first time out of the country
I was not nervous about the flight or the fact that I would be on my own for the first time in my life, just nervous about whether or not it would go smoothly- which everyone assured me it would. it did not. basically, everything that you could imagine to go wrong, went wrong. I had incredibly long layovers both there and back. I first took a two hour flight to Dallas, arrived at 8 am and my Qantas flight was supposed to depart at 8 that night. when it was finally time to board, I checked to make sure I was at the correct gate because there was no gate number on the screen. when i approached the lady, she proceeded to tell me the flight was cancelled and I would need to book a hotel and no other information. I then call my mom, crying. I had not slept in about 48 hours and felt very stressed and alone. thankfully, some family friends live near the airport and were able to come to my rescue. late that night I got a phone call reassuring me the flight would take off at 10:30 the next morning. we did not get boarded until 10:30 and did not take off until 11:30 but I was *finally* on my way!
the 17 hour flight went by surprisingly fast. no turbulence and I had an empty seat next to me so it wasn't too cramped or uncomfortable. once I had finally touched down in Sydney, I felt 100x better, knowing that every frustrating thing that had happened up until then was worth it. I then had to wait in line for the next hour to pass through border patrol and then continued to wait for another thirty minutes to receive my luggage-that never came. I was in tears at the airport-again. after 15 hours of delays, no luggage, and feeling disgusting, I was reunited with my best friend and introduced to her lovely mother. all of the troubles seemed small in comparison.
I didn't receive my luggage until two days later, but I was on holiday in Australia!! so it was no big deal, aside from the fact that I looked like I was in middle school again, wearing my glasses, untamed hair, and no makeup. Sydney was breathtaking and Z lived literally 2 minutes from the beach, an absolute dream. the *perfect* vacation destination.
the next twelve days, like I imagined, flew by. I met wonderful people, cuddled kangaroos and koalas, beached everyday and saw the most spectacular sights. i went to my first club, bought my first legal alcoholic beverage, fell in love with Guzman y Gomez Mexican restaurant (my mouth is watering just thinking about their nacho fries!!!!), and was able to experience all of that with my best friend. literally the only downfall (aside from all the travel issues) was the wrath of the sun. the first day I was there I fell asleep at the beach and got the worst sunburn of my entire life. I wish I would've kicked up my spf to 100. the rest of the trip I was in pain and peeling.
the second round of travels was not quite as eventful as the first (thank god). I went from Sydney to Hawaii (a 9 hour flight and had no one sitting next to me) with a 13 hour layover, in which I actually finished all of my homework. the only problem with Hawaii was that I was a bit hungover and got a bit lost a couple times, but once I got to my terminal I was golden (except for spilling syrup all over myself at burger king fml). I then had an 8 hour flight back to Dallas which was *extremely* cramped. that was an incredibly uncomfortable and long flight. but back to Dallas and then a two hour flight home and then I was reunited with my mom at the airport. it was such a wonderful experience and I still cannot believe I was given the opportunity to go. it went by way too quickly but the memories and thousands of photos will last a lifetime. I am beyond ready to return to Australia. I miss my best friend and her amazing family and I miss the gorgeous beaches. so much.
until next time xx
-thats so lillian
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