Australia Part 2: "Never in a million years..." (The Wedding)

Holy CRAP do I have a lot of homework to catch up on.

But, regardless of all that, I wanted to take a few minutes to jot down a few thoughts about my second trip to Australia before my mind fills with sonnets and poems and literature and God knows what else.

First of all, my parents are SO awesome for letting me come back for Kamal's wedding. I never in a million years thought they would actually let me do such a thing, what with traveling across the world alone and all, but they actually did! I also have to give a bit of credit to my brother, cousins, aunts and uncles who helped the cause as well! To be completely honest, if I didn't have all these pictures, I wouldn't even believe I went - I would have thought it was all just a dream. Next time I should really strap a video camera to my head so I can keep reliving the weekend (haha just kidding, I'm not that crazy). Neerali called me yesterday to briefly ask how the trip was and if I was glad I went, to which I responded without hesitation: "Absolutely, ONE MILLION percent, completely happy I went back." I can't even imagine what it would have been like to not go. I have to say that it was hands down one of the best weekends of my life, and here's why:

I'm going to try to do a quick run-down of each day, but I'll probably come back to this later and fill in the gaps.

I arrived in Coffs Harbour on Thursday around 1pm where Simmi and my parents picked me up from the airport. I gave Simmi a HUGE hug because I was so unbelievably happy to see her! I still couldn't believe I had actually made it out there - it was too unreal. Despite my lack of sleep, I was so hyper and completely bouncing off the walls. When we got back to the house, it was COMPLETELY different from how I left it. (Well, despite the fact that Simmi and Harman were both wearing the exact same clothes they were wearing when I left the first time - made me feel like I hadn't even left at all!) When I left the first time though, everything was pretty quiet and there weren't too many people around, but when I arrived, there were at least 50 people there who I didn't even know, let alone all the other people that I did know, and despite the fact that I smelled like plane and desperately needed a shower, I quickly made my way around for all the Sat Siri Akals and half-hugs and hellos. I also met Kamal as I was trekking up the driveway which was so nice because I kept thinking I wasn't going to be seeing much of her since it was her wedding after all and I knew how busy she must be. In any case, I finally made my way to my parents' room (actually Harman's room that my parents took over) to drop off my luggage and shower. Even though I would be bunking with Simmi and Kamal (how ridiculous are they for letting another person live in their room during such a crazy time!? I don't even know. I would've been perfectly fine sleeping on the ground outside the house with the snakes, but they're all WAY too generous and hospitable for that) I left my things in their room so I wouldn't crowd up the girls' room. While I was talking to my mom and trying to catch my breath from all the excitement, Harman walked in! Not to see me or anything, but just to grab a t-shirt because he didn't miss me at all.

After showering and getting ready super quick, I joined the girls to go decorate the hall for Kamal's Ladies' Sangeet which was to take place later that night. We decorated the room with purple tablecloths plus yellow and purple balloons. It looked so nice! I love that color combination (mainly because it contains purple). Side note: I think I want my wedding colors to be purple and gold like my cousin Gurleen's was in Vancouver. Just saying. Anyways...we blew up balloons, tied them to the centerpieces, and set up the tables. Decorating and blowing up balloons is so up my alley from all the work I do here on ISA board. When we were almost finished, we realized we ran out of tablecloths and went to get more supplies for the hall. I never knew tablecloths were so expensive! But they're definitely not cheap. We headed back to the hall and were joined by Harman and some of the boys and we quickly finished up all the decorations.

We headed back to the house to get dolled up, dressed, and ready for the Sangeet. Sim and I ended up making a bunch of trips back and forth to pick up people and drop them off, as well as to run random errands, which I didn't mind doing at all. I love car rides in Coffs Harbour!

Okay I'm bored with my own writing. I can go on and on and talk about the beautiful Sangeet and all the other parties and traditions and customs, but I can't keep writing out this timeline!

As much as I loved literally every single SECOND of my (first and) second trip, I'm not a newspaper so there's really no need for me to report all the facts of what happened when and whatever. The pictures speak enough for all that. I want to talk about something else, but first, just a brief recap of my favorite moments from the weekend (in no particular order, except the first and last ones):

Simmi's hug at the airport. Bare feet. Baby Reet and Diya. Tattoo talk/drawings. Sneaking out for KFC. "Mackers". Ice cream from Wendy's. Cadbury Koala bear. Shopping for "earache medicine". High heels that were no help/did nothing. Being the shortest person in the history of the Sohi family. Violent scissor battle. Delicious cake at morning tea. Saving the world's best burfi from the trashcan. "What do you mean you're not 'part of the bridal party'?!?!" Helium tank. Family tree/diagram. All the "bad luck" - jago dropping, flour spilling, bangle misordering. Purple and yellow, red and gold. Harman making the entire Gurdwara cry. Pointless conversations till 3am. Gemini and Taurus, S and H. Piggyback rides. Bunking with the bride. Staking the fridge with drinks. Harman admitting that he actually read my blog. Certain cousins being the biggest picture-whores on the planet. Simmi's and my "favorite person". Avatar Chachaji: "Harman, go get your sister some water"...comes back with water for everyone except me. Driving by the mirror at the hotel/resort. Reet playing with my bracelets. Almost getting tossed off the balcony. Sleeping at 3am, waking up at 3:15am. Best milkshake ever. Ferrero Rocher chocolate. Borrowing Simmi's super snuggly jumper. Video of Tajinder Taiaji sleeping. "Leen, wanna go for a drive!?" Pink/salmon shirt. Simmi's bleeding ears. Earring-inserting techniques. Vici's favorite life moments and our heart-to-heart. "Reserved for the Sohi Family." Harman coming back from Brisbane. Grocery trolleys. Harman completely stopping the car every time I wanted to take a picture. "I'm sexy and I know it." Raspberry lemonade. Late-night question games. Simmi jumping the fence so we could sneak into the hot tub. Nearly drowning in the ten-feet deep pool. Harman standing in the ten-feet deep pool. Blue shirt with the babies. Monster snake chillin in the middle of the road. Sitting in the bride and groom chairs. Either never finding my own shoes to wear, or going without wearing any. Powerade addictions. Hair and make-up before the sun was up. Driving around in the Audis, the Pajaro, and my personal favorite - the stick-shift pick-up truck. Photo booth. Amazing music. Swimming in the rain. Swerving on the street to find kangaroos. Spiked cokes and orange soda. "Nugget." Harman's hug at the airport.

I know that might not seem like a lot, and I know there are a million more, but I really wish I could just freeze each of those moments, minus the snake ones.

In any case, the memories from the pictures will last forever, but I wanted to make sure I got a chance to at least attempt to write down how I felt while I was there. I feel like my friends here in the states think I'm obsessed with my cousins or something because I never stop talking about them and how I want to go back, but the truth is, that I actually am kind of crazy about them. Throughout the entire wedding, and even during my first trip, I can't even begin to describe how absolutely amazing they made me feel while I was there, and how much I admire them. This past year has been incredibly rough, without a doubt one of the craziest most stressful, heart-breaking years of my life with the worst emotional turmoil quite possibly ever, and yet they made this trip for me such a welcoming, refreshing, breath of fresh air. I would never in a million years want to go through what I went through again, but if it means I get to see them at the end of the year, I'd at least consider it. Even though Kamal was getting married, and I have had hardly known these guys for two weeks now (I literally met them two weeks ago), I was more involved and included in their wedding than I've ever felt with anyone else, including cousins that I've known my entire life who live within just a few miles of me! How is that even possible??

When I thought about coming back for the wedding, I figured I would be sitting on the sidelines, observing from a distance, enjoying the great food and company. I thought surely I'd feel at least a LITTLE bit neglected, considering how much attention they gave Suny and me during my first trip - there was no way they could do that again. I thought that hopefully feeling left out might even help me get over them so I won't miss them as much when I had to leave. Again.

And, I was wrong of course.

On one of the nights before the wedding, I don't even know how this came up (I think it was while Harman was asking me why I never wore the right color for the right day - colors I had no idea about). But in any case, I was talking with him and mentioned how given that I've only known the family for such a short amount of time, I didn't really consider myself part of the bridal party or a person who had any sort of role, whether big or small, in the actual progression of the wedding. I was more of a spectator or bystander of sorts, admiring from afar. That didn't settle too well with him. I think that might have actually been the first time he got seriously mad at me! (I was a little scared, I have to admit, now that I'm back here all safe and sound.) He reassured me that that wasn't the case at all, that I should be like Simmi's shadow, the way Simmi is Kamal's shadow, or to just be Kamal's shadow. His point was the same that everyone else had been saying and I wasn't hearing - that they wanted me to actually be part of the wedding, because I am their sister. Whatever they do, I do. After that talk, I felt a million times better than my already energetic and high-as-the-sky self that takes shape when I'm in Australia.

Actually getting to be a person in the wedding was so much fun and so amazing. I never in a million years thought I would be one of the sisters holding the ribbon to prevent Sukhie from entering the Gurdwara, or that I would get a shoutout during Simmi's speech at the reception (still a little shocked at that), or that I would get to share a bed with Kamal the night before her wedding. It's so easy for a bystander to get lost in the craziness of a wedding (I can't even count the number of times it's happened to me) but they've definitely showed me the right way to treat every single person at my own wedding or any wedding I'm a part of - with love and respect, as though I really really want them to be there.

I honestly feel closer to these kids than I've felt with my first cousins (with the exception of Neetu of course), and I found myself once again longing to stay back. The truth is, I don't just want to be a person in their wedding, but I just want to be a person in their lives. I want to go for late-night drives, nearly get eaten by snakes, and trek up the monster steep driveway. I want to learn what the heck Rugby is about and why the players have to wear their socks over their shoes, and maybe even go to one of Harman's matches, or games or whatever they're called. I want to be there for Simmi and pick at her brain about history or math or boys or life or anything else she wants to talk about. I want to help her put her earrings in so they don't bleed her ears to death and help her memorize all those math formulas she's got posted on her shower door (sorry, Sims, I had to out your secret). It breaks my heart being so far away when all I want to do is be able to put my shoes on while sitting on the questionable bench Harman made, or wake up to the amazing view from Simmi's balcony next to the best roommate ever, or go to the farm and pluck blueberries right off the vine and eat them. I can't even so much as look at blueberries here in the states without my stomach churning.

