The roadtrip, and my reflections

[Sort of a two-part.]

***

This is my final post for my blog, more than a month late. I guess I owe it to myself and to my loyal readers (It’s not just my sister that reads this thing, right? …right..?)

To be honest, I haven’t even read over my journal yet since I’ve been back as I’m afraid it might make me more depressed than I already am. (I made a conscious effort to write in a journal periodically throughout my time abroad)

This is a map of all the places I went to during my nine months abroad, with the line signifying the route we took on our epic road trip in the final two months I was there. And there's still so much more I want to see!

After spending Christmas in Toronto and New Years in New York (such an amazing city I'd need another blog to write about our week there), it was time to pick up our van and hit the road, headed for the west coast. This is our baby, who we affectionately referred to as “Int” (which means “you” in Maltese, an in-joke that is not worth explaining), brand spanking new before we ran her down to the ground and had no choice but to trade her in for a new one in Colorado. (Hard times, guys. The mechanic actually said to us, “…(pause)… yeah, you definitely cannot keep driving this thing.)

we’re sorry we killed you. RIP Int

If I were to write about every place we went to, this post would be intensely long. Rather, I’ll list the places we went to, then throw out a few highlights of the roadtrip. Then later focus on my reflection of my entire trip as a whole.

New York, NY; Jersey City, NJ; Atlantic City, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC; Charlotte, NC; Nashville, TN; Memphis, TN; Birmingham, AL; New Orleans, LA; Houston, TX; Austin, TX; San Antonio, TX; Carlsbad, NM; Roswell, NM; Albuquerque, NM; Farmington, NM; Durango, CO; Denver, CO; Grand Junction, CO; Salt Lake City, UT; Zion NP, UT; Grand Canyon, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; Scottsdale, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; Santa Monica, CA; San Diego, CA; Santa Barbara, CA; Cambria, CA; Santa Cruz, CA; San Francisco, CA.

Phew.

Words cannot describe the immensely funny, joyful and life-changing experience we had out on the road. Staying in shitty $30-a-night motels, nearly contracting hypothermia many a time, and living off ramen noodles and tuna (two things I still refuse to eat). I won’t attempt to give it any justice in a short blog like this. Maybe I’ll write a book about it one day. Maybe. (Probably not). The one main thing I got out of it all and will share with people forever: you NEED to roadtrip the States. You cannot truly experience America if you’re not doing it from a car.

***

I love the South. I mean, I truly, madly, deeply, love the South. There is so much culture, vibrance, and fun to be had there that it cannot even compare to dreary old Melbourne. I’m not sure how I’m gonna live my life now knowing that there is this other place so far away that I feel more connected to, where I feel I belong, where I can truly be me. Not to mention Southern boys ... polite, good mannered, chivalrous, actually have game, and ridiculously beautiful. I would honestly consider moving to somewhere in Tennessee if that were at all possible in my life.

Take honkytonks, for one. These are country music bars where no one gives a fuck about what they’re wearing or who they’re with. They are there for the music, to actually talk to people, and of course to hook up with like-minded people. Where the hell am I going to find a country bar in Melbourne? My good people, WHERE can I openly wear flannel and cowboy boots and kiss a boy wearing a cowboy hat while boot-scooting to a country song sung by a guy with a deeper voice than Cher?

 

***

New Orleans is everything I hoped it to be and more, bustling with street performers, amazing seafood, markets, art, and an absolutely nuts nightlife. Go to Bourbon St for the oversized drinks, constant party atmosphere and drunken antics (did I mention you can drink in the streets here?), or go to Frenchmen St for the awesome live jazz. There is just SO MUCH to do here and see and experience. And SO MUCH GOOD FOOD to eat. If you read my last post on Ottawa and Montreal, you’ll know that there’s something about that European feel of a city that gives me the intense feels. New Orleans is this. It’s just… beautiful. I should stop talking about it or I might start crying.

so much shraaamp in my po'boy

***

Then this happened in Texas…

Yes, welcome to Texas indeed

***

We even swung past ASU to visit my friend Julian who I met at UF! He's doing his second semester in Phoenix. I loved being back on college soil. It was so good to be reunited with him!

love old mate big J

***

Las Vegas was a surprise to me. I always thought, ‘Yeah, Las Vegas, ooooverrated.’

WHAT A STUPID THING TO THINK.

LAS VEGAS IS AMAZING.

IT IS UNDERRATED.

IT IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU THINK IT IS, TIMES 9000.

I know for a certain fact that I will be back here for every and any girl-related milestone of life, ie. My 25^th, my 30^th, my bachelorette party, my divorce party, my future mid-life crisis, etc.

