I am writing this sitting in a plane which is flying over Australia. There are two hours until I land, two hours until I see my parents and can collapse in their arms. Two hours until my adventure is officially over.
I don’t know what to feel. I’m excited, of course, to be coming home and with my loved ones, in my familiar house and town. But I am also sad that these six months are finished, that the semester I had been planning for years is over, and will never happen again.
I can’t believe it’s over. It really doesn’t feel like it has been over six months since I left. It feels like it was only last week that I was on the first long-haul flight to London. But then sometimes it also feels like ages since I left. I think I have grown a lot in the past few months, that I have changed, for the better (I hope). I feel stronger, braver, more confident. I feel older and more experienced, yet realise how young I am too, and how many more experiences I have yet to come. I feel like I have seen so much of the world, yet realise how much more there is to see. I definitely feel my little Australian girl bubble has been popped, and I am so ready to explore more countries and cultures, and am ready to keep my eyes open and keep learning and living and loving.
This year so far has been amazing. I have done things I never thought I would do, like jumping into an icy hole in a lake in Northern Sweden. I went to places like Russia, Finland and Spain. I made friends from all around the world. I have been so lucky!
I had the best time of my life in Uppsala. What a magical town, with traditions older than civilised Australia. Where student life dominates the culture, where bicycles rule the streets and one can hear many different languages as they walk through the mall. When I arrived, it was covered in white snow, and the long nights brought out candles on each windowsill of the perfect Swedish houses. As I left, the sun barely set for two hours, and eating dinner at midnight became the norm. I fell in love with Uppsala, from the very first day, and I am so happy to have been able to call it my home for a few months.
Missing my family, friends and dogs back home was the hardest challenge I had to face, and I can’t imagine how difficult doing an exchange would have been even ten years ago, when the modern technologies I utilised so often were not available. Thank you so much to everyone I missed, for being there when I called, for sending me long emails and letters, for liking my photos on Facebook. I still felt very much connected to life at home, and I fear that if I didn’t have access to things like FaceTime and Skype, I would have struggled living away a whole lot more, and probably would have come home before the semester even ended.
As it were, these technologies were incredibly helpful, as were the people in Uppsala. I found myself a little circle of amazing friends, a little family in Sweden. It was with these people that I ate dinner with, partied with, had (many) picnics with. We screamed together, had Fika together, travelled together. Uppsala would not have been the same without these people, and I love them all very much.
I could write forever about how wonderful Uppsala is, and how emotional I am that it is all over, however I think I should stop here before I start crying. Again. I’m surprised I have any tears left, as they have been almost constantly leaking from my eyes for days. I have had to say goodbye to so many places and people recently, and I can only hope that thee goodbyes are not final, that I will be able to visit these places again, and see these people more. Yes, it’s the end of semester and I’m going home, but now I feel I have two homes. One in Wollongong, where I live, and one in Uppsala, where part of my heart lives. One day I will be back in Sweden, but it shall never be the same as it has been this year, so I shall have to go ‘home’ to Uppsala by reminiscing with some of the people who made exchange as amazing as it was. And I can’t wait!
I’ll be home in a few hours, back at UOW again in three weeks. Back to my old life, but as a new Erin. A better Erin, and I hope life is ready for me!
