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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