I didn’t miss a beat. I’m back in the states and the eeriness of the phrase “same old same old” numbs me to the core. Don’t get me wrong, I’m elated to be home and reunited with my incredible and loving family, friends and animals, but I miss Australia more than I anticipated. I left a new home behind so abruptly. I wasn’t ready to come back. Yes, I had been there for three and a half months, but I needed more time. I loved the Aussie lifestyle. I believe it loved me back.

That old saying, “time flies when you’re having fun,” has never been truer than today. After 96 days, my time studying abroad in Sydney, Australia, has come to an end. I have seen new sights, made new friends, gained new experiences, and learned a lot about myself. I am going to use this final blog post as a Greatest Hits of sorts to reflect on all the fun moments we have all shared in Straya.

I’m not going to lie, it has been a hectic last three weeks. Life as an intern has been nothing like I expected, however, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into in the first place. Truth be told, my internship placement was not fully confirmed until less than a week before my first day.

I will be the first to admit how nervous I was about traveling to Australia, particularly regarding my internship placement. However, I can safely say after my first full week of work, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. I currently work as a studio intern for The HubStudio, which is a hub for professional actors to obtain more training.

“You’ve hit the one month mark! So, what’s been your favorite part of Sydney so far?”

If I had a nickel for every time I’d been asked this in the past week, I’d have a handful of nickels.  But, if I had a nickel for every time I had a definitive answer, I’d probably have a paperclip, a dust bunny, and just maybe a half-stick of chewing gum, if I’m lucky.