1 year on the road now. Above all, it’s been a journey into myself.
Have I changed as a person and how? I don’t feel much different, where is the enlightenment I was looking for?? I’m still the same shy girl from the country. But I suppose a year abroad would change anybody in some way. What I can think of now, I’ve probably become even more independent, more mature and I’ve got to know myself and what I want from life a lot better. Travelling, spending time and starting a new life by myself on the other side of the world, I think it’s inevitable that you get to know yourself better. :) Mostly however, I’m the same mess of a girl as always. Some things will never change.
Has it been what I expected? Yes and no. I didn’t have a lot of expectations. It had been my dream to go to Australia, and somehow I had painted this image in my head of this paradise, happy days under a palm tree with the sun shining, kangaroos jumping and handsome surfers around me :) Believe it or not, it hasn’t been just that! And even when it has, as great as it was, I realized happiness is not a destination, it is more of a way of travelling.
"Remember what Bilbo used to say: It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." J.R Tolkien
What do I miss most about Finland? Apart from friends and family, Finnish summer and even winter. White Christmas. Snow. Finnish food, rye bread and cider above all. I miss the feeling of home and belongingness. Here in Australia I’m always a visitor, a foreigner, coming from the land far away… I’ve been here for so long that I even miss the small things that I used to hate. But I’m sure that once I get back, I’m gonna start hating them again :)
Best times? What I enjoy most is going to a new place, so all trips. Also, getting to know new people and spending time with them.
Worst times? Well I feel pretty shit right now. Apparently breakups are just as bad down under. Life is a rollercoaster, just gotta ride it. Hopefully when I lie on the beach in Surfer’s Paradise I will have something else on my mind.
Best place? Vanuatu, Tasmania, Outback, Great Ocean Road… They were all amazing. I think I enjoyed the trip to the Outback the most so far. But there is still so much to see!
IS THE GRASS GREENER ON THE OTHER SIDE? I guess mundane everyday rat race is the same regardless of where you are. Apparently there is no way to escape it :) But still, I would definitely much rather live my mundane everyday rat race here in Melbourne than in Lappeenranta.
Anyway, now that my situation has changed, I feel like I’ve sweeped the streets of Melbourne long enough and it’s time to turn the page. It would be best for my mental health to get the hell out of here asap and take the next plane anywhere, since everything here just reminds me of my misery, but unfortunately due to my personal financial crisis I might be stuck here for a while...
Hey it's only -20 degrees today so you can come back already! :-)
ReplyDeleteGet to a contact with LOAS to get the apartment, asap. Getting back home, dont worry about it, just find the low cost way, we will find the money. We are waiting for you! Says daddy.
ReplyDeleteI only recently found your blog and have been enjoying reading the past entries of your journey! Anyway, I just wanted to comment (I tend to answer even rhetorical questions so bear with me ;) to this latest one;
ReplyDelete- If you, like you said, have "become even more independent, more mature and I’ve got to know myself and what I want from life a lot better", is that not enlightenment enough? Many people never know what they want so consider yourself enlightened :)
- What comes to meeting expectations, all trips are done three times: the planning (when everything goes well), the actual journey (when some things inevitably go wrong) and the remembering afterwards (when the bad things again start fading away). So the real trip is usually, oddly enough, the worst of the three. So at this point, "partially meets expectations" is a good review.
- on returning to Finland, you will, as you guessed, start again hating the stuff you miss now. And loads more; the return culture shock is most often the worse part.
- lastly, sorry to hear about the breakup. Yes, that sucks equally much globally.