Well, what can I say? I’ve been far from consistent in keeping up with this blog, and now how to sum up the past year? What I can say is that coming here was one of the best things I’ve ever done. The growth I’ve undergone here is tremendous. In some ways, it’s been the most incredible year of my life.

Maybe it would be easiest to tell you about the things I’ll miss the most.

8 Hardy Street, North Bondi. My home since January. A roomy old house with three bedrooms for two people and even a backyard, the holy grail of city living. Low rent, perfect location, a ten-minute walk from the beach. Cockroaches in summer, absolutely no insulation in winter, but perfect all the same. Oh how I’ll miss this house.

The girl I shared 8 Hardy with. Steph changed her name from Fanny when she moved from Sweden four years ago because “fanny” is a dirty word in Australian, but I call her Fanny anyway because how often do you have the chance to have a friend named Fanny?? She is the ultimate housemate: clean and thoughtful. I can’t believe I’ve only known her six months; we’ve shared so many good times and become so close. She has such a beautiful soul. Not to mention, she got me this on my birthday.

Various other friends. Some Aussie, some American transplants, some from other parts of the world. Wonderful, independent, adventurous people. These photos are from my birthday dinner and party.

These views. Are you kidding me?

Australian food. I don’t know how the word hasn’t gotten out about this. From stir fry at Thai Terrific to organic salad from Madame Char Char, fish pie at Brown Sugar to the most amazing thin-crust pizza just about anywhere (Mad Pizza, Bondi Pizza, Love Supreme—I’m seriously drooling), just about everything tastes better Down Under. They even get Mexican food right with garlic chili lime prawn tacos at the Beach Burrito Company. Here's a photo of the world's best scrambled eggs, at a place called Bills in Woollahra. I have no idea how they make them but they're heavenly.

Australian chocolate. Violet Crumble, Dark Chocolate Tim Tams, Cherry Ripe, Time Out, Cadbury Fruit and Nut…I could go on. Developing a two chocolate bar a day habit wasn’t great, but what’s worse is going somewhere where Cadbury isn’t readily available. Pretty sure Amazon.com is about to take on a new role in my life.

Regular writing workshops. For my thesis for my program, I turned in about 40% of my novel. That was written with tons of invaluable input from professors, my peers, and of course my supervisor, Dr. Jane Messer. Thinking about writing the other 60% without that feedback is terrifying—like taking off training wheels. But it’s the next step. Hopefully I’ll be more successful than I was when I actually took my training wheels off my bike. That didn’t go so well.

I’ll especially miss my friend Jo from my program. She and her husband Ross took me around Sydney’s northern beaches a few months ago, and before I left she had a little get-together for me at her house and cooked everyone dinner.

C3 Bondi. This was the first church I joined on my own as an adult, and it was such a massive part of my life-changing experience in Sydney. Although I’ve always been a Christian, in the past year I put my faith above all other things, where it belongs. The pastors and congregation of this church, right on the coast of Bondi, showed me the way and walked by my side during this period of spiritual growth. The utter peace and happiness that have come with this growth are nothing short of astounding—more than I ever could have imagined. Above all else, this is what defines my year in Sydney. Here are some girls from my church.

Can you tell? The truth is, I’m heartbroken to leave. But I’m bringing with me so much more than I dreamed I’d gain before setting out for this journey. My time in Sydney has been eye-opening, formative, and endlessly beautiful. As I move forward to future destinations, I’ll treasure my memories of Australia and guard them fiercely. They’re worth more than almost anything else I possess.

And who knows? Maybe someday I’ll find my way back there.

Thank you for supporting me along the way. All my love.

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Rob

Dear Rob,

I was so excited to see the photos of Neko. What a gorgeous, gorgeous dog – I’m sure he’ll have admirers everywhere you go!

I wanted to give you an update on my summer break and travels around Oz. In November of last year I decided to join 18 friends and friends of friends traveling to the Whitsundays (a group of islands at the southern end of the reef). I worked extra hours at the restaurant where I hostess to pay it off, and we took off on January 2nd. The adventure that followed was beyond anything I could have imagined.

We arrived in Airlie Beach on Sunday night, then boarded a boat called the Wings 2 on Monday at noon. Besides the 18 of us, there were about 12 others, plus the skipper (a brash, tough-as-nails frizzy blonde named Leila), an adorable 25-year-old hostess named Courtney who never stopped smiling and cooked us the most delicious meals, and two scuba dive instructors who both looked like Tarzan.

We stayed on the boat on Monday and Tuesday nights, then docked back in Airlie Beach on Wednesday at noon. During the days we sailed between different dive points for diving and snorkeling (I snorkeled—my fear of fish was enough to overcome for one week without getting into my claustrophobia), and in between we hung out on deck, reading and relaxing. It was so insanely hot. I put on sunscreen incessantly but still got tanner than I’ve ever been before—it’s crazy how strong the sun is here. I seriously looked like I was a different race when I got back. Anyway, here are some photos from the boat.