I'm facing some major Australia Withdrawal Syndrome right now. I keep telling myself that things would be different if I was still there, that Simmi and Harman will be starting school and it won't be all fun and games anymore, but that's not even what it's about. It's not even the places we went to, or what was happening, or what we did that I miss - it's the people. It's my cousins. It's the feeling that I know I could probably be just about anywhere in the world with these people and still have the same unforgettable memories and know that they could put a smile on my face at any given moment simply by being in their company. They really do have a gift, and it's hard for me to think of ever getting sick of them. My favorite parts of my trip would have to be when one of my cousins would call out to me: "Leen! Wanna go for a drive!?" and I couldn't wait to go wherever we were going, even if it was just to the gas station. All the driving around really allowed me to spend some quality time with them, see the city, and get a breath of air from the house. Regardless of how much I think of myself as some missing puzzle piece and Australia being the unfinished puzzle, I have to be positive and live in my moment - here and now.

At this point in my life, I don't really know where I'm headed after graduation. I'm thinking about going for my Masters, and the more I think about a Masters degree from an Australian university, the more I'm liking the idea. My dad's only stipulation was that he wants me to go to a school that's better than GWU for my Masters, and after a bit of research, that is quite possible, considering Australia has some amazing schools that are in the top 100 of the world. Granted, I won't be in Coffs Harbour, but I'll still be close, and God knows I need a change of scenery. Now the only problem is actually getting into them.

I keep telling myself that each day that goes by is one day closer to seeing them again or going back to Australia again, right? So I should just make the most of each of my days until then so that when I do get to go back or I do get to see them, I'll at least have made some sort of progress in my life instead of being so sad. Which I'm not. My friends have helped a lot with that. Last week on the night before I left for the wedding, Neerali came over to listen to my stories about my first trip and I remember telling her how unreal this all is and how a week from that moment, I would be back there sitting with her and telling her stories and my second trip to Australia would all be over. It's been a few days since I got back, but she came over again earlier today, and we were really astonished at how fast time goes by and how much can happen in such a short time frame. The thing is that time goes by whether we like it or not - it's a constant measurement that'll keep moving regardless of where our heads or our hearts are. We've just got to keep going with it, because before we know it, those events that we so long await will be here, and then they'll be over. That doesn't mean I should stop living while I wait for them to get here, it just means I've got something worth living for and worth looking forward to.

And hey, if nothing else, now at least I actually know that I have some of the best cousins in the entire world. They might be all the way across that world, but they're also only a Skype call or Facebook message away. To my cousins and my family overseas - thank you all for such a truly incredible, worthwhile, and unforgettable time. You guys really know what it means to be a family, and I am so thankful to be a part of it. I love you guys.

Until next time,

<3

Day 12: Life Lessons

9:30pm (EST)

Today I learned, that if you cry and moan and complain and whine and hate the world enough, you still won't get what you want in life.

But, if your parents love you enough and want to see you happy...you just might.

I'M HEADING BACK DOWN UNDER FOR KAMAL'S WEDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have never been so excited in my entire life. :) :) :)

THIS is how good I feel right now. Plus about a million trillion thousand billion.

Day 11: The longest day ever.

This is going to be the hardest post I've ever had to write. I don't even know if I should keep it on this blog or move it to my private one, but we'll see how this goes.

Note: If you haven't read any of the posts prior to this one, I highly recommend catching up on them before reading this one, or you're probably going to think I'm just one huge emotional sap.

I honestly can't believe I'm sitting here in my room back in America right now. It just feels way too surreal to be true. It's like you wait and wait and wait for something to happen, and then the moment it's over, what are you left with? And what happens when you weren't even anticipating anything at all, and it came out of the blue and completely rocked your world and is now over before you could even grasp the reality of it?

In any case, my last morning in Australia began around 8am, even though everyone else was awake much earlier getting ready for the paat (religious ceremony) that was to take place later at the house. Not wanting to acknowledge the day, I tried to stay in bed as long as possible. Eventually though, I woke up, brushed my teeth, and noticed how blotchy my eyes were from the previous night. Before going out to greet anyone, I asked Sims if it was okay if I took the first shower so I could hopefully wash my face and appear more human/normal. I showered, but even while in the shower (where I get some of my best thinking done), I started crying. The time I spent in Coffs Harbour went by in the blink of an eye, and I wished for like 20,000 more blinks. The water and tears mixed together and soon it felt like I was crying out buckets of water.

While I was getting ready, I debated whether or not to take the time to do my make-up. Pretty much every day on vacation, I got dolled up, but this morning I knew it was no use. It would all come off before breakfast anyway. I went to my parents' room and asked them one more time if there was any way I could just stay. My mom started crying at that point too because she knew how much I was hurting and how desperately I wanted to stay. I know I'm not the best at conveying emotions through text, and especially through these blog posts, but there's just something about the Sohis in Australia that's magnetic. It could be a one-sided magnet, but tearing me apart from them just goes against all laws of nature.

It's not right to introduce a kid to her cousins, only give her two days with them, and then ship her off 10,000 miles away and tell her "you'll see them soon!". That's not very helpful or conducive to anything. Of course I'm grateful for the amount of time I was able to spend with them, and that I was able to get to know them at all, and I know I sound selfish saying this, but I just want more time.

Time is an element that is never in anyone's favor. It's not in the favor of those who are aging, or those who are dying, or anyone at all for that matter. I wish we had the ability to manipulate time, to pause the moments we want to last and fast-forward through the ones we don't. If it were up to me, I would hit pause on almost every second of my trip to Coffs Harbour. Even though I took pictures for so many of those seconds, I still feel like there's so much unfinished business there. Not "business" per se, but just things to do, words to say, and memories to make with the people I have grown to love.

Love - such a strange word. What does that even mean? I know I love my family, each and every one of them, as far as the Sohis, Dhamis, Gills, and everyone else extends - no matter how much some of them drive me nuts. I say that though, because that's how you're supposed to treat family. You're supposed to love them automatically. But when you grow to a certain age, you realize that you have a choice. You can decide the moment you fall in love with your family, which is different. I've loved my family my entire life, but I only recently fell in love with them when I realized just how different my life would be had they never been there, or how much I care about every little thing they do and how invested I am in each and every one of them. I want to see my family succeed, I want everyone to reach their full potentials, I don't want anything ever to hold them back, and I always want to do whatever I can to help them. I don't know if what I'm saying makes any sense, but that feeling can extend beyond just my nuclear family to my extended family too.

Granted, I'm sure if I would have stayed with them in Coffs Harbour a few days or weeks longer (or in Harman's case, a few minutes longer), I would have eventually needed my space and would have been a lot more willing to leave. But with such a short amount of time, that didn't happen, so now I'm just left with this gut-wrenching feeling and all I want to do is be back in Australia with my parents and family. Kamal's getting married next weekend and after spending this much time with her family, I can't even bear the thought of not being at her wedding. My parents drag me to everyone else's weddings, some people that I don't even know or necessarily care for, and when it's someone I actually DO care about, I can't go? How is that even fair?

I guess this is all stemming from how after this past year, I've grown to realize how short life can be and how much family really means. At the end of the day, that's all you have left. You have your family to rely on and count on to be there for you, and I want them to be able to rely on me and count on me too...and how am I supposed to do that for a wedding that's so far away? So many people I know miss school, some for weeks at a time, for a family wedding. I don't want to miss school, I just want to spend time with my family! I don't get what's so horrible about missing one or two days of classes, especially at the beginning of the year when one of those days is dedicated to the Reading of the Syllabus. I just don't understand.

My parents keep saying that I'll come back again and my cousins will come visit me in America, but will that REALLY happen? When I went to visit our cousins in Vancouver in 2007, everyone said we would see each other again, but I haven't seen any of them since I left. Again, I made such great friendships and connections with so many of them, and we keep in touch through Facebook and the occasional phone call and all that, but when will I ever get to see them and build a real bond? For my parents it was a lot different - everyone pretty much lived in the same village or not too far away, so they grew up with one another, with so many stories to recount years down the road, and memories to share.

With my cousins scattered all over the world, how are we supposed to be able to do that? As much as people say the lives of the next generation are getting easier, I can't help but feel the opposite. Sometimes I long for the earlier more simple times where the problems were few and the options were many. Now it's the opposite. I'm not asking to go on any crazy trips with my friends or do something stupid...all I want to do is spend more time with my family. I know I'm writing more out of emotion than intellect right now, which is why this post probably makes less sense than monkey talk, but I just need to vent out the emotions I've been feeling over four flights and over 36 hours of flying around the world.

So back to my day. My parents of course said no, and that left me to pack up my suitcase and get ready to leave. I'm pretty sure I cried more today in one day than I've cried in probably the past three years combined, and I've honestly been through some very tough stuff these past few years. I mumbled my good-byes to everyone through blurred eyes and wished I could just conjure up some sort of anchor and root myself into the ground so they could never take me away. If you think these thoughts are probably really immature and not suited for a 21-year-old about to graduate from college, quite honestly, screw you.

I guess a part of me is actually kind of worried about this trip. Like I said, I still haven't seen my cousins up in Vancouver again, and it's been nearly five years. Is that how it will be with Kamal and Sims and Harman? That's what's really getting to me. That's the thought I can't bear. Especially after these past few days, I don't want it to be that long until we see each other again. I don't want to grow up and get a job and "make time" for family. I don't want them to grow up and forget they have a big (but actually little) sister in America. Sure, they're not babies and they have functioning memories, but two days? Is that really enough time to form a concrete memory in the minds of teenagers? I know I'm not that much older than them, but I have a feeling they impacted me infinitely more than I ever could have impacted them.

The previous night before bed while we were playing with Sim's Chinese lantern, I asked Harman if he could make me a mix CD. I knew the timing was really tight and I highly doubted he would even remember in the morning, but he said he would, and if he didn't, to remind him. Our music taste is very similar and I loved all the tracks he played from his CDs when we would drive around. And of course, when I saw him in the morning, he has a present for me - a mix CD that I'm listening to right now. It's so good! A lot of these songs I had never heard before driving around in Coffs Harbour, so they definitely get my emotions going back to the crazy hills, treacherous car rides, and all the times Harman would come up with the weirdest nicknames for me (because he couldn't remember my real name), i.e. "nugget". Is it weird that I'm going to miss being called a "nugget"? I don't even know if that's a derogatory term - I'll assume it's meant to be endearing.