There’s a certain vibe about the city that just leaves you wanting more. From the outrageous casinos, to the nightlife, to the amazing shows, to the buffets, to certain no-legged men. We were originally only meant to stay for three days, but kept extending our hotel booking until it was nearly a week later.

holy fack

One of my favourite parts would definitely have to be eating a certain something bought at a certain place in Denver, then going to watch a Cirque du Soleil show. Let me just say… thank god we were seated near the exit. I had to constantly remind myself by looking over there that this isn’t actually real life and a simple way out actually existed if need be. Hahaha. I feel sorry for the people seated around us. Every two seconds… “Oh my god! Did you SEE that? Did you actually just SEE that?’ ‘Why TF did they put a guy from the audience in a box on stage and just leave him there for half an hour?’ ‘Is that guy throwing popcorn at people apart of the show?’ ‘Is that guy actually Dustin Hoffman?’ ‘So is the meaning of life a giant, colorful snail?’ (spoiler, sorry!)

***

Cambria, CA

Pacific Coast Highway 1 is one of the most beautiful roads I have ever driven down. The gorgeous coast is to your left the whole way up (we drove from San Diego up to San Fran).

As we passed the ‘Welcome to California!’ sign, we set our ipods to play anything California related (and subsequently realized that there are a LOT of songs about California: Hotel California, California State of Mind, nearly every Chili Peppers song, California Dreamin’, California Girls, California Love, The theme from the O.C… the list goes on)

A notably HUGE epiphany came over us as we were driving and listening to RHCP’s Road Trippin’ song one day whilst cruising. Anthony sings in the chorus, “Blue you sit so pretty/ West of the one”. After the song had ended, me in my English-teacher-analysis mode thought about it, and it was as if a lightbulb went off in my head.

 “GUYS! GUYS. BLUE = THE OCEAN. WEST OF THE ONE. AS IN, WEST OF HIGHWAY 1. WE ARE THE SONG. WE ARE LIVING THIS SONG!!!”

After many a, “Oh my fucking god you’re right! I can’t believe we didn’t get that before!!!” we listened to the song over and over again and sang it even louder and more passionately. That was probably one of the highlights I’ll always remember, actually. It was a beautiful moment.

blue, you sit so pretty west of the 1.

***

Reflection . . .

Like I said, I can’t keep on writing about every place as I’d end up needing a book.

It’s safe to say that I never dreamed that this time abroad would have flown by so fast. I wish I realized at the time just how quickly it was going to fly past me.

It’s hard to come back to the same life that I so desperately wanted out of when I left. It’s hard to go back to a regular routine, it’s hard to accept that what I’m living right now is “reality”. I don’t want reality to be like this. I want my reality to be an adventure. But how does one do that, when they are constrained by societal demands of having a career, a good job, a house with the white picket fence. I can’t be a nomad. I need to make something of myself. And I've also got my family to think about. But how do I incorporate all of these things while still keeping my inner happiness of utmost importance?

I never thought that I would experience the infamous ‘reverse-culture shock’.

But I undeniably did (and still continue to). Everything reminds me of the States. I can’t justify spending $55 on a 1L bottle of rum when I could buy a 3L handle for $22 of the good stuff. I hate how shit and unthoughtful waiters are here. I can’t stand how small the portion sizes are in restaurants (and it’s not like it’s relative to how expensive it is, either). I can’t stand the radio. I miss bagels. I miss Walmart. I hate how Australian guys wear pink shorts and flip flops in all kinds of weather (wtf kind of fashion sense is this? Do you own a pair of shoes?) Clubs suck. The whole, ‘doof-doof-what?-I said hello-doof-what?-doof-I said HELLO-doof-WHAT?-fuckthis’ scene.

I went out on the town not long ago and found it hard to enjoy myself. I know this sounds dramatic, but honestly, surrounded by so many people, I just felt so alone. That’s a regular feeling of mine these days. It’s sad. I just feel like no-one really gets it. I think I need to start going to different places and meeting new crowds of people. I want to find people that have the same sense of adventure like me. I can’t blame the people in my life now for their perspectives because while I was out changing mine, they were still living their day-to-day routine, which is definitely not a fault of theirs. But it’s not what I want anymore. I need some spontaneity and excitement in my life. I don’t want work and Uni to be the be-all and end-all. I just want to live.

Zion NP

The one thing I’ve taken away is a new ‘Why Not?’ mentality. Why not go on a date with a complete stranger? Why not have mid-week drinks even if I have Uni early the next day? Why not drive to the beach cause I have a spare couple hours to myself? I want to say YES to things more, meet new people, push myself into unknown situations and just go with it. That’s the beauty of travel, if you immerse yourself in it. You really do become more comfortable with who you are, and confident of what you’re capable of.

