Bittersweet

I can tell you right now that I'm probably going to cry while writing this. We leave on Saturday, and I know I am going to miss everyone here so much. A huge, huge thank you obviously has to go out to Matt and Kristen for organizing everything and to IES for giving me this amazing opportunity. I am eternally grateful to them.

But you know, I'm grateful for a lot of things that happened in Sydney, so it's only appropriate that I make a list...

1)All the crazy wonderful people that I met.

(The group in the Outback)

(Addie, Katie, and I)

(Addie, Sarah, Liza, Katie W., Kat, Morgan, Emily, Katie M., and me)

(Shannon, Katie, Addie, Andrew, and me)

(Katie and me)

(Kat and I)

(Addie and I)

(The group at Uluru)

I know that some of these are repeat pictures, but there are probably going to be so many pictures in this post that I think I'll be okay. I just wanted to say the biggest thank you to this crazy group of people. Thank you for making me laugh every day in class. Thank you for listening to me complain. Thank you for putting up with my weird attitude, for letting me freak out, for getting endless amounts of food with me and never judging, for hanging out in cafes, in parks, on the bus, and most importantly, thank you for being the greatest summer squad I could have ever hoped for. I came in to this experience knowing nobody, and I am so extremely grateful for all of you making this the best experience I've ever had. Thank you. 

2)James and Emma were the nicest professors I have ever met and I'm so glad that I got the opportunity to learn from them.

3)All of the ridiculous Sydney food, especially Oasis cafe where the lady knew me and my order because I would go in before class most days.

4)The incredible Sydney sky...

(Harbour Bridge at Sunset)

(Sunset at Observatory Hill)

(Bondi Sky)

(Darling Harbour)

(Right by school)

I mean, come on, is this sky not absolutely incredible? There's no way that the sky in my hometown can even compare...

4)The amazing sights and experiences that IES organized

(Blue Mountains)

(Alice Springs on our way to Uluru)

(Hiking King's Canyon)

(Uluru)

(Royal National Park Cliffs)

(Royal National Park Beach)

(Sydney Tower Sunset)

5)The ocean

(Cove)

(Cliff)

(Surfing at Bondi)

(Manly Beach)

And so so much more but this post is already way, way too long. Overall, I'm just extremely grateful that I was given this opportunity to study abroad in this absolutely gorgeous and amazing country. Words cannot describe the amazing sights and experiences that Sydney offered. I'm a little in denial that I'm leaving soon, but I also know that this is in no way a permanent goodbye.

Sydney, I love you. Australia, you're amazing. Thank you for everything, and I cannot wait to see you again.