Since Sim was driving us to the airport, the only good-byes left to say were to Harman and Kamal. Before I was about to say bye, Harman told Suny that he would be meeting us at the airport later with Kamal or something, so that stifled the waterworks to just a trickle for the time being. Sim drove Suny, my parents, and me to the airport. The airport in Coffs Harbour is TINY compared to any other airport I've ever been to in my life. When I told Harman last night that our flight was around 10am, he said it takes 20-30 minutes to get there and we would leave at 9. I started to mention security and all that, and he said not to worry about it. Now I saw what he meant - there was hardly anyone at all in the airport. It had one terminal and two gates. The planes were tiny and only meant for short-distance domestic flights which was perfect for us.

Since the airport is so tiny, we could hang out with our parents and Sim as we waited for Kamal and Harman to arrive. It would take us all of a minute to get through security and then wait at the gate behind the glass to where we were standing with everyone else. As we waited, a part of me wished they wouldn't come. Although I've been rooming with Sims and we've had some great conversations, and she's truly one of the most amazing people I've ever known (and one of the nerdiest), there's something about Harman - whether his delinquency or his incompetency, or his eccentricity (have fun looking up all those words, little bro!) - I knew he would be the hardest to say good-bye to. Don't ask why - I can't explain it.

So there we were at the airport, my parents making small talk while I started my first of the five tissue packets I would consume on all my flights. I was also munching on the bag of blueberries Chachiji had given me before I left. They were so good and I knew I was never going to find blueberries that fresh in America. The time was getting close for us to board, and they still hadn't shown up. Sim didn't have her phone, so my dad called her dad to see if they were still coming/what was going on. They said they were coming, so we continued to wait. Just when I thought they wouldn't show up, Sim said she spotted their car. Dammit - just when I thought I could get by.

Before I could stop the tears from falling, they were streaming out of control. I couldn't say bye to them - how the hell could I say bye to any of them? I had barely just said hello. I turned around to blow my nose and try to get myself together, and by the time I turned back, they had walked through the door and joined our group - complete with a box of Cadbury chocolates and stuffed Koala bear. Seeing that little Koala bear (I named him Miko) brought about my first smile in what felt like eternity. They always know the perfect thing to say or do. It's not so much the Koala bear that brought a smile to my face, but everything he represents - the memories of our times together and the way we really are a family that seeks to make each other happy. They have given me so many memories in addition to physical mementos to remember my trip - I just wish I could have given them something to remember me too.

The five of us cousins got a picture together at the gate before we took off, and I don't care how homeless, congested, or blotchy I look in that picture - it's getting framed. I can't explain how I am able to feel so strongly about people with whom I have only spent such a short amount of time. It's insane and even boggles my mind. I have no idea how I could cry through literally every flight, and even while Neetu drove us home from the airport in DC, even to the point that the customs officer at LAX had to ask me if I was okay. (If I were him and saw some crazy girl with red eyes, I would have assumed she was just drunk or something.) I don't remember ever being so emotional in my entire life - ever. I just really, really hope I get to see them again.

I should probably take a moment to thank my cousins and family for everything they did for me in Coffs Harbour. I'm not talking about my meals and all our activities and the countless stuffed animals and chocolate and all that (which I'm grateful for, of course), but for the bigger message they gave me. They opened my eyes to an entirely new lifestyle, a new definition of the word "work" and an additional definition of "family". Each of those kids are so unique in their own ways and I really hope they never change. (Well, they could ease up on their bad words a little bit). But in all seriousness, they all are such incredible human beings. They have inspired me to better care for others, to value what's around me, and to never take these precious seconds of our lives for granted, because we never really can get them back. They've made me realize how much family actually means, and how there are so many more wonderful relatives and people yet to meet, share stories with, and create new experiences together.

I know the wedding will go fantastically well and that there will be many more weddings in the family, and that life is long and there will be plenty of opportunities to see my cousins again blah blah BLAH...but I'm not a very patient person. And as far as I know, Kamal's only planning on getting married once. I wish more than anything that I could be there and witness one of the most important day's in our family's lives, but I guess I'll just have to hold out for now. As crazy and chaotic and hectic as all the taking off, flying, and landing has been in the past 36 hours, I'd do it again in a heartbeat if it meant I could go back to my family in Coffs Harbour.

It's with a heavy heart that I sign off on my last post. I took over a thousand pictures while in Australia, but I can't even imagine going through them right now - it's just like another sobfest in the making. Maybe I'll upload pictures later this week and update this blog with a few sprinkled in here and there to make it more eye-appealing. (Hopefully then I can stop being so depressing.)

I can't wait for my next adventure, whether it involves meeting new people or reconnecting with old ones. Whatever it may be, I'm looking forward to it.

Until next time...

Day 10: Life on the Farm

(Writing this retrospectively now in the states, so let's hope I remember everything I wanted to say!)

Our last full day in Australia began interestingly enough. We woke up early, got breakfast and got ready (I apparently take forever to do this), then headed out to the farm!

Oh, so the night before when Harman was bugging me, wanting to know what I was writing about him on my blog, I distracted him by agreeing to play COD. I've never played Call of Duty, just heard about it a lot, but I actually helped him complete a mission! I killed all of 4 people and he killed like 73. (He basically told me exactly where to stand while he lured people towards me so I could kill them. And I still only killed 4.) When I told my dad that later, he was a little weirded out, but when I explained that it was in a game, he was a bit more understanding.

So we went over to the farm Friday morning, and I quite honestly had no idea what to expect. I've never really been to a Banana/Blueberry farm, or any other kind of farm for that matter. Well, I guess I've gone to the kind with animals and stuff on field trips and whatever, but not an actual farm that grows stuff. Just to put this out there, this day was by far my absolute favorite day out of every day we've been here. Allow me to explain:

I went to the farm with Sim, her mom, and my mom. We drove up in the Pajaro which is like a jeep, but those are the kinds of vehicles you need when you live in Coffs Harbour and have a farm - you've gotta get up and down all these crazy hills! As we drove through the farm, I saw the neatest most organized rows of banana trees and blueberry bushes/vines. They've got two HUGE farms, each covered in countless rows of fruits. We drove up to the upper part of the farm, where the blueberries were, and I had my first taste of a truly fresh blueberry. To be completely honest, I've never been a total fan of blueberries. Out of all the berries, they were probably right above blackberries for me and below strawberries and raspberries. Well, that changed! The blueberries on their farm are the juicest, sweetest, yummiest fruits EVER. We just picked them right off the vines and ate them and they were sooo good! I wish I had a stash with me right now. :( I'm sure if I would have tried one of their bananas, they probably could have changed my opinion about them too.

The sun was beating down on us pretty hard since it was about noon, and later I learned that both Sim and Harman actually have spent/still spend a lot of time working on the farms since they were really little, picking berries, cutting bananas, and actually getting their hands dirty with manual work. Their family is doing incredibly well now, but just to think about what these kids have been through, and what their family has gone through, makes me respect them all to infinite degrees. They're all SO hardworking, even at such a young age, and yeah there are different ways to work hard, whether physically or mentally or however, but they have really inspired me and I can't even begin to explain how much they mean to me.

I'm getting ahead of myself.

Back to the farm. Okay so we ate some berries on the upper part of the farm, then Sim and I went down to the lower areas around the banana trees and to the shed where the tractors and guns are. The men (Suny, Harman, and our dads) were already down there. Well, I don't know for sure if the guns are actually kept there, but that's where they were. And we shot them.

That's right, I shot a gun! I have never imagined myself as much of a gun shooter or animal killer, but I actually shot a gun! I'm still kind of surprised I did. I shot an air rifle, and had no idea what I was doing, but the thing sure was heavy, not to mention LOUD. We made kind of a game with it, shooting these orange circular block things over from about 30(?) feet away. My uncle and Harman are pretty good with the guns. Actually, my uncle's REALLY good, Harman's just alright (I have a feeling I'm going to start being mean to him on this blog only because I'm about to send him a link for it...haha just a warning.) I saw my dad shoot a gun too! He's really good - it was kind of surprising. The Sohis are a very militaristic family, so I guess it runs in the blood. But, it skipped Suny or something and of course whatever Harman does, Suny has to try to match or beat. So, Harman shot over some blocks, then Suny wanted to shoot over some blocks, and that didn't work out too well.

They put this tiny blue little top kind of thing on top of the blocks and my uncle hit it. They asked me to take a turn since I hadn't really been doing much ever since my one attempt at shooting. I was pretty reluctant, but after a bit of convincing, I took up the gun and took aim. I had no idea what I was doing. They told me to not worry about the blue top and to just focus on the blocks. (Yeah...okay. I'm competitive too, you know.) So, all I did was line up my eye in the little hole and match the crosses to the blue top thing, tried my best to keep that heavy gun steady, and bam! I hit it!!! :) Even my dad didn't hit it. And Harman only hit it by leaning on the car, whereas I hit it while standing on my own. I was...completely shocked. As would anyone be. Who in their right mind would hand such a small girl a huge gun? Well, now if I ever have one...you better watch out. ;)

We finished up with the guns and went back to the upper part of the farm so my dad and Suny could try the blueberries. Suny and Harman took a tractor up and the rest of us climbed into the car. Sim and I sat in the hatchback part which was kind of cool because I've never done that before! We rode up the hill and ate more of the berries and goofed around. Harman honked the car horn and I just thought he was being obnoxious, but turns out, that means it's lunch time. The workers, including two of my other cousins and their wives, came up for lunch. It's so crazy to think of how hard everyone works, 8 hours a day in the blazing heat picking berries and cutting bananas. They fill up so many trays with the blueberries which get shipped out to the rest of Australia. It was so nice being able to eat like a million and a half blueberries without having to pay like $5 for a handful, or however much they sell for at the local stores in America. I'm really going to miss having that bountiful blueberry luxury. Before going back down, Harman and Suny decided to have a little wrestling match. When I told my mom to try to break them up, my mom told me to take their picture instead. So now I have a picture on my camera of that - fantastic...