When we got back to Airlie Beach, we stayed at a resort for three more nights. Those days were total relaxation—just laying by the pool, talking, reading, hanging out. We went out for dinners in town at night, but otherwise we pretty much just hung out together at the resort. One day a few of us took a little vehicle called a Mini Moke that one of the guys had rented to a waterfall, which was incredible. Teenage locals were climbing to the top of it and jumping off into the shallow water. Scared the life out of me—guess that means I’m getting old!

Once I got back, I moved from Surry Hills to North Bondi (basically, from the city to the beach). I’m living in a house with a Swedish girl named Steph who’s been living in Sydney for three years. She’s a new friend I met through friends on New Year’s. My best friend Anne was in town from LA, and we spent the evening on a boat in the harbor. It was a great night—incredible views of the fireworks show with a fun group of people. It was amazing having her here and getting to show her around. Here are a couple photos of us around town.

The new house is a total 180 from my old apartment. Whereas my old place was in a metropolitan area and was very new and clean, the place where I’m living now has been here for a long time (apparently the landlord’s mother grew up here), and I don’t think it looks much different than it did then. There’s no air-conditioning, and there’s a major roach problem we’re working on sorting out right now. But on the other hand, there’s a huge amount of space as well as a big backyard, it’s in a quiet little neighborhood, and it’s a ten-minute walk from the beach—can’t beat that during summertime. I’m so glad I’m getting to experience both sides of Sydney life by living first in the city, then at the beach. I really think having both is making the most of my time here.

So it’s been an eventful summer, and in between it all I’ve been finishing my rewrite on Franklin, which I’ll be turning in to Dial this month. Then back to classes at the end of February—I’m ready to start back!

Love you and miss you,

Megs

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Dear Grandma,

Well, the semester is over. I’m officially on summer break. Sounds weird starting at the end of November, right? But there it is. Classes have ended, I’ve turned in my final assignments, and now I have two months off.

Of course, the amount of work I’m doing won’t really diminish during this break. It’s actually increasing, but just shifting focus. During the semester I was working on my new book, for which I’ll turn in 30,000 words as my thesis in May, in addition to a creative writing seminar and a course on Young Adult Fiction. During the break I’ll continue working on the new book, but I’m also completing a rewrite of Franklin and the Magic Malfunction for the editor I’ve been working with. I’ve got tons of work to do on both, but it’s work I’m happy to be doing. This is why I came to Sydney, and I’m so blessed to be able to be doing it.

I’m also working as a hostess at a restaurant up the street from me. That’s worked out really well; it’s a great restaurant, I love the people who work there and have made friends with a lot of coworkers, it’s only a ten-minute walk from my apartment, and I’m actually making a good bit of money. Pay is generally much higher in Australia; minimum wage is $17 per hour! Tipping isn’t customary here, so pay for people who work in hospitality is dependent on wages rather than on tips, as it is in America.

I’ve done some fun summer things as well. The weather is pretty fickle—some days it’s sunny and gorgeous, then in a flash it’s gray and rainy—but it’s worth it for the times we get that sun. You have to be careful here because it’s so strong—there’s a hole in the ozone. I use 30+ sunscreen on my face every day and on my body whenever it’s going to be exposed, but I’ve still gotten a lot of sun.

Last week I had a beach barbecue with friends. We cooked chicken sausages, veggie burgers, and kangaroo meat, which is delicious. It’s funny though—we had actually gone to a small wildlife park and fed and played with kangaroos on Saturday! I think this may be the only country that eats their national animal. The kangaroos were sweet and gentle, although they did get pretty excited about the grass I was feeding them (you buy it there for a dollar a bag) and one young one stood up and put his arms on my shoulders at one point! When they’re crouched down you forget how tall they are! There was also a mother kangaroo with a baby in her pouch, but its head wasn’t poking out; it was in there upside-down, with its feet sticking out at weird angles. I couldn’t get over that—how can he breathe like that? There were also koalas, emus, kookaburras, peacocks, dingos, and tons of other animals in the park--all so close you could touch them.

That was a gorgeous day. We also went to some beaches south of the city near a suburb called Cronulla and had a picnic in a park.

Hope you’re well. I miss you and think of you often.

Love,

Meagan

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Dad

Dear Dad,

Unfortunately, my trip to Byron Bay was not nearly as sunny and relaxing as you predicted. Still, as it often happens, it turned out to be a whole different kind of adventure.

