Well readers, my amazing wonderful exciting adventure has far too quickly come to an end. The last week back at Queens College in Melbourne is definitely one for the history books - the sun was shining every day, and my group of friends cherished every single minute together and it was amazing. We explored the city quite a bit for the last time, rode the trams like there was no tomorrow, biked around, ate out quite a bit, and hit the beaches. The city of Melbourne is right on the coast of Australia, and its peninsulas have amazing beaches and even better sea shells. One sunny arvo I took a drive down to Mount Martha beach which is home to those adorable colorful beach huts. They'r quite iconic for Melbourne. Each box had their own colors and personality and they were so cute lined up right along the sand. Mt. Martha also has these super cool rock pools which I've never seen before. Bordering the shore were super cool rocks with lots of fish, starfish, barnacles, and algae growing. We took a cheeky walk around and wading at the sand bar enjoying Melbourne for one of the last times.
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I couldn't get enough of these amazing beach huts, or the weather. So the next day a group of us headed on the tram down to Brighton Beach. While the shell collecting here was not nearly as amazing, the view of the Melbourne skyline was unforgettable. It's one of those images that will remain in my mind for a long time to come.
In between hanging onto my exchange family and enjoying every experience left (and some packing) I spent a lot of time reflecting on what I'd accomplished over the past 5 months. Besides the trivial hurdles like skydiving and hiking a glacier, I think I really grew as a personal and fully indulged in the Australian experience and culture. I'm laidback now, I've actually got 'no worries' all the time. And thanks to Australia - I'm brave and adventerous. This experience was more than I could have ever mapped it out to be - I had the best friends in the entire world, and a new county and culture to explore which I certainly did. I accomplished everything on my Aussie bucket list. And as cheesy as this next statement is going to be - I couldn't be more thankful for a whole world worth exploring.