Sim and I took the tractor back down to the lower farm and she drove me all around the place and through the banana trees. It was so much fun! I've never really ridden on a tractor before. The one we have at home won't let you on unless you're over 100 pounds or something. If you're less than that, it won't start because it thinks you're a kid. We rode around and waited for everyone else to show up, then my dad and Suny took turns driving around on the tractor too before we put it away. My uncle has a Lamborghini tractor! I got in to take a picture and Harman said "I put you in a Lamborghini when you came to Australia, now you better put me in one when I come to the states!" (I'll try to make it happen for you, baby bro.)

We went back to the house, had lunch - KFC, which tastes a lot better there than it does here, and then I went with Sim and Harman to a family friend's house to pick up a pressure washer. Since Kamal's getting married next weekend and there are lot of activities going on at the house, they've been working so hard to get it cleaned perfectly. What impresses me the most is that they've been doing almost everything themselves, rather than contracting people to do things (other than the really big things), which I really admire. Like I said, these kids are so hardworking and you can tell that they are so respectful to their parents, which is rare to find in teenagers, at least in the states.

When we went to get the pressure washer, this was the first time I got to sit in the front seat during our entire trip! (Only because Suny wasn't there.) Harman needed a licensed driver to sit with him up front since he only has the equivalent of a Learner's Permit in Australia. I was so excited since I had become so used to sitting in the back. Then again, Harman was driving, so I should've been more fearful than excited, but it was really fun! You can see a whole world more in the front than you can in the back. It honestly felt just like a rollercoaster haha I was having the thrill of my life.

On our way to get the pressure washer, we drove by their other farm, also with blueberries and bananas, and where their old house stands. I have an old house too (we all pretty much do), and I've been there a million times and never felt too emotional about it, but this old house, nestled within the farm, was a lot different. We were there for hardly a minute, and I didn't even get out of the car, and I don't know if I just look into things too deeply or something, but there was just something about its modesty and significance that hit me hard. It's hard to find something that'll choke me up more than success stories, and to see its beginnings is just such an inspiring, truly moving moment. To think that they literally worked, lived, breathed, ate, did everything around this farm - I still can't wrap my head around it. Now of course they have a beautiful house overlooking the rest of the town and beaches, and they shell out money like it came out of a Monopoly box, but as with any instance of post-colonial immigration, I just think it's so important to acknowledge where we come from and what got us to where we are today.

Sorry, like I mentioned before, much of this blog is just stream-of-consciousness/me-writing-as-I-think-it, so please pardon the breaks in narrative! We went back to the house to pick up Suny since he wasn't ready to go with us before, and then we went out to the shops. Sim needed to go to the post office to send out a package and Harman had to exchange some clothes, so we split up and decided to meet back up at the car. I went with Sim to send her package and then we stopped by a Chemist shop (pharmacy) to pick up some anti-itch cream since I was being bitten to death by mosquitoes and other bugs. Turns out, the guys had been waiting for us at the car for a while by the time we got back (oops...) and they weren't too pleased about that. My bad, guys! :(

When we got back, I had a chat with my dad about how I really really wanted to stay in Coffs Harbour longer. I had no idea I even had cousins out here because they never told me, and I really wanted to spend more time with them, especially since Kamal was coming home that night and I hadn't even met her yet. I tried so hard to convince him, but to cut a long story short, Suny needs to be back by Monday. So, if it weren't for him and the things he needs to take care of, we could have extended our trip and stayed for the wedding. That news, naturally, didn't settle too well with me, especially since every single day I kept asking if we could extend our trip.

I was incredibly peeved off and didn't want to be around my brother, so I headed outside to get some air. I hate getting emotional in front of people - it doesn't happen often - but when I do, I just like being alone, collecting my thoughts, taking some deep breaths, and then getting back to my regular routine. (That may have worked for the rest of my life, but not so much in 2012.) I headed outside to sit by the side of the house where I thought I could be stealth and no one would find me. Nope! Harman came out to talk on the phone (I still don't know if he was actually on the phone, but it looked like it). He was talking to someone about how he's excited to spend the rest of the day with his best friend and favoritest cousin Harleen, and he was telling whoever he was talking on the phone with about how cool and awesome and not at all short I am and how he thinks I'm the most awesome thing since the invention of the tractor. (Just kidding, he didn't really say all that - just most of it.) The kid knows how to make me smile though, I'll give him that. :)

Still not completely composed, my dad and I went for a walk down to the beach. We didn't exactly know how to get there, but we just followed people who looked like they were going to the beach too, and we miraculously made it there. (It's also about a five minute walk from the house.) It was nice being able to walk along the beach with my dad and just share some of my thoughts and how I was feeling about this entire trip. Mainly, how I felt about our family out here and how I so badly want to get to know them better and spend more time with them. (I'm writing this now back in the states and I'm tearing up while writing this because I miss them all so freaking much!!!) Of course, the tides just aren't in my favor right now, and despite it being the second semester of my senior year and classes really not mattering during the first week, I had to go back with Suny.

We walked back up to the house after getting the calf workouts of our lives getting up those hills, and got ready for the evening. There was a carnival in town, so we headed over there! I was really really excited for Harman to win me prizes because he's proved to be pretty good at carnival-game-winning activities, like basketball and shooting and stuff like that. Also, all day I had been badgering him about winning me prizes so I'm sure he was looking forward to it as much as I was! I love how whenever I'm with him and Sim, I always feel like I"m the youngest among us even though I'm not. (That's probably because they spoil the hell out of me - but you guys just wait till you come to the states! And I should add that they're also both very mature for their ages.) In any case, they let me be my dorky self and if you can't be a dork around your family, you can't really be a dork around anyone. It's so ridiculous to think that by this point, I had hardly known them two days, yet I felt like I've known them for ages.

Oh! Remember how I said Sim is like Jess from Bend it Like Beckham and Harman is like Taylor Lautner? I hit the nail right on the head with those two. Sim is a really sporty quasi-tomboy and I could definitely picture her as a sports star. At the same time, Harman wants to be a model/actor, and with his skin complexion, he's not too far from being the next Taylor Lautner. Now he's just gotta get a less ugly face. :)

The kids headed out to the carnival early and the parents followed along after. When we got to the carnival, we went for the biggest ride. I forget what it's called, but it's one of those that you sit on, there are like four seats in a row and the ride is shaped like a giant X and then it goes up in the air and spins around and rotates and all that. That probably didn't make any sense, but it's a scary ride! So the four of us hopped up there, took our seats, and before we knew it, they told us we couldn't go on it because of some mechanical glitch or something. The machine wasn't working to unlock us from our seats, so they had to manually unlock our seats, which led to some awkward up-close crotch action.

We hopped off that death-driver and went to a different ride instead. This one was MY FAVORITE RIDE EVER! Okay, probably like tied with the Rip Ride Rock-it at Universal Studios, but OMG it was so much fun! What I love about the Rip Ride Rock-it ride is that you're basically on this crazy rollercoaster while jamming out to your favorite songs. That's how this ride was, except it was more of a crazy teacup spinning ride than a rollercoaster, but the music element was there and all the songs they played were my favorites! Like "Without You" by David Guetta and Usher...it was SO much fun I can't even describe it. I was singing along and laughing the entire time...if it didn't make me so dizzy, I probably would've ridden it a lot more times, plus we wanted to check out the rest of the carnival.

For whatever reason, we decided to head back to that first ride. Suny opted not to go on, but the three of us went and I kind of wished I would have stayed on the ground. The ride didn't go as fast as I thought it would, and the slowness made me even more nauseous. Harman was laughing the entire time. Freak. Sim seemed like she was in between laughter and crying, and I was just crying. Well, not actually crying, but it wasn't the most fun ride in the world. It was cool to be so high up off the ground, but twirling around in slow motion made me grateful I didn't eat beforehand. My uncle told us stories later about how people throw up on those kinds of rides and then the throw-up gets on everyone else while the ride is in motion. So pleasant!

Taking a break from the rides, we headed over to the carnival games. Sim, Harman, and I played this shooting game where you get 10 balls and had to shoot them into three holes but you had to keep rotating the holes so you couldn't just keep shooting at the same spot. I got 5 out of the ten balls in and Sim and Harman both got three or four each. Since I got the highest, the nice lady gave all three of us the same score, so we were able to each get a small prize, or two bigger prizes, or one even bigger prize. Something like that. I thought we were all each gonna get the smaller ones, but Sim and Harman put in their points for me and we won a super cute purple horse stuffed animal! Like I said, they spoil the hell out of me. It totally made my day though! Everyone else also played a basketball game, which I think are very much rigged. Suny actually made a basket with one! Two baskets wins the big prize and he tried again, but settled for the smaller prize.

Our parents joined us and we played a couple more games, like this ridiculous ball tossing game that was so weird because even though we would get the ball in the basket, it would roll out! Annoying. Suny and Harman played this other game where you had to use a ball to knock over these blocks. Harman got 4 out of 5 of the blocks down on his first try, and Suny tried and didn't get any. Then he kept trying. My dad was giving him pointers, but Suny was very much set on his game plan - which didn't work. We all walked away with a bunch of small prizes though which everyone gave to me! :) Now I have like a bajillion little stuffed animals to take to school with me and line up all over my room and remember my amazing times in Coffs Harbour. Thanks guys!!! :)

AHHHH omg I forgot to mention the funniest thing that happened from the night before. I can't even tell this story so it's funny, but this is more for the memory of it happening than trying to be humorous. Okay so Harman and I were played COD Thursday night, Sims was watching, and Suny was sleeping in his room about 10 feet away from us. He had a headache or something but we kept yelling at him to try to wake him up. That wasn't working so well, so Harman eventually decided to open the door, and walk in singing AHHHHHH while doing his "shirt dance". In any case, Suny immediately woke up and started yelled "AHH! AHH! AHHHHHH!" He put his hands up and was scared as hell. (Suny later told us this was around the time of night that he was "having a bad dream".) During this, Suny scared Harman with his yelling, so he came running back to us outside and we all couldn't stop laughing for about five minutes straight. (Suny had immediately gone back to sleep.) I get stitches in my sides recounting this story because it was SO funny! (We also reenacted this story about 45 times within the next 24 hours.) Harman even thought at one point that Suny was singing along with him, but clearly their "AHHH's" weren't together. I die laughing every time I think of this moment.

