I can’t believe that I had to leave Australia, and I am certainly feeling numb about it right now, especially considering that I don’t know when I am going to be able to get back there again. Despite the fact that Andrew had to work on his thesis an absurd amount (and it is now insanely good, actually), it was so incredibly wonderful to settle back into that comfortable rhythm of living with him again that we had this past summer. I got to spend so much time with his mom and sister, which was wonderful, and cook and bake to my heart’s content. Andrew and I celebrated our nine month anniversary over the weekend by going to a really fancy restaurant in the city on Saturday and another beautiful restaurant on King Street the night before I left. Both evenings were absolutely wonderful and made me so happy and grateful for the relationship we have developed over the course of this year.
Having an international relationship definitely has some huge perks, as demonstrated by my play time in Australia and London, but obviously there are some rather large drawbacks too. I now constantly feel pulled between Australia and America. Although I have some great friends in Australia, there is no doubt that my best and closest friends are in America, and I can’t imagine my life without them. But unlike Andrew, my identity is not really based on my nationality at all. And out of all the cities I have been to, I still think that I may like Sydney most of all. This past weekend, I was walking down Oxford Street and exploring the Paddington Markets, and I just couldn’t get over how funky and eclectic each part of the city is and how I enjoy the atmosphere of the city so much. I love the way that the baristas in coffee shops will talk to me in such a friendly manner, and I love the smells and the sights and the displays in the windows. I love New York too, a lot, and I know I will grow to love Boston. (And I really love London too!) But I absolutely could see myself very happy in Sydney.
And as my job start draws even nearer, I find it completely overwhelming to think not only about my future and career, but also the future of my relationship and where it can physically be located in the world. It’s exciting but so daunting at the same time to think about how much is going to happen and how much is going to change over the next year or two.
Another thing that I did in the past couple weeks was take a bunch of yoga classes (there is an adorable studio just across the street from Andrew’s apartment), and I was amazed by how complete it made me feel. I so enjoy hardcore, high-energy workouts that I didn’t think I could really garner complete appreciation for yogic practices, but I consider myself a total convert now. Yoga is not only a workout (it can be HARD!), but truly replenishing to the mind and soul. I feel that in the past couple of weeks I have learned to hold a very uncomfortable pose and distance myself from the discomfort by breathing through it. I think I could really help myself by applying this attitude towards the stressful situations in my life – acknowledging their existence, and then breathing and working through it. I definitely need to find a gym in Boston that has yoga classes so I can hopefully work some of that into my schedule!
So, speaking of gyms, the search for a gym is almost as hard as the search for a roommate. In the next week, here is what I hope to accomplish:
- Moving into my apartment (thus, renting a van, driving eight hours, and moving all boxes…UGH)
- Getting cable and internet installed
- Finding a roommate
- Finding a gym (I have a spreadsheet of possibilities, and GEEZ are gyms expensive…ugh!)
- Getting IKEA furniture
- Beginning lengthy (but hopefully fun?) process of building furniture and setting up apartment
- Getting new work clothes, plus extremely warm winter clothes
- On that note, figuring out some more budget stuff…eeeks.
It’s a lot to do, but it will keep me busy, and hopefully that will keep my separation anxiety at bay. This uber long distance relationship thing is extremely difficult, but now that I know I can do it for about two months at a time, I know I can do it again, and the next time we see each other we will be celebrating Christmas and New Year’s in London!
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