I’m in no way a completely changed woman, but I think I’m nearly there. I guess 2015 will be a new stepping-stone for me, and I’ll have to have decided what it is that I truly want to get out of life. Continue studying? Live overseas? Work the job I’m qualified for? What’s my priority? Right now, I’m not too sure, further than the whole notion of just ‘being’. I want to 'be' in the present, in the moment, feeling emotions, seeing beautiful things, having that sense of finding happiness somewhere, anywhere.

In contrast, I'd rather not feel the cold that Alycia would have felt here at the GC.

She's actually nuts.

...Nor the feeling of fearing for my life quite like this again.

Horseriding in Monument Valley like we're in a western was fun, 
and although we look calm here, looks are very deceiving.

I don't mean to sound negative about Australia, honest. I admit I do live in a gorgeous country where the healthcare is amazing at least. I'm stuck in this rut now though, where I can only think about being anywhere else but here. I’ll leave it open-ended, mostly because not even I am sure of what direction my life will end up heading.

Until next time...

Thanks for reading. It's been a blast.

End of an era.

It's hard to believe that my time at UF is over. Unlike camp, I never ever counted down the days - I really wanted it to last forever. I felt like I did have forever. And yet, here I am, reflecting back on what I can only describe as the best four months of my life.

throwing around the pig-skin at the back of Weaver while we're studying

UF is the happiest place on earth. Gainesville is the most far-fetched thing from reality that you can get. It's not real life. You do what you want, when you want, go out as much as you want, deal with no consequences and answer to nobody. This experience has opened up my eyes; I've learnt so much about myself, grown so much more independent, love country music now (yeah, what the heck? Didn’t see that one coming), and above all, met the most amazing group of people that I know I will be friends with for probably the rest of my life.

***

So to recap since the last time --- I'll try to keep it as brief as possible, so here goes ---

More football. I never thought I'd say it, but I really love the sport now. We went to Jacksonville for the Florida-Georgia game (the rivalry is that bad, they need to hold the game in a separate city) and it was absolutely crazy. The “hotel” we stayed at was this real sketch place that reeked of cigarettes in every room, and their “pool” was bright green.. Within 10 minutes of arriving my friend was offered weed and we were also informed that there was a shooting there the night before.Nice.

The night before the game we went to the Jacksonville Landing, which was basically this humongous party area with bands performing, bars all around and a million people scattered everywhere. By the end of the night it was raining pretty heavily but nobody seemed to care - we all just danced in the rain like a Geri Halliwell music clip.

 A large group of us watched the actual game the next day on a big screen in this fenced off grassed area. For some unknown reason, nearly all the girls got so drunk that they were all suddenly crying. Seriously. El and I were just sitting there like... what the heck? How did we end up in a crying party? "Do you need a cigarette?" I asked my friend. She obliged. Determined I go around the entire area asking people for a spare smoke: "Please do you have a spare cigarette? I've found myself in a group of crying girls, please you need to help me out so I can calm them down!". My story moved one guy so much that he gave me four. "Good luck", he says. The things I do.

 Beautiful jax

...

***

Lisa, Trystan, El, David and I spent one weekend in Atlanta, along with some of the other guys from Weaver. They mainly wanted to go because of a Falcons game that was on, but us girls just tagged along so we could party. We ended up at this strange (but great) nightclub where we partied with the likes of Big Bird, Mr Potato Head, Chewbacca, an old near-naked man with head-to-toe tattoos, and motherfuckin' Gumby, to mention a few.

I like this look on Trystan

 ***

We went to Miami for a friend's 21st which in my opinion was the BEST city (apart from Chicago) thus far. Just an unbelievable place to be, where the nightlife just blew me away.

  

 Standard nightclub in Miami

Our weekend in Miami summed up in one picture

Unfortunately, it is within this city that the worst possible thing that could ever happen to a traveller (short of death) happened to me. I lost my passport. In fact, my whole bag was stolen off South Beach. It was the most sickening feeling that I wish to never, ever experience again. I felt empty. I literally had no identification whatsoever, nothing to prove who I am, and no money. I couldn’t get back to Gainesville because there were no buses running so I had no choice but to stay in Miami. It worked out alright though, cause turns out a photocopy of my passport was an acceptable form of ID so I was able to go out the next night with everybody (yeah, so I can get into mammoth clubs in Miami using a photocopy, and yet Grog, the sketchiest bar in Gainesville, flat out denied me entry later that week. Go figure.)