After the carnival, we went to pick up pizza from Domino's. Yup, they've got Domino's in Australia too! Since there are so many people at home, we got 7 pizzas, all of different varieties, and breadsticks. While we waited, we went to Sim and Harman's cousin's restaurant to hang out and wait for the pizzas to finish. I forgot her name, but she was really nice! They talked about the wedding a lot and that just got me really sad and quiet since I won't be in town for it. I can't even begin to describe how much leaving earlier today completely broke my heart, but before I start the waterworks again, I should probably finish this post. I'll write another one about my post-trip thoughts after this one.

We ate together back at the house and waited for Kamal to arrive. She lives and works in Brisbane, about four hours away, but was coming home that night. The doorbell rang at exactly 10pm - I really wish I could do that. (Note to self about how to be a badass: arrive exactly on the dot to when you say you will.) So I met Kamal for the first time that night, and she's another huge reason for why I still can't handle leaving. She's 25 years old, very accomplished and successful, and she's the one getting married next weekend. We chatted for a bit, but I was pretty quiet that night with my thoughts continuing to drift to the next morning. I really wished I could've just lived in the moment though because I still have so many questions for her about things I wish I could have asked. Even in the short amount of time I spent with her, hardly 12 hours (7 of which we were sleeping), she also strikes me, like her siblings, with that same intensity, respectability, and zeal for life. All three of them are so lucky to have one another, and just their interactions among themselves, their candor and  humor, really make me wish we lived closer so I could hang out with them more.

We talked and hung out for a bit longer before getting to bed. Harman and I played on the Xbox, some race car game that I totally sucked at, so we made it more into a "bumper cars" game than an actual racing game since he would just smoke me anyway. I felt kind of bad wrecking those amazing cars, but it sure was fun! Suny had a headache so he was downstairs, but the rest of us got to see Kamal's slideshow for the wedding and one of the blown up pictures too. Kamal and her fiance look so good together! I really wish I could have met him and gotten to know him. I'm sure he fits into their family perfectly and I can't wait to one day meet them together, hang out and talk about random things, and whatever else I usually do with my cousins. Harman and I played this hot potato kind of game with one of Sim's Chinese lanterns. While everyone else was dressed in pajamas and comfortable clothes, he had changed into a Lakers jersey, jeans, and matching hat, as if a modeling agent was about to come knocking on the door. He's a good kid though. I like him.

After the lights were out, the waterworks began. I didn't want to think about leaving the next morning, but I couldn't help it obviously. I don't think I slept until Chachiji woke up around 4am. I heard her getting ready to go to the Gurudwara to prepare food, and I was still wide awake. So many thoughts clouded my head that night - about my cousins, life, family, decisions, traveling, music - so many things. The past 10 days replayed in my head, but the longest memories were for my two days in Coffs Harbour. I still can't believe how much we were able to pack in those two days, and how close I feel to our family. When Sim offered to share her room and all of her stuff with me, and we pillow-talked before sleeping every night, I felt like she was my sister. When Harman found me on the steps when I was upset, asked me what was wrong and told me to call him from the states whenever I'm upset about anything, I felt just like he was a brother. In two days. I don't know how bonds like that can form so quickly, but they just did.

Day 9: "So what do you do for fun around here?"

10:00pm - Last night when we arrived, I asked Sim a very simple question: "What do you guys do for fun around here?" Having looked up Coffs Harbour before coming, the only real tourist attraction of the place is The Big Banana. Suny and I had no idea we would have cousins out here our age, otherwise I'm sure we would have opted to come out here earlier rather than go through so much tourist activity in Sydney. Nevertheless, they packed about as much fun into today as I've had over quite possibly months, at least during the school time.

We started off the day waking up around 9am which was so nice compared to our usual 7am wake-up call routine. We bummed around the house for a bit while Sim and Harman ran around town trying to find breakfast for Suny. The kid is so hard to please. For me, if you just give me a bowl of any kind of normal, healthy, ripened fruit, I'll most likely eat it and call it a meal, whereas Suny is a lot more particular with what he eats and how much.  (I know, it's hard to tell.) In any case, everyone eventually filled up with food and we went on with our day! The adults were busy with wedding preparations and things at the Gurudwara, so us kids went around town.

Harman, let me repeat, is a 16 year old teenage boy. The kid is a complete lunatic, albeit a lovable, friendly, and hilarious lunatic, but a lunatic nonetheless. Why his father let him take the Audi Q7 out for us to go around town in, is beyond me. Why I decided to get in the car is another query in itself. Despite all the bumps in the road, his crazing driving tendencies, and almost dying once or twice (just kidding), we had such a fun day! I'm quasi-kidding about the driving though, he's actually REALLY good for a kid his age who has never had any sort of lessons. But, if I ever want to go on a roller coaster again, I should just skip that idea and come out here instead. It's practically the same adrenaline-rushing, fearing-for-your-life, thrilling feeling.

Our first stop was this Raceway in Raleigh, not too far from their home, where we each got our own go-karts and got to race them around this track! I've never been on a go-kart, let alone raced one, so this was completely new and exciting for me. Harman could be a professional - he was just cruising along like Bowser in Mario Kart or something without a care in the world because he's the biggest badass out of everyone. He wasn't even trying to race, yet he lapped me, and I was actually trying! Sims was much more laid back about the whole thing, while Suny desperately wanted to catch up to Harman...and he got lapped too. Although it was mad fun, those go-karts are so rickety and I had a huge headache afterward. We went around the track 10 times, and by the time I unbuckled my belt and stepped out of the kart, my head was throbbing. It went away after a few minutes luckily, but it's not the sort of thing I could do every day.

After the raceway we headed out to lunch at this Deep Sea Restaurant place which was part of a country club type thing that their family is part of. We each got our dishes, Suny and Harman both got steaks, Sim got a fettuccine alfredo, and I got a lemon-grilled snapper fish. We got a plate of fish and chips for the table (thank God - it wouldn't be a meal without fish and chips), and all the food was delicious! On our way out, they had one of those claw type machines where you can win stuffed animals, and another where you could win chocolate. We got a few pieces of chocolate and Harman won me an Elmo and he won Suny a Stewie from Family Guy. I've never actually heard of someone winning at those types of games, let alone see it happen (TWICE), but the kid's got skills off the race track too apparently.

We left the club to go on another death-defying ride to get to a bowling alley where we continued our fun-filled day! It was so hard to find a bowling ball that I could actually lift, let alone roll down the lane, but I finally found one! Half way through, some Bowling Lady came over and took it from me because it's apparently only meant for children under 10 years old and she said I should be using the adult-sized bowling balls. Stupid crazy B. That ruined a bit of my fun, but I still held my own and came in second place! Suny got first place, I got second, Sim got third, and Harman came in fourth. I guess the kid's not good at everything! They had more arcade games at the bowling alley so we played basketball and air hockey too. Well, I played air hockey with Harman, who I made play on his knees because of his unfair height advantage. Him on his knees is like three inches shorter than me standing up, so it was a pretty fair match. He still won though, 4-3. I didn't play basketball (because of the height disadvantage), but everyone else did and they were all so good! Sim used to play for a basketball team so she was on point with her shots. Harman the Giant just had to reach over and drop them in the hoop, so his high score really shouldn't even count. It really pays to be tall for games like that. Suny started getting mad competitive and really wanted to beat Harman's score (fail)...so we ended up hanging around a bit longer to watch him try.

Before heading back home, Harman drove us to this scenic overlook from where we could see ALL of Coffs Harbour. We could see the family's farms, so many houses, and the beautiful ocean from so high above. I was a little freaked out standing up there since there wasn't a lot to look forward to if I were to fall down, but the lookout was pretty sturdy, so it wasn't too bad. No snake sightings yet either. Harman said that out of the 20 deadliest snakes in the world, 17 of them are in Australia, and Coffs Harbour is the second worst place in Australia for them. If that doesn't help put me to sleep right away, I don't know what will!

We also stopped by this place called The Big Banana for a few minutes. We got some pretty cool hard candy there, a bag of pineapple flavored and another mixed bag, which they manufacture right there in the shop! We loitered around the gift shop for a bit before they closed and we headed out. I think we're going to head up to the Big Banana again tomorrow, when it's actually open though. Oh! I also have to mention that Harman and Sim have amazing taste in music - I guess it runs in the family and skipped Suny.

We headed back home for a little bit to pick up a grocery list, then went back out to the mall to pick up steaks and meat for the barbie. After picking out lamb, sausages - beef and chicken, steaks, and kabobs flavored with sun-dried tomatoes, we stopped to get Suny's hair cut. Harman's very into his hair and his appearances, and when he first saw Suny, he thought he was 34, and when we corrected him, he decided Suny needed a haircut. We've been battling about this with him for the past 24 hours, and finally Suny caved in and went to the hair dresser. Harman was fully in charge of this appointment and told the hair dresser exactly what he wanted for Suny, which funnily enough, looked exactly like how Harman has his own hair. I'm not too sure about how I feel about this haircut, but perhaps it'll grow on me. If not, whenever Suny gets back to the states, he can just buzz the whole thing off and call it a day!

We flipped on the grill when we got home and I helped Sim grill the meat. I've never grilled meat before or even used a bbq, so this was another new and interesting experience. In the mean time, Harman, not satisfied with what the hair dresser did with Suny's hair, decided to take it upon himself to fix it. That went on for about an hour of straightening, blow-drying, and clipping until finally he was satisfied. The girls were grilling the meat and the boys were playing with their hair. Role reversal much? The two have nearly identical hair now though. 

