Ponderings on My Final Day

Well it's almost over.

My bags are packed and tomorrow morning I board my plane for Sydney (it was going to be an A380...not anymore!!!).

WOW. Eight months and three days of travelling. Finished. WOW again.

My head has been reeling for the past month about heading home, I'm soooooooo busting to see my Man, my kids and all my family and friends, I'm busting to have my kitchen and even to get a bit of a routine going - imagine that!

I'm scared about reality biting - how do you go back to a normal life after all this excitement, learning, fun, connection, new people and places, daily challenges!!!??? Fortunately, I've had a bit of experience at it - having lived in Brazil for a year, twice - and I'm hoping that will help me out as I settle back into normality again.

Of course one never comes back the same person. This is one of the many beauties of travelling - you can't help but learn and change when you're out there in the big exciting world. And I've been thinking about exactly this over the last month, and indeed this evening, as I sit here on my sister's couch in London blogging one of my final posts.

Am I different from when I left Oz 8 months ago? My biggest fear is that I'm not, that I will go back home and just continue as I was. I want to have changed...but have I? Am I still the same, or am I different? And if I'm different, how am I different? (Yep, some people say I think too much)!

This is what I've come up with so far.

Fundamentally, I'm still the same - same old Supergal.

But.

But, there's a little more depth. I feel grown up for the first time ever, which is sorta odd, but that's the feeling I have. I'm not so scared any more, I mean, I've managed on my own travelling around the world for 8 months, with no plan, two weeks accommodation booked, and virtually no travel research - and look at the AMAZING trip I've had. OMG, AMAZING TRIP. If I can do that, well I think I can pretty much do anything. And these are great things to have as you get older...experience and confidence.

I have also gained perspective. I've not spent this much time travelling around so many different places in one trip, it's been an amazing opportunity to observe different countries and cultures on the three continents I've explored, from Easter Island, Chile and Brazil, the Bahamas, Alaska and the Lower 48, through to Europe, the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and a few of the Baltic countries - that's a lot of diversity, a lot of interesting people and places, and a lot of connections. And I've found it fascinating to fit my life in Australia into the big puzzle that is this world - to see where my place is in the big scheme of things. I'm still pondering that one, and suspect I will be for quite some time ahead. But I do realise that I'm not the centre of the universe (as previously thought), I'm just one very small, but important, part of it, as we all are. And I really like that.

Another important finding in this great journey of mine is that the world is a great place. An exciting, thrilling, wonderful, challenging, quirky, funny place. And even better than that, that most human beings are just bloody marvellous. The interest, kindness, warmth, generosity and love I've been shown as I've travelled has just blown me away - and virtually all of it from complete strangers (to start with!). My belief that people are fundamentally good has been absolutely confirmed over and over and over again. This is probably the finding that makes me most happy.

Now I think I'm raving...I'll leave it at that for the time being.

I suspect there will be a few more posts with similar philosophical ravings, just to complete my journey. Feel free to read, or not, as it suits.

If you decide not to read any more, let me just say thank you. Thank you to you if you are reading, or have read any of my posts. I can't believe how much I've enjoyed writing this blog, it's my first ever blog, or even travel journal really - and now I have the most incredible memento forever. So, thank you Sportfans, it's been a pleasure.

I'll leave you with an explanation of the pics above. Of course there's me pondering what lies ahead, then bags packed and ready to go for tomorrow - the big one I bought a couple of days ago to hold pressies to take home, and the smaller grey one is my trusty wheely duffel who has been with me all over the world - what a bloody ripper of a bag. The rest of the pics show how I spent my final day, on Girls Day with my beautiful sis, Chanel, and of course my gorgeous niece Tickly Pickly - shopping and cake. What a perfect ending.