Because of this, I had to go all the way to motherflippin’ Washington D.C. to get a new one. So off I went, flew into D.C. in the morning, went for the interview at the Australian Embassy, and flew back later that evening. Luckily, after the interview I had a few hours to kill so I walked down to the White House to check it out. Here I made friends with a random Australian guy who I ended up sticking around with for the rest of the day. We saw the Lincoln Memorial together, the Washington Monument, and posed like douches for photos.

Me and Danny

 ***

Halloween was wild. I can’t inform you about the first half of my night or the very end of the night as I am a classy lady who doesn’t kiss and tell (Ok for real, basically, you just CANNOT script the shit that happens to my life. The next day, David went on to say that I “won the night”). But for the most part, I dressed up as Robin Hood / Link / Peter Pan, and we went to a frat party to celebrate. Even just walking up to the house, it appeared as if it was straight out of the movies.

 It was absolutely packed and everybody went all out with their costumes. Unfortunately, a couple hours into the night some idiot accidentally tipped over this huge ass water fountain that was in the backyard (what in the actual?) so the guy who I presume lived there came outside absolutely livid. “Everyone get the FUCK out of my house now! I am not joking! Get the FUCK OUT!!!” Sooo there ended up being hundreds of us just kicked out onto the street, left to find another party to go to. All my friends wanted to leave but I wanted to kick on – where I found another party. But that’s a story for another day.

 ***

I was fortunate enough to visit the Florida State Prison with my criminology class, which was pretty eye-opening. As you may or may not know, Florida has the death penalty so we were taken down to death row to talk to the inmates. I was one of those annoying students that was constantly asking questions but hey, if I didn’t, it would have been awks as. We weren’t allowed to ask them about their sentence, but when I got back I looked up the inmate I was talking to - turns out he raped and drowned multiple young girls. It’s so weird how when you talk to someone, they can come across as so intelligent and charismatic, and yet you have noooo idea what kind of person they really are, or what they’ve done in their past.

                                                                             ***

Next up was a cruise to The Bahamas!!! It was absolutely, without a doubt, the greatest couple days of the semester. The cruise ship itself was enormous and had a huge buffet, 24 hour pizza bar, casinos, bars and nightclubs. Every night we had a fancy-ass three-course dinner with all of the patrons. Of course, our table was always the loudest and drunkest. But at least we got to line our stomachs.

 One night I ended up at this little bar sitting next to a random black guy, and of course, with no inhibitions for reason unknown, I freestyle-sang a song to him infront of everybody there. People were clapping, singing “ahuh” “oh yeah!” along to it…. Yeah, you can’t script this shit. We ended up getting “married”. Unbelievable. The girls all ran over eager to be 'bridesmaids'. We just could not stop laughing.

 with the hot as hell 'priest'

i'm just so ridiculously happy

The Bahamas itself was gorgeous. Beautiful beaches, super cheap, and awesome weather. We went to one bar where they had a ‘booty-shaking’ competition – of course, my friend Yong physically lifted me up onto the stage with all my friends cheering me on. I jumped back into my group of friends at least four times but he kept catching me and taking me back on. In the end I thought I’d just do it for the lulz, but when I later found out what my competition would be…fuuuuuuck that!

Needless to say, she won

Later there was this huge congo line all throughout the bar, with the bartenders at different points throughout the place feeding us drinks as we danced past. It really was the funnest night.

 ***

The day after we got back from the Bahamas, we were off again to a beautiful lake house 45 minutes out of Gainesville that we hired for Thanksgiving break. Because we drove there at night, it seriously looked like the setting for a murder-slasher flick. That, and the fact that the second we walked into the house the phone rang, and once Trystan answered, they hung up. Weeeiiirrrd. But anyway. No-one died. It was a completely serene place to me. I was so glad to have had those wild couple nights on the cruise, then have a totally relaxing couple days following it.

 Can't believe they all trusted our drunk asses to cook the turkeys

 Me to Phil every 2 minutes: "Play the German song!!!"

Beautiful chills after a game of ring of fire

Every night a group of us would cook dinner for the rest of us. It was a nice change from standard dining hall food we were all used to. Food was great, drinks were flowing, campfires, guitar playing, shit talking… just the perfect couple days away with the best.

***

On a whim, Trystan, Jannis, Margie and I decided to hire a convertible and drive down to St Augustine to go see Two Door Cinema Club and Passion Pit play. We stayed at Margie’s grandparent’s condo which was riiiight on the beach. It was beautiful! On our first night we bought a shitload of cheese, bread, salami, dips and wine and chilled the f out, listening to music, and dying of laughter at Jannis being high.