We just finished dinner and are now just hanging out, getting ready for our next adventure for tomorrow! We fit in so much stuff today and I can't wait to see what they have in store for us tomorrow! I'm really surprised that they're able to take so much time and show us around and hang out with us, given that their sister Kamal is getting married in a week, but I really really appreciate the time they've made for us. They're such cool people and I'm really lucky to have such great family. :)

I don't even want to think about writing out "Day 10" tomorrow. Just the thought of leaving Australia and my family here makes me tear up and I don't want to think about it sooo I'm not going to! Okay Harman's bothering me so I think I should go talk to him before he starts reading over my shoulder haha okay bye.

Day 8: On the Road

10:00pm – Today was all about being on the road. We checked out of the Oaks Goldbrough around 10:30am, said goodbye to our amazing suite, and hit the road to get to Coffs Harbour. The morning was pretty uneventful besides for running around Harbourside with my mom trying to find a road map. While my dad and Suny packed up our rental SUV, Mom and I went to try to get a map of New South Wales so we could figure out how to get to our uncle’s house. We had a GPS and we had printed out directions the night before, but you can never be too careful apparently.

It was so weird driving around on the other side of the road. Luckily, my dad did all the driving, even though Suny also had his international drivers’ license. The rental car place didn’t let Suny drive because he’s not 25 yet and apparently our vehicle is a “high end” vehicle so they didn’t trust a younger person with it. It’s a Ford.

Our drive up to Coffs Harbour took a lot less time than we initially thought it would. We thought it would be an 8 hour drive, but it ended up only being about 6 hours, including our stop for Fish and Chips. It was really fun though, driving up with my nutty family. We each had our own specific roles for the trip – Dad was the Driver, Suny was the Navigator, Mom was the Navigator Corrector, and I was just along for the ride. It was so amusing though, what with my dad and brother constantly arguing, my mom joining in on it so they would stop (but actually making it worse), and I just made some very interesting home videos for later. 0=)

We arrived at Coffs Harbour where we met our Chachaji and Chachiji (dad’s younger brother/cousin and his wife) along with their two really cool kids, our second cousins, Simerpreet and Harman. Sim’s 17 and a senior in high school and Harman’s 16, also in high school. Harman is probably the biggest clown I have ever met. He’s absolutely hilarious! Meeting the two of them has also made me realize how much of a true runt I am in the family. Sim’s about my brother’s height, maybe an inch taller, and Harman is about 6-8 inches taller than that, at least that’s what it seems like from down here. (Just confirmed with him that he's 6'4''. I think he's the tallest person I've ever met in real life.) They’re both mad skinny and lanky too while Suny and I are comparatively short and stout. I think if I were to give them each a celebrity look-alike, Sim would be like Parminder Nagra (Jess) from Bend it Like Beckham, and Harman would be kind of like a pre-jacked but mad tall Taylor Lautner. That was my first impression of each of them at least.

Anyways. I absolutely love their house! It’s so gorgeous and sits on a hill overlooking the beach and the other beach-front houses around here. Sim and Harman have talked about taking us laser tagging and bowling and to the beach. I’m really looking forward to these next few days with them, but I’m just bummed out that we only have really two days here. :(

 

It’s so weird how every time Suny and I meet our second cousins from our dad’s side (who we’ve met A LOT of), we always connect so quickly together and I never want to leave, i.e. every time we go up to Vancouver. I’ve been here like three hours and I’ve already asked my dad if I could just skip the first week of school and stay here for the wedding. I’m excited about these next two days though and we’ll see how they go! They also have this adorably cute baby here. I’m apparently her bhua (father’s sister)? Her name is Diya and we’re going to be best friends soon. She’s 9 months old and the cutest thing ever. 

I’m so excited for these next two days and getting to better know my family! This is going to be fun. :)

Day 7: Full Circles

7:00pm – This morning we woke up a bit late (9am!), got dressed, and headed out to brunch. Suny picked this place called Pancakes on the Rocks at Harbourside. On our way out as we were waiting for the elevator, my dad asked me for a make-up lesson/wanted to know what kind of make-up I use. I don’t know what that was about, but I wanted to mention it so I can read this later and laugh again. 

Our brunch restaurant was located on the other side of Harbourside, so we walked through the mall to get there. They took literally FOREVER to get us our food, and their restaurant wasn’t even that busy. My parents and Suny got a bit of everything – eggs, sausages, pancakes, grilled pineapple, and grilled banana. I ordered pancakes with strawberries and ice cream and some other weird cream that tasted like cardboard. All together, my meal wasn’t too terrible, but then again, I’m not really a breakfast person to begin with. Everyone else really enjoyed their food at least!

We got a day-long pass for the monorail which was $9.80 each. With it, we could get on the monorail and get off wherever and whenever we wanted. The single fare pass is $5.00, and since we were planning on going to a bunch of different places along the monorail today, it made sense to get the day-long pass. Our first stop was the Powerhouse Museum for the Harry Potter Exhibition, but unfortunately by the time we got there around 11am, we saw that all the showings for today except the last one at 4pm were all sold out, meaning we would have to come back at 4pm. The line was really long, so we weren’t even guaranteed those 4pm tickets. While we stood in line and waited, I nearly had a meltdown considering this is the last day we’re in Sydney and I’ve been wanting to see the Exhibition for so long and never got a chance when it was in New York City. We eventually made it to the front of the queue and scored tickets! But that also meant we had to come back at 4pm. There are other things in the Powerhouse museum too, since it is a museum of science and design after all, so we decided to come back a little early before the exhibition to check out the rest of the exhibits.

After securing our tickets, we walked back to the monorail and hopped on to go to Galeries Victoria so we could check out the Australian Opal Cutters/Pearl Divers shop. For a place that has been advertised in literally even single pamphlet at nearly every single attraction, it didn’t really live up to its hype. Since they offered free lessons about opals and pearls, we went to at least learn something. When we showed up to the third floor of a small mall area, we found a tiny shop covered in metal fence kind of stuff to prevent robberies I guess, but the place looked mad sketchy.

We got our pearl and opal lessons from Uday, a man from Hyderabad who has lived in Australia for 11 years. He told us all about the pearls and opals, and how you can tell if they’re real by rubbing them against your teeth. I don’t really know who would want to do that, in case they ended up ruining the stone, but I guess that’s just me? My parents got me a set of dangling opal earrings and since we spent a certain amount, I also got a pair of free pearl earrings! I loooove earrings. They’re probably my favorite kind of jewelry, just because I feel like there are SO many different kinds and you can really do so much with them AND it’s a lot easier to collect a lot of earrings than any other kind of jewelry, at least in my opinion? I also love watches now (thanks to Neetu) and now I feel naked without one. TMI? Moving on.

We finished up at the opal/pearl place and walked around Pitt St to check out some stores and see if we wanted to shop there. We wanted to dedicate a good chunk of today to shopping since today is our last day here and we still had a bunch of souvenir shopping to do. Unfortunately though, there weren’t a lot of souvenir places around there so we turned back around and got back on the monorail to head back to Chinatown/Paddy’s Markets which is at the same stop as the Powerhouse museum. Since the monorail only goes in one direction, we made a full circle! It was nice to see the city along the monorail and to rest of our feet. I don’t know if I’ve described the monorail compartments before, but in any case – there are probably like four or five cars on each train, and each car only has 8 seats, 4 on each side that face each other. It’s mad awkward since there are such few people, and if you don’t get a seat, you basically cram however many people into the space between the seats (about three feet wide).

We got back to Paddy’s Markets (which we visited at the beginning of our trip), but this time, luckily all the stores were open. I didn’t really have anything specific in mind when walking into the market, but before I knew it, I had already bought like three different shirts. My parents also picked up a few things and then we walked over to the Powerhouse museum around 3pm.

Turns out, the Powerhouse Museum wasn’t nearly as interesting as we thought it would be. There were a few cool exhibits about engines and computers and things – there was also a mad old Bugatti – but other than that, not too much worth mentioning. Granted, we were also all so exhausted, and walking all over the museum wasn’t high on our list of priorities. Harry Potter was high on mine though! After walking around for probably 30 minutes, we called a quits and just got in line for Harry Potter.

The Harry Potter Exhibition was phenomenal. While we waited for the group before us to pass through, one of the guides was testing our knowledge on Harry Potter, asking us questions to see who the true fans are. He asked what Dumbledore's scar above his knee is of (the London underground), what the seven horcruxes are (diary, ring, necklace, cup, diadem, snake, Harry), who the animagi are in the books (James, Sirius, Wormtail, Voldemort, McGonagall, Rita Skeeter, etc.). Whoever didn't know those simple answers really didn't deserve to be there.

In any case, it was such an incredibly cool experience! They had HUNDREDS of props from all the movies, like Hermione’s beaded bag, the horcruxes, the flying car, Bellatrix’s wand and knife (NICOLE!), the sorcerer’s stone, Hagrid’s hut, the Half-Blood Prince’s potions book, the Gryffindor common room bulletin board, mandrakes, and soooo many different outfits that were actually worn in the movies by characters including Lockhart, Umbridge, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Bellatrix, Voldemort, Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Krum, Diggory, Cho Chang, Ginny, Luna, Neville, and SO many others. They even had this cool exhibit where you could throw quaffles into three hoops and see how well you could score. It was kind of like one-handed basketball. Different creatures were all over the place too like DOBBY, the centaurs, Buckbeak, those invisible creatures that drove the chariots, and a bunch of others. Basically whatever props we saw in the movies, they were there at the exhibition. Suny and I took like two hours to get through everything because we literally read every single card. I think my parents were done in 20 minutes haha. 

The only downfall about the exhibition was that WE WEREN’T ALLOWED TO TAKE PICTURES. I really wanted to sneak some pictures in with the flash off on my camera, but they would throw us out if we got caught and I didn’t want to risk it. The Harry Potter Exhibition was definitely one of the highlights of this trip. It was so amazing to see the props and things up close, especially all the details in the books and pieces of parchment, like the list for Dumbledore’s Army or Harry’s endless stream of “I will not tell lies”  written with Umbridge’s “special” quill.