On Wednesday morning, Chrissy and I paused in packing (which entailed tossing all our bikinis, tank tops, flip flops and shorts into our bags—what more do you need for the beach?) to check the weather report. The 5-day forecast predicted clouds, low temperatures, and some showers. However, for some reason we remained optimistic—I guess we were in denial. We threw in a couple jackets and sweaters, I grudgingly brought my boots, but we figured we’d have these things just in case, believing the sun wouldn’t be so cruel as to abandon us on our beach holiday.

When we arrived Wednesday night, Byron Bay was moderately warm and drizzly. This isn’t so bad! we said. Then as the weather deteriorated over the next four days, we wished for it back!

So the weather wasn’t ideal, but it was a lovely trip anyway. Byron is a bubble of bliss, an insulated hippie town that attracts backpackers and diehard travelers from around the world. It’s full of healers and surfers, organic food and weird mystical stuff. Chrissy lived there for six months before coming to Sydney, so she wanted to go back to say goodbye before returning to Germany. We stayed on couches in the house she used to live in, where five kids (all of whom have been traveling the world for years) now live.

The town itself is basically one main road; you can walk from one end to the other. But the best part of Byron is its beaches and the rainforest around them. During short increments of good weather, we walked along the beaches and all the way to the lighthouse at the easternmost tip of Australia. From there we could see families of whales swimming south. They were so close and visible, it was incredible.

We were set to leave on Sunday at 7:30 PM out of the Gold Coast airport, which is about an hour bus ride from Byron. But on Sunday the weather was at its worst; the sky was pouring sheets of rain. When we arrived at the airport at 4:30, all the flights had been delayed. We sat at the gate for hours as flight after flight was cancelled (although some did depart at delayed times, so we hoped for the best). Finally at about 11:30 PM, when everyone in the small airport was gone except the people on our flight, they cancelled it. They bussed us an hour and twenty minutes to Brisbane (playing old Mr. Bean on the bus!), put us in a hotel there, and gave us a $100 flight voucher. The upside was, I ended up spending the night in a huge bed in my own hotel room and got a flight back in the morning. So it all worked out in the end.

Still, for me the most amazing part of the whole trip happened on Sunday, even before the whole ordeal with the flight happened. I’d had a great few days, but I was ready to go home. And home, I realized, was Sydney. My apartment, my neighborhood, my life here. It was really strange to realize that after three months here, that’s what this is. I don’t know what the future holds, but for right now, this is home.

I miss you guys and love you so much.

Love,

Peepers

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Paige

Dear Paige,

Sorry it’s been so long. I still haven’t gotten a new battery for my camera, and not having photos kind of takes the fun out of blogging. However, I was able to use my flatmate’s camera for a few things the past month or so and just got the photos, so I’ll catch you up.

A few weeks ago I went to the Taronga Zoo with the Williamsons. I love zoos anyway, so I was insanely excited. It doesn’t hurt to go with kids too—their excitement makes everything extra thrilling. The zoo is located on its own island in the harbor, so we met at Circular Quay and took a fifteen-minute ferry trip over. I love that ferries are part of the transportation system here. The views are idyllic and it’s just a great feeling to board a boat to get where you need to go.

Apart from the animals, the zoo is known for having spectacular views of the city because of its elevation, and they didn’t disappoint. It was smaller than I expected, but that made it easier to navigate. We started at the top of the island and worked our way down. First was the Australian section: koalas, wallabies, emus, wombats, and kangaroos. Here’s a koala:

The wallabies, emus and kangaroos were all roaming free in a section with no barriers. It was pretty cool—they just hop right across your path. There was even a wallaby snoozing that we got to pet. All the animals were pretty chilled out—I wonder what they feed them.

The Williamsons told me the giraffes supposedly have the ultimate view of Sydney, and after seeing it, I think that’s pretty accurate. Lucky guys.

We also saw this tiger stalking back and forth in front of a glass wall, making eye contact with all the onlookers. With such a thin, transparent barrier, it was really intense.

Last weekend I went to my first Australian Football League game. The rules are pretty simple (even for me), and it was such a gorgeous, sunny day. We had a great time.

Chrissy and I have also gone to a couple museums. We saw the Contemporary Art Museum, where we watched a hilarious live installation where people did sort of a standing yoga kind of thing with an instructor and then went “cruising” (walking around like they were in a trance) and looking at the art. I have no idea how that made it in the museum.

We also went to the Powerhouse Museum, which is a really cool design and technology museum here. They had exhibits on Australian fashion, the 80’s, recent Australian inventions, and this Australian fashion photographer. In the photo below, I’m imitating one of his famous photos—then we both hopped in and goofed around.

Your photos from France are beautiful! How is school so far? I heard you have a couple of Den’s former teachers.

Love you!

Meagan

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