One more time

This very date last year, I was about to finally come back to Melbourne and see ‘my Aussies’ again after more than two years. And here I am, one year later, in Melbourne again, yet this time I’m about to say goodbye again for I don’t know how long. It’s the not knowing when I’ll see people again that always makes it a lot easier to go on exchange than to come back from it. I packed my suitcase this morning in about 2 hours; it’s not the packing that’s a problem anymore. I’ve done it so many times by now that it’s almost becoming routine: nothing folded and jeans first… It’s the leaving that takes a lot longer. Yes, it’s ‘only’ 22 hours of flying and a few hours in transit to get me back on Dutch soil, but my feet aren’t necessarily walking in the same place where my thoughts are. I’m sure my mind will go wandering back to all the memories I made over the past six months as if they are just unfolding right in front of me plenty of times in the next few weeks. And please bear with me on my accent for the first few weeks too :)

Several people have asked me lately what my highlight of my exchange was this time. I know I’m likely to get asked that question several times in the next few weeks as well. Truth is, I don’t know. The things that made this exchange special are lots of things. Little things. Random things. Things that are hard to put into words or pinpoint exactly. It’s realising as I land back in Melbourne after three weeks of New Zealand that I really missed the place and the people it holds for me. It’s realising at the very same time that I’m not landing in Adelaide and that on some level I had been expecting to see everyone I left behind there again too after my 3 weeks away. That I miss them more than I thought I did while I was still keeping myself busy with travelling through NZ. It’s the random times I spent with people I love or have come to love along the way, not necessarily doing anything special at all. It’s sometimes being able to trick myself into thinking – just for a little while – that I can make this last and that I don’t really have to say goodbye all over again. Packing gets easier every time, leaving never does. But I’ll be back sooner or later.
Love Carine
xoxo