The exhibition was divided into different chambers/rooms and most of them had these 2-3 minute video montages of whatever was in the room. Like when they had a bunch of Hermione’s stuff, they also had a montage of her highlights throughout the series, like when she punched Malfoy, her “wingardium leviOOOsa” and “not in the restricted section” moments, when she walked down the stairs before the Yule Ball, her embracing Harry and Ron at various points, and so many others that brought a smile to my face as I recalled what movie each of the scenes was from. The way they make the trio’s relationships seem, in the back of my mind I’m always left wondering why Harry and Hermione never got together, especially given the way the movies portray the pair. I have separate mindsets towards the books and the movies, since they really are quite different, but this was definitely a nice way to conclude my impressions on the movie series.

When we finally made our way out of the exhibit, we stopped by the souvenir shops where I realized how much more expensive things were here than they were in Orlando. Whereas in Orlando you actually got a real 3D chocolate frog, here you could only get a flattened pancake of a chocolate flog and that was $5. Suny and I still got t-shirts and nearly spent all the money our parents had given us for the trip on them. (Just kidding.) Since I got mine in the kids’ section (hooray for being small!) at least I got to save $10! :)

Our feet were totally killing us by the time we got out of the museum, so rather than walk back the one-stop worth of monorailing in the other direction (the same distance we walked when we first visited Paddy’s Markets last week), and decided to hop back on the monorail and ride almost a full circle to get back to Harbourside. We got off a stop before our hotel to get us closer to the mall so we could shop around there. Suny and I each got a pair of authentic Uggs, made in Australia, so at least our feet will be warm when we land in DC on Saturday. There are SO many stores for Uggs around here –  literally one on every other street block. I was wondering why they were so popular here, especially given the warm weather and the unnecessary need for them, and then I realized that they’re actually made in Australia, which is why we got such great prices for them compared to in the states. When we were finally all shopped out, we walked back to the hotel and basically collapsed/I started writing this post while my brother watched the news.

Interesting observation about news in Australia – so much of it is for American news. I don’t know if that’s because they expect a lot of Americans in Sydney or something (which I haven’t actually seen a lot of) or because Australians are actually interested in American news? I have no idea but it’s weird because we as Americans don’t generally give two shits about what’s going on in Australia, yet it seems as though their news gives a lot of attention to what’s going on in our country.

In any case, that’s all for now! We’re heading out to dinner soon so I’ll update after and then post this tonight hopefully. I can’t believe this is our last night in Sydney! The vibe is so different here than from America. It might be because they’re all on summer vacation, but I’m really starting to see what people mean when they say Americans revolve their lives around their work, whereas the rest of the world leaves their work at the end of their shifts to begin their lives. I’m starting to fit into this lifestyle so well here (because I have no responsibilities whatsoever besides helping to make sure we’re productive every day), but I’m really going to miss this amazing, vibrant, and artistic city. :(

 

10:00pm – We just finished dinner at a Chinese restaurant along the harbour called Dragon Boat. Our last meal in Sydney! I’m so depressed. The food was delicious, the view was beautiful, the weather was perfect, but we all felt a little sad that our time in Australia will soon be coming to an end.

While at dinner, I went around the table and asked everyone what their favorite memories from our trip were. My dad went first and said he really enjoyed the harbour –  its restaurants, shopping, and views, and how convenient its location was to our hotel. My mom loved the way none of us were glued to our technology (as I sit here and write this..haha) but she liked how our phones weren’t constantly going off and how we were actually able to enjoy each others’ company. She also felt really happy when the kangaroo man let me in to take a picture with Seth – she thought that was a great moment. Suny had the most fun when he was eating, obviously, and he loved the kangaroo the most. Disgusting. 

No one asked me what my favorite part was because we got caught up in talking about something else, so I’ll just share on here. Although I was originally hesitant about how much time I would be spending with my family, that factor turned out to be my favorite about this whole trip. Yeah, you can put us in this amazing environment with the best food and places to visit, but it’s who you’re with that really makes the trip special and worth remembering. A week from now, there’s a one in a million chance that I could have a job lined up that would move me across the coast from my family. Sure, it’s a really small chance, and it’s a job that I’ve been dreaming to do for so long, but just the thought of moving so far away from these crazy but awesome people really makes me appreciate the time that we’ve had together. We’ve made memories to last a lifetime on this trip and I’m never going to forget them. My family, albeit completely insane at times, keeps me grounded and gives me the best joys of life. I don’t know what I’d do without these people. I guess I really have come full circle!

Tomorrow we head off to Coffs Harbour for a few days with my dad’s cousin’s family. I have no idea what to expect there, except even warmer temperatures and beautiful beaches, but I’m looking forward to moving on to our next big adventure. Sydney’s been amazing and I’m sad to leave but I know it’s not the last time we’ll meet.

Until later then,

Hoo roo mates. :)

Day 6: Taronga, Taronga, Taronga!

5:30pm – Before I begin this recap of today’s activities, can we just talk about how PITTSBURG IS OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS!?!?!??! I just got out of the shower to come upstairs and see the last play of their game against the Broncos in overtime and I could not be more stoked! I can’t wait for the Ravens’  game on Sunday – I’m so glad they decided to wait to play until after I came home. :)

Alright so you’re probably wondering what the heck Taronga is. “Taronga” is an aboriginal word meaning “great view” (I like to think of it more as EPIC view) and our main attraction for today was the Taronga Zoo. Going off of that, every single place we went to today had the most picturesque views. I know I keep carping about how amazing the scenery is here, but the views we saw today just topped everything, so I thought it would be an appropriate title for today’s posting.

We hopped on the Captain Cook sightseeing cruise this morning around 9:30am at Darling Harbour. The cruise ship takes its passengers along many different sites in this great harbour of Sydney, including Circular Quay, Watsons Bay, Luna Park, Fort Denison, Shark Island, Manly Beach, and Taronga Zoo. It’s similar to the sightseeing bus tour we did the other day, except the ferries arrive every 45 minutes (not every 15-20 minutes like the bus) and it runs through a narrower stretch of time in order to avoid the tides.

This was our first water ride experience in Sydney and it was so picture-perfect. Since we already visited Circular Quay (where the Opera House is) we didn’t need to go back, so we hopped off at Taronga Zoo first. The zoo is in this amazing location, surrounded by beaches and trees and perched high up along the cliffs. The layout for it is so weird though! I felt like we were going around in circles so many times because all the exhibits kind of branch off from the center of the zoo and there’s no one set path to follow to get anywhere. To get to the entrance, we took a Sky Lift which is run by the same concept of a ski lift, except you sit with a small group of no more than 5 people in a Ferris wheel sort of contraption if that makes sense. The lift took us up along the cliffs and we could see the beautiful water, coastline, and city skyline from above. We could literally see for miles and miles…it was so incredible. I don’t even have words to describe how incredible it was. The ride lasted no more than two and a half minutes though lol and then we were at the zoo!

Although we went to the Wildlife Reserve last week and saw kangaroos and koalas among so many other animals, the Wildlife place didn’t have quite as many animals as the zoo, like elephants, giraffes, tigers, lions, TAZMANIAN DEVILS, seals, penguins, etc. which we got to see today. The zoo also had kangaroos and koalas too, but we focused on what we hadn’t seen already.

When we got to the zoo, we were a bit overwhelmed by the map. It looked simple enough, but we knew we didn’t have all day to explore the zoo since there were other stops we wanted to make on our sightseeing cruise. As we walked into the zoo, two elderly lady volunteers were standing to greet us – carrying lizards. Now, although lizards are better than snakes, I still kept my distance. Suny, of course, just had to touch it.

We saw alligators, koalas, and lots of different kinds of birds, but the first real animal exhibit we stopped at was the Komodo Dragon. Although I’ve heard the name before, I’ve never really seen one or knew what to expect. First of all, the thing is gigantic. When they say it’s the largest lizard in the world, they’re not kidding. It’s like a baby crocodile or something and its tongue is just like that of a snake’s. I was so intrigued by this creature even though it freaked me out a bit. After checking out the dragon, we walked into the Reptile House which was just a huge mistake. I’m deathly afraid of snakes, and we saw way too many, including Boas, Anacondas, Pythons, and even Taipans, which have one of the most deadly venoms in the snake world. The Wildlife Reserve had smaller snakes, whereas this place decided the bigger the better. I was so antsy the whole time and my dad had to help guide me through the exhibit so I wouldn’t sprint to the exit. There were also a lot of lizards and turtles there to serve as buffers between all the snakes.

We next visited the giraffes which had just been fed so all of them were out and about. Apparently when giraffes are born, they’re about two metres in height! How crazy is that? That’s like…half a metre taller than my current adult height. We saw chimpanzees, mountain sheep, bongos, bears, roosters, elephants, zebras, among so many other furry friends. The weather was really nice today, a little on the hot side, but not too bad for touring the zoo, and perfect for the boat ride. Even so, we eventually had to stop for some ice cream/ice pops to cool us off (I got this really delicious raspberry pineapple ice pop), and since we bought three, we got a free foldable Taronga Zoo water bottle (which I totally called dibs on)!

We eventually got around to visiting the Tazmanian Devil, which I was most interested to see. I’ve never seen one before (unless you count the cartoon), and it kind of reminded me of a mix between a small dog and a small cat. Its fur was black and it had a pretty long tail, and the insides of its ears were red. I don’t know what that’s about, but I guess that’s where it gets its “Devil”  name. Apparently these little guys are kind of a nuisance here because they keep getting run over by motorists and people don’t take care of them like they should. They’re kind of like deer in the states I guess. The zoo is trying to breed more Tazmanian Devils to hopefully rehabilitate into the wild because they’re facing extinction. Those little guys were so cute though – I wish I could keep one for a pet! (Along with Seth the Kangaroo of course.)

11:00pm – (Just got back from dinner, continuing from earlier…)There was a huge line to see the tiger cubs, and since we’ve already seen tigers (Suny and I even have a picture with a tiger cub from Myrtle Beach), we thought it would be better to check out the Ausgrid Seal Show and then head back to the ferry. The seal show was really cool! It wasn’t as big as the ones they have in Orlando/Sea World, but they had a bunch of different seals that they trained with all sorts of tricks. I think they had like 5 different seals, all different types too, that they trained to wave, skip around the water, bounce up and hit hanging balls, and walk on their front paws among some other neat tricks. The last seal up was a baby, only three years old, and the trained had taught him how to throw away trash, which he did perfectly, leaving us with a nice message to head out on. If a three year old seal is capable of throwing away his trainer’s trash, surely we as humans should be able to pick up after ourselves too. It was nice to be able to just sit in the shade and watch the show, especially since by mid-day it was getting pretty hot. It wasn’t humid or anything, and the air quality here is pretty good, but the sun was really beating down on us and draining all our energy pretty quickly.

