Life is about experiences.

I board the plane carrying my heavy suitcase in my hand, stuffed to the brim with extra clothing and all the stuff you will ever need to go on vacation. I look around me and smell the sweat dripping off the passenger’s foreheads as we stuff ourselves into the plane. Each seat is filled with one person each, excited about the new places they will see, or sad to leave the glories of Vancouver. The cushions are scratchy on my almost bare legs, so I put some spare sweatpants on to soften the touch. In my cozy clothing, I curl up in my seat and press play on the movie screen in front of me.

I wake up later to the sound of a soft “ding” in the speakers and the lights flickering on. The flight attendants dressed in a bright blue come walking towards us carrying the food. The smell of slightly overcooked vegetables envelopes the plane. I get my tray of food, that is looking like a pile of mush and begin to dig in. The sauce of the chicken tastes like stars, and I’m amazed by how good this airplane food is. Once I get to the vegetables, I see the downside. They taste as they look, like a pile of bland mush.

After a long sleep and a ton of movies it is time to leave the airplane. The cold hallways in the airport tingle my skin so I put on a warm sweater. The air conditioning in blasting, and the wind sweeps through my hair. Before it is time to go outside, I peel off my pants that have been stuck to my skin, and tie my sweater around my waist. As soon as I step outside I am blown away by the suns rays sweeping towards us. Sweat begins to pool at my forehead. The palm trees lay still in the hot sun. Australian weather has warned down my family who is used to the mild Vancouver weather. We hop on the train to travel 30 minutes to the city of Brisbane

Off the train and onto the streets piled with people. We walk in the direction of our hotel that we thought would be close. We walked carrying our fully loaded bags up an down the steep hills that seemed to go on forever. At our place, we immediately crashed onto the soft bed covers that were only a little bit too warm.

Stepping outside in to the beautiful streets of Australia, I finally realized that we were half way around the world. The river winded through Brisbane and the water sparkled with pure delight. I could feel the heat on my skin, and see the excitement in everyone’s eyes. This was the moment we’ve been waiting for in a long time. We were finally in Australia.

We cuddled koala’s and fed kangaroos. There soft fur, and loving eyes made your heart sting, and make you want to take all the koalas home with you. We went to big sandy beaches, with waves roar that you can hear crashing from a mile away. It got hotter and hotter the more north we would go. The cold and sweet ice cream is an essential to keep us cool up here near the equator.

I held a crocodile, with its smooth scaly skin as it squirmed in my hands trying to get away from my grasp. Pure excitement comes in when you get the privilege to catch a glimpse of the great barrier reef from up in the sky. Above the roar of the engine, I could see all the coral forming beneath the water, and all the beauty that it holds. It’s a miracle how much beauty the raw world has for us to see.

In Melbourne, the streets buzz with more noisy people and places to see. Tall buildings compacted together with trams connecting everything together. We went to see the Grand Prix car race in Melbourne that week. The cars raced by our faces in an instant with barely any room for us to see them. We spent my birthday in the city and eating burgers, and touring the city.

Traveling to Sydney, we noticed the heat rapidly increasing. We went surfing in the famous Australian waves, falling into the warm waters bellow. We traveled into town through the city and saw an opera inside the Sydney opera house. The singers projected their voices through the whole room in just one breath. It was amazing how beautiful Australia, as well as how similar and yet very different it is than to Canada. It was finally the last day of the trip. We packed all our clothing and realized this will probably be the last time we will ever be here. In a sullen mood, we headed to the airport leaving the beautiful country behind.

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