En Route to BFF Weekend in Sydney

Greetings from Melbourne airport! Well, technically I am writing from the bus to Melbourne airport, but by the time I hit the publish button, I will be at Melbourne airport. Given this bus, which I take solely based on the guidance of Jik who lives in Sydney, reach the airport. Speaking of Jik, I am leaving for Sydney tonight to spend some girl time with her.

It’s a long-due BFFs date.

The last time we had our precious girl time was two years ago when we went on a short getaway to Hongkong. We shared a stamp size AirBnB, explored Ocean Park, went on a Hongkong Dim Sum diet, had copious amounts of Hongkong local beverages, and danced the night away in Lan Kwai Fong. I am hoping we create the same kind of happy memories in Sydney this weekend.

I still can recall a particular one from our time in Hongkong. We sat in the pub facing the street of Lan Kwai Fong, sipping the cold beer and talking about life while simultaneously people watching. Drunk people watching to be exact. It’s when I shared my plans with her. Really shared I mean.

I told her that I handed out my resignation letter a few days before and that I planned to move back to Indonesia to take a break and map my move to Australia.

Australia has always been the dream, my dream.

That time it seemed so freaking far away yet I was sure of my decision. Although the thought of being jobless and moving back to my parents should have terrified me, I felt at peace. At least that time, at Lan Kwai Fong, when I told her about it. 

And now? Now I am here! I have been here almost a month and there’s nowhere else in the world, I’d rather be (excluding being on this bus to Melbourne airport). I am navigating life joyfully, especially the past week when I finally settled into life here. Everyday gratitude washes over me, whether it’s a cold rainy day or after a 14-hour workday or over a plate of tasteless risotto.

I wanted to elongate this feeling as long as possible and came up with a project where I essentially push myself, sometimes out of my comfort zone, to try something new every day. I figure it will be easy since this is a totally different city/country/continent/culture/climate which makes the size of my so-called comfort zone equal to a teeny tiny dot hence almost anything I try/eat/see is a new thing for me. Does this make sense? I hope it does. In the spirit of trying new things, I visited the Melbourne Aquarium, did a night colour run, went up to the 88th floor of Eureka Skydeck to see this glorious city sparkle at night, ate a black squid ink dish, and shopped at the weekend market among others.

So yes, I am happy. Everyday. It’s a conscious effort I am taking and Melbourne helps to make it easy.

That’s all for today’s airport talk. Miaw and I have to get ready to get down at Terminal 1 soon, fly soon and reach Sydney on time. I can’t wait to hang out with her!

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