After the show, we hopped back on the ferry to go to Luna Park, our second major stop for the day. Luna Park is an amusement park along the harbour that offers free admission to everyone. It’s kind of like a fair in that whatever rides you want to go on, you pay for, but you can also get an unlimited access pass to get you onto whatever rides you want. They have this huge Ferris Wheel that overlooks the harbour, the Opera House, and the Sydney Bridge. The views from the top are amazing, I’m sure, but since each ride was $10 (unless we got the unlimited pass), we didn’t exactly feel like paying $40 just to go on one ride. Plus we were already planning to go to the Sydney Eye Tower later in the evening and that’s amuch better bird’s eye view of the city. They have all sorts of carnival games in the park though too, and Suny and I played a view. For the first time, I was the one who actually won HIM a prize! Normally Suny wins me a million things, from monkeys to dogs to chipmunks and the like, he’s always winning games and bringing home prizes for me. This time though, we played against each other in this shooting game where we had to hit the targets with a gun as they lit up, and I won! Of course we had unlimited bullets and the first one to hit 30 would win, and we were the only two people playing, so one of us was bound to win…but I won! I felt really proud of myself. :)

They’re so crazy about the Angry Birds game here in Sydney that so many of the prizes were the birds themselves, and I won Suny the black bomber one. I’ve also noticed how they have other Angry Birds merchandise EVERYWHERE. The souvenir shops especially have t-shirts, plush toys, key chains, whatever you name, they probably have it in Angry Birds form. They’re nuts about the game here! I also won us two tiny dogs – one purple and one blue – and two tiny crocodiles – one purple and one blue, from a game that I couldn’t seem to win a real prize on, so they gave me those as pity prizes.

We didn’t stay in the park too long since we wanted to go to the Sydney Tower (and because the ferries stop around 5-6pm because of the tides) but first we wanted to shower and freshen up so we could also go out to dinner afterwards. Plus I could feel driblets of the sea salt from the cruise on me and I wanted to get them off. I know I probably didn’t make it sound like we spent too much time on the cruise, but we really did. In between the two stops we hopped off at, there were a bunch of others that we didn’t go to/already went to earlier, and we probably spent a good hour or two on the boat in total.

On our way back to the hotel, we came across another street performer. This one was HILARIOUS, like absolutely hilarious, and his main trick was juggling three fire torches while atop a 3 metre tall unicycle. This guy was really impressive, but what melted my heart was when the man’s son came on stage and tried interrupting his dad’s performance. His dad gave him one of his swords to play with, so this little kid (his name is Pim and he’s 3 years old) started running around the circle waving a sword. The man had called up another boy (his name is Michael and he’s 11 years old) to help with the trick before all this happened, so Pim started chasing Michael around the circle with the sword. Then the man gave Michael a sword too to see what would happen, and both the kids were about the start going at it when the entertainer stopped them and said he was just kidding. Pim was seriously the cutest little guy ever though. He kept running onto the stage and grabbing his dad’s leg or just being a little distraction. I don’t know if Pim was part of his act, but he definitely bought my sympathy points – that’s for sure.

We headed back to the hotel, showered and changed, when I realized how unbelievably SUNBURNED I got earlier today from the zoo. I have never in my entire life gotten sunburned, and I have spent countless hours laying out by the pool in the summer without using any sunblock or sunscreen whatsoever. I guess the ozone layer is thinner down here or something because my arms and nose are so burned along with my exposed lower neck area. I have no idea how to even treat sun burn. Ice? Lotion? I’ll try both.

When we were all ready, we headed out on foot to the tower. It’s not too far from our place – just across a few bridges and down a few streets (which really isn’t that bad here), but we monorailed it instead of walking since we already got in a more-than-necessary amount of walking earlier in the day. The monorail took us almost right below the tower, to the Westfield shopping center which is another high-end designer retail place near Pitt St. and Market St.

The tower stands above it at 304 metres. We headed up to the concourse level where we got to watch a short 4D film about the city of Sydney. Before entering the theatre though, they had all these facts about the Sydney tower, like how it took about $26 million and six years to build. They also had a graph of the world’s tallest towers and how Sydney Tower stacks up. I don’t know why they would do such a thing since this tower is such a shrimp compared to all the other towers. It’s about 100 metres shorter than the Empire State Building and less than half the height of that huge tower that was recently constructed in Dubai. There were two towers missing from their map though, and seeing the world skyline without them, even though it’s been 10 years, really hit me hard. To think that they’re not even acknowledged, or marked in dotted lines instead of solid lines, or to think that all the design and construction work to create those towers in the first place has now just vanished into thin air is so upsetting. You can’t just erase the twin towers from a graph like that, as if they were never there. :(

I don’t know if it was because I was bummed out by the memory of the twin towers, or because we were on a ferry earlier and my legs still felt like jelly, or because these kids meals are finally catching up on me and I need to replace them with adult meals, or because I’m realizing that this is one of our last nights here, or a combination of all that, but when we got to the top of the tower, I started feeling really sick. When we were at Luna Park earlier, I was also feeling dizzy and seeing spots at one point, but while at the top of the tower, so high up in the air, I felt like the entire room was spinning and the tower was teetering. The palms of my hands and the balls of my feet were sweating and I just felt so uncomfortable. I couldn’t even stand at the window glass because I felt like I could so easily tip the balance of the entire building. It was like I was still on the ferry and I just felt like everything around me kept bouncing up and down. I finally sat down close to the middle of the tower, away from the windows, and tried to compose myself before my family members noticed anything suspicious. I got a chocolate bar from the food stand which got my sugar levels back up so I could at least walk around. I still felt really uneasy though, but I wanted to make the most of the opportunity and get as many pictures of the views as I could. Towards the end of our time there, my mom wanted to get a picture of me up against the window with the city in the background, and it basically took every ounce of strength I had to sit on the ledge (in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass window) and not run away. I had no idea what had gotten into me at that point but I just needed fresh air and I needed to get the hell out of that tower.

Even the elevator back down to the ground was painful. The lifts themselves are so tiny, made for probably like 6 people max, so our family got in, and then this moronic group of like 6 people decided to jump in our elevator instead of wait for the next one. Since there was no one monitoring the lifts going back down, there was no one to say anything. Since I entered the elevator first, I was smushed up against the wall so everyone could fit. The entire time we were descending, I was just praying to God to get me out of the elevator and back on solid ground. Just as we reached the bottom and the elevator stopped, the doors didn’t open.

The morons who entered the elevator after us didn’t press the button or something, so the elevator went back up…304 metres into the air. I could feel my lungs collapsing and my head pounding me as we ascended back up to the top, and I wanted to just tell my parents to get out of the elevator at the top and that we would take the next one, but since we were so tightly packed, worse than sardines, I just closed my eyes and waited for it to be over. We finally got back down to the ground (again) and I nearly passed out after being the last one to step off the elevator. I know this is sounding really dramatic, but the sad thing is that I’m not exaggerating at all. It was such a horrible experience. I never thought I was afraid of heights, and I never have been before, but there was just something about being up there that wasn’t settling right with me. :( Together, the sunburn and this tower experience are really hurting my self-proposed invincibility factor. Just saying.

Once I got some fresh air outside, I could feel the color coming back to my face and my strength coming back to my joints. We walked back to Darling Harbour and ate at this burger joint Suny wanted to try out at Harbourside. I forget the name of the restaurant, but the burgers are apparently the best in all of Australia. I don’t remember what everyone ordered, but I ordered one of the veggie burgers. Another strange thing that’s happened to me while I’ve been here is that I’m not so inclined to eat meat as I usually am. Back in the states, I LOVE eating meat – chicken, lamb, sausage, you name it and I’ll eat it. But, being here in Sydney has turned that around. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been spending so much time with animals at the zoos, aquariums, and wildlife reserves and whatnot, but I can’t really tolerate eating meat anymore. It’s so weird! I mean, I’m sure I’ll eventually go back to eating chicken at least, but right now I’m just so turned off by anything that has to do with eating animals. Plus, the veggie burger was so delicious! The patty was made out of some mixture of potatoes and peas and other vegetables and they added avocado, salad, tomatoes, onion, and some special relish. I absolutely loved it.

We headed home after dinner and Suny and I watched a rerun of the Broncos vs. Steelers game which just ended. I’m so exhausted but I can’t wait for tomorrow! It’s almost midnight here so I should probably get to sleep. We’re going to the Powerhouse Museum tomorrow which has the Harry Potter Exhibition and I’m so excited! Since tomorrow is our last day in Sydney, we’re basically spending the rest of the day shopping, packing, and tying up any loose ends. On Wednesday we leave for Coffs Harbour up north where my dad’s cousin lives. It’s about an 8 hour drive but we thought the drive would be more fun than a flight, especially since there are a bunch of beaches along the way and the scenery I’m sure is going to be amazing as usual. (We booked a one-way ticket to get back to Sydney for our flight back to the states though.)

More minor observations from down under:

• Instead of calling the food “take out” or “to go”, it’s called “take away”.
• Almost all pick-up trucks here have covers over the beds. (Probably to sneak drugs around, not that law enforcement would particularly care.)
• Both the drinking and gambling age is 18, which no one believes I am.
• If you don’t want to pay for your water, say you want “tap water”. Don’t say “normal water” or “still water”, because you could end up paying $6.50 per bottle that they put on your table. (We learned that one the hard way.)

Another note, I have over a hundred views on this blog!? How is that even possible. I’m sure like half of those are myself, and probably 40 views came from random people who click “next blog” and haplessly land on mine, so that means you guys have viewed my blog 10 times!?! That’s ten more times than I thought anyone would. Shoot, if I saw my blog, I’d take one look at how much text there is and peace out. :P I can’t tell you guys how much I appreciate all the thoughtful messages and comments you guys send me about my travels! You all give me my motivation to keep writing and I can’t thank you enough!