i'll admit it, this post comes a little out of left field.

dear sarah and mrs. joan,
thank you for teaching dana.
love,
meredith

this post is long in coming.

let me say, here and now, that it is insanely hard work to not become nostalgic, regretful, or homesick. now, watch as i proceed to be all three.

november 2 was the last time our ASC class met on wesley campus for class. it was an all day debriefing/processing day. the entire class sat around this meeting room, shared various baked goods, and discussed all the ins and outs of returning to the states. things we'd miss about australia, things we were not going to miss, things we were looking forward or not looking forward to at home. i sat there, in that same room where just a few months before, i was read through procedures and manuals about life in australia while trying to fight jet lag. it is a strange feeling indeed.
at the end of something like this, i feel like it's halfway normal to look back and say, "if only this, if only that." if i was feeling this way at the beginning of this week, i have effectively killed it off. i came here with few, if any, expectations and all of them have been blown out of the water. if i regret anything, it's that i may have missed some opportunities to participate in some activities. but i do not regret the other activities that filled the place of those opportunities, or wish things to be excessively different.
homesick is strange. we have been working toward this deadline of going home, longing for it, dreading it, been angry and frustrated and excited at its rapid approach. i am ready to be home, but i don't think anyone is ready to pack or leave. every time something stinks about the city (buses, prices, everything shutting down at 5 pm), i think to myself that i'm ready to go and get back to a world i understand. at the same time, every time i discover a new cafe, geographic point of beauty, architectural masterpiece, i sit and wonder how i could ever think about leaving. there is something in me, though, that is itching like crazy to get home and sleep in my own bed, be with family and those i love stateside.

this week, from monday nov 5 till this friday nov 9, was something we call "stuvac," or study vacation. it's a time of making up work for classes or getting ready for final tests and papers, so there's no regularly scheduled classes. some ASCers took off for various desitinations, such as the reef or road trips. i had my very last paper due on tuesday (CHECK!), and a multimedia project due on thursday (double CHECK), so i stuck around sydney. but, i am officially done with school, with the exception of a worksheet next week. let me tell you, it is nice to have no more homework until the middle of january!
the last few days have been spent spending as much time with australians as i can. we leave this coming wednesday morning for new zealand, (auckland, specifically) where we'll spend a week studying maori (native new zealander) culture and taking in natural beauty. there is a part of me that says, yes! we're going to new zealand! wow! and another part that says this is a terrible and cruel idea, being keeping us from loving on the australians we know and keeping us from seeing the people we so dearly want to see. at least we have that time to spend with each other--i am certainly going to miss ASC. we're an awesome group, if i may say so myself.

so yeah. i'm sorry this post is so long in coming. there's a lot about us leaving that i am kind of in denial about...oh, like that it's actually HAPPENING, for one....so it's easy to put this off. but i like you and am glad you're still reading. i'll see you soon.