, and I think the only reason my mom didn't cry was because Matt kept throwing out the positive vibes, reminding me what a great experience I was about to have. I caught his drift, but I'm pretty sure he caught my drift, too: my inability to share the Australian landscape with him was what would be the hardest.
I did pretty well through security until the woman going through my backpack looked at me and asked, "Are you okay, honey?" I absolutely lost it, as if I had no idea I was in public. No, I was obviously not okay. I'm pretty sure I didn't care if everybody knew it. I eased up on the sobbing as soon as she reached into my bag and pulled out the mace that I forgot I had. Oops. "I hate to do this, hun, but because this is illegal in Massachusettes, I have to call a state trooper over."
The state trooper was probably the coolest state trooper in the tri-state area. He told me that he had no problem with women carrying around that kind of protection, and although he had to take it away, he advised that I drive up to Maine and buy another one as soon as I return to the states. So much for the legal system. Good thing, too.
I just about missed my flight to L.A. They had closed the doors and the plane was ready to depart, but I found a woman at a nearby desk and although she, unlike the trooper, was the meanest lady in all of New England, she managed to get me on the flight really easily. As she walked me down the corridor, maliciously berrating me for my tardiness and obviously judging my character based on that alone, I began (again) to sob. She morphed into an entirely different human being. She got me on the plane, gave me a bottled water, told the flight attendants to take good care of me because I was a "mess," and told me to sit anywhere I wanted.
And thus, Killian learns her first lesson within the first leg of her trip: when girls cry, they get things!
I was pretty miserable on the flight, started questioning why it was I left so many good and comfortable things behind to embark on the unknown, where I could potentially be isolated and lonely for the next four months of my life. I had thoughts of jumping out of the plane and flying back to Boston with some kind of superhuman skill; I kid you not.
By the time we touched down in L.A., I was tired of being miserable, so I decided to turn it into boredom. Thus began the 12 hour layover in Los Angeles. I still felt entirely alone and ended up calling Matt every other hour to update him on my boredom. Thankfully, my good buddy Keith lives in L.A., so I hopped on a bus at around 4pm and met up with him for dinner and drinks. my saddness was beginning to fade. We didn't have a lot of time to spare, but he managed to show me a good time, nonetheless. Keith is good like that, even when he's peer pressuring me into one more drink for Australia's sake. Only it wasn't for Australia's sake, it was for his sake. Keith just wanted to see me blitzed as he dropped me off at the airport, so he could laugh at my misfortune all the way home. Unfortunately for Keith's twisted sense of humor, I was not blitzed. But I was feeling sociable, which brings us to the third leg of my journey.
Wednesday, August 30, 10:30pm:
I get to the gate for an 11pm flight out of L.A. headed to Aukland, NZ. I sat down next to this kid reading a book, and figured I might as well strike up a conversation. The kid ended up having a name; Todd, and he turned out to be a great choice as far as conversation striking goes. We were fast friends. His girlfriend, Katie, who is also on the trip, is a film major. So obviously, we can't go wrong. A twist of good fate, and we discovered that we were seated in the same row. We were flight buddies, and it was good. Long, and restless, but I got to see Thank You for Smoking, finally, so I was happy. And all of the misery that I had felt originally had completely faded away.
13 Hours Later:
We land in Aukland for a two-hour layover. Todd and I separate from the rest of the group and tool around in a music store and end up getting coffee at some cafe in the terminal. We sit down in some nice comfy chairs and this other American guy strikes up a conversation with us. He's 39, from Cali, and a total surfer dude. His friends are journalists/photographers/skiiers for Powder Magazine and they're meeting up with him to take him to Fiji to photograph him surfing for National Geographic. Really cool guy. Those two hours flew by because of him.
And then we were on our way to Sydney. A three hour flight. I sat next to Irene, a fellow senior at BU, and she also turned out to be really cool. Two out of two ain't bad. I watched X-Men III. I thought it was good.
Friday, September 1, 11am:
Finally, we land in Sydney. It didn't take long to get through customs and out the door. Sept 1 is their first day of spring. It was absolutely beautiful out. Dry, warm, a bit breezy, sunny. Gorgeous. I was immediately turned on by the environment. And I knew right away that I had made the right choice to come.
This whole weekend has been a slough of Orientation goods. We got settled into our rooms, got our books, got the Sydney info, and have been super busy running around with the group. We've had a harbor cruise, which was a three hour tour around the harbor. It felt like 30 minutes. Everything was so beautiful. The Opera House, the sailboats, the skyline, the water. Everything. The sun, the bridges.
Today we were lectured to about beach safety and we all signed up for a weekend of surf lessons. I'm pretty pumped. It's gonna rock.
We went to Bondi Beach today. It's beautiful. The waves are awesome and the sand feels like powder in my toes.
We've seen so many cool cultural things... but I'll have to go into that at a later time, because trying to fit an entire weekend (as busy as this one has been) into one post is almost impossible to do.
I promise my next post will be a little more exciting, more Australia-focused, and less focused on me and my sudden ability to sob on the spot at airports.
Stay tuned.
posted by C Killian at 3:39 AM
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