(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.
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.
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