 

in our convertible bitchesssss

wine and cheese night

***

As you may or may not know, I had my first heartbreak here in the States, and couldn’t seem to get over it. One night while at Grog after a few too many, I bumped into somebody from my past, who went on to inform me that he now had a girlfriend! Stunned, I literally just RAN away. I couldn’t find my friends in the club so I ended up crying to all these random people that I’ve probably only spoken to once in my life. What a nightmare! Luckily I had my favourite ever bartender working, and I cried to him for ages and he let me even though I was holding up so many people behind me hahahahaha oh my god. Thank FUCK I am over that. No more drunk crying occurred after that night. Drunk crying girls are the worst.

our final goodbye!

***

My last week ever at UF was a blur. It went by so quickly. I still feel sad now thinking about it… Everyday I’d say to the girls, “We only have x amount of days left...” to which they’d reply, “Please shut the fuck up about that and stop reminding us!” L Because my exams finished earlier than most people, I was able to go out every night that week. The bars were so crazy and packed that it reminded me of the first ever week we were there – so good.

Monday = Cantina (It was Lisa’s birthday!); Tuesday = Grooveshark’s Holiday Xmas Party (I had no idea it was founded in Gainesville? This was an awesome night filled with guys in suits, open bar, and a photo booth). Wednesday = Yep, good ol’ Grog, our favourite place to hate, but secretly love. Thursday = 0:8 Seconds (amazing country bar with line dancing and all!) and Rockey’s Duelling Piano Bar (I absolutely adore Piano Bars. I wish it was a thing back in Melbourne). Friday = Gator City (standard).

 last gator city

grooveshark party (and isabel's best friend the snowman)

Most people left early Saturday morning, so Friday was a big goodbye session with many a tear shed. God I’ll just miss these people so much. Luckily a few people were staying over the weekend so I wouldn’t be lonely (my bus for Orlando wasn’t until the following Tuesday). Becca was kind enough to let me crash at her apartment for the time I was there, seeing as we were all kicked out of our dorm on Saturday. Trystan and David stayed with me and it turned out to be a great couple days, as there were still a few people left in town to party with. We drank, listened to music and talked crap in the house, went to Gator City to shoot some pool, more drinks at the house, went to an “Australian” steakhouse called Outback which had items such as the ‘Thunder From Down Under’. What a lol. It really was a nice relaxing way to end it all.

***

During my time at UF, for some unknown reason, almost every single guy that I end up with had a hat. I honest to god do not go out with the intention of finding hatted-men, nor am I especially attracted to them. I just don’t know how this has become such a pattern. Well, everybody, especially the guys, give me a LOT of shit for it. To the point where if I’m even talking to a guy in a bar with a hat on, SOMEONE will take a sneaky phone photo and post it on our Weaver Facebook group with the caption of, “Another hat!”, which would attract comments such as, “Seriously Eva, this is becoming a problem”; “Eva you have got to be kidding”; etc. It has become such a running joke that when Trystan, David and Big J left the house to catch their flight to Vegas at 5.30am the last morning, they woke me to say goodbye… ALL WEARING HATS. Fucking smart asses!!! I must admit though, it was the most hilarious wake-up call I’ve ever had. I love those boys so much.

 ***

Shit this was long. Well, of course, I’ve missed so many things in this, but this isn’t my personal diary (you don’t want to read that shit, trust me) – it’s just the highlights of my trip that I’d hope would be interesting enough to share with you all. All in all, I think that the past four months have changed me. Not completely, but I know I am definitely not the same person I was when I first stepped foot onto campus in August. Before I came, I knew that I would meet some amazing people… But seriously, it’s hard to describe the level of closeness that we all had with each other by the end of it. It feels like I’ve known these people all my life.

 me spreading the good news. by the way, Roos' head is not where you think it is

Standard Weaver shenanigans. Australia v Germany

Undoubtedly there will be many reunions (we were even thinking of making a big one a couple years from now in Thailand), but it’s saddening to know that there will never ever be another time where we will ALL be together again, each and every person. I’m sad even writing this now. I just miss everybody so much already. Luckily I’ll be seeing a few in New York City when I go there so it’s not goodbye just yet. 

***

 Now that I’ve begun the third leg of my adventure, I’m happy to report that it’s been amazing seeing my three best friends from back home after seven months of being away from them. Currently we’re in Toronto where it’s -14˚C, but I’m loving just being here and I am excited for what the next two months will bring.

Reunited at last!

Thanks for reading, and i'll keep you posted on our epic cross-country road trip!

xx eva