American In Sydney

Good Bye Again...

It's 8:30 in the morning in Sydney and I have just showered and am relaxing comfortably for the first time since I first boarded the plane 5:50 pm NY time. With all the time differences and changes, it has been over 24 hours. The actual flight time was about 6 (NY- LA) and then another 16 to Sydney. My first time coming through as a permanent resident was easy as pie. I went through customs, they stamped my passport, got my 2 bags, went through quarantine, walked outside and saw Jackson for the first time in a month...and boy did he look good. ;) It's funny how even though we spoke on the phone and emailed and are long distance veterans, how the first 10 min always tend to be a little awkward, as if we're not sure if the other person has changed, or maybe we're just really happy to see the other person.

Now that I'm back home alone while Jackson's at work, I already miss what left behind. I had such a wonderful time catching up with friends from the past, way past, and ancient times. It's incredible where people are now and where we all began. It's amazing how much people change but how they still stay the same. This past trip made me realize that I have so many friends in NY who fall into the category of "good friends." These are the friends that you speak with if you're lucky about once a year, and while life has moved on, when you meet up, it feels like no time has passed by. I met up with so many people from high school, college, and grad school, and coming back to Sydney, I already miss them.

One would think that the 2nd time around, saying good bye to the city and people you love would be easier - in one way it was, but in other ways it was so much harder. The easier part of saying good bye to NY was the fact that I would see Jackson again. The harder was leaving my family again and friends again. I'll be seeing my family in December for Christmas, but my friends...I would see them maybe if I'm lucky next June. That's a long way away.

So it's back to my tabloids, finding jobs, and Oprah. It's good to be home...but there's no place like New York.

Australian Slang:

Sheila = shazza = gal
Bloke = mate = guy

posted by Leighna @ 5:41 am