9,194 Miles From Home

I always considered Australia a far away land and that there was no way I would ever get to travel there. I had pictured surfer dudes and tan babes running around the beach perfectly fit and beautiful and everyone there could wrestle crocodiles. Obviously this was inaccurate, but I honestly never grew up knowing much about Australia besides the fact that Steve Irwin and Kanga and Roo from Winnie the Pooh were from there. I had, however, always planned on studying abroad and my mom and I had discussed possibly doing a mini term in Scotland or England all very casually. So, I started looking into study abroad options and ran smack into the CCI Global Scholars Semester Abroad in Sydney. I can remember beaming walking to G10 after getting the first information packet and calling my mom around 10 times until she answered so I could tell her all about it. Let’s just say she was not prepared for me to say I wanted to go to the other side of the world for a whole semester instead of our previous three week plan. Thus, started all of the hypothetical planning that turned into real planning that felt hypothetical until I was left alone at security in the Nashville Airport. 

Upon leaving the US, I was very nervous about traveling alone and leaving my family for that long. However, this is exactly the kind of adventure I had been looking for. A time when I could truly find out who I am and who I wanted to be, instead of what the college women who surround me thought I should be. I would joke with my friends and family about how they would miss me after I left and we would hug and be sad for a second and then gush about all the fun I was going to have and I was constantly preparing myself for a world of loneliness once I got 9,194 miles away from home. 

Fast forward to day seven in Sydney and I still have not cried, nor have I felt homesick. Yes, I am having sweet tea withdrawals and ordering coffee here is a challenge, but I wake up every morning energetic and genuinely happy. I have started to ask myself, “Is this just the honeymoon phase? Will I have a massive meltdown tomorrow? Was I just very unhappy at home?”. All could be true, but then I think, who wouldn’t be happy here? The people are incredibly friendly, the food is healthy and delicious and have I mentioned how beautiful the beaches are? 

It definitely helps that Dr. Miller is the perfect mom figure to start this adventure with. However, one thing that instantly puts a smile on my face every morning is the letter my mom snuck into my luggage the day that I left. It’s labeled, “Boo Boo, Open when you are having a really terrible day... xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo”. This letter sits on my shelf next to the framed picture of my mom and I at Disneyland via 2003, the only memorabilia I brought to Sydney. Everyday I choose to be happy and not need to open the letter, because just seeing my moms handwriting is enough to know that I am here for a reason and I am strong enough to enjoy this semester and get all that I can out of it. I decided that the reason I am so comfortable here, so far, is because I have such an intense support system rooting for me back in Tennessee and I know that I am not really alone in Sydney. 

Cheers, 
Boo Boo