One Year Ago.

One year ago today I met these beautiful people...

My flat mates Lilly, Lukas, Dylan.

It grieves me to think too hard about it.  Memories are painful.  For that reason I have numbed my mind to all memories of Australia ever since I got back.  Recently I have started pulling everything back up and out of my heart to debrief.  It's a crazy thing, debriefing.  I think I'm on the verge of the greatest revelation I've ever had in my relationship with God.  It's actually quite thrilling.  Anyways, I'm not willing to get too personal about all of that.  However, for the occasion I would like to reflect on my first memories from one year ago.

...

On Feb.19th 2012 I boarded a plane.  Well, several planes.

I've never been so brave. I remember telling myself, "You're gonna do this. So just get on the plane and do it."  I never shed a tear.  I flew for 19 hours from Dallas across the globe. It was morning when I landed in Sydney. The first thing I saw when I looked out the window were golden arches. McDonald's! I oddly felt comforted by that. I took a cab to the place I would be living. The cab driver was a jerk and threw my luggage out in the street. I was sweating bullets because it was summer time there. I drug my luggage to the door.

No one was home.  I didn't have a key so I left my luggage unattended and walked a block to the housing office.  They made me sit through a meeting before they finally handed me a key.  I ran back to the house, unlocked the door, and opened it.  Standing there...

Dylan: "Yes! A friend!"  I will never forget those words and the sound of Dylan's voice.  Even though for a slight moment I was surprised to see a tan Aussie boy standing in the hallway of my new home, I was incredibly at ease with his friendly welcome.  We were instant friends.  Like family really.  Dylan was like a little brother to me.  He has a childlike personality and is incredibly talented.  Typical Australian surfer.  He has umpteen lifeguard certifications on the professional level.  He's had like 67 stitches, 30 broken bones, and cancer.  He's an artist, magician and computer genius.  He started a long-boarding club at the University while I was there.  He is the most generous person I've ever met.  I miss talking to him.  He's a funny guy.  Anyways, Dylan and I spent the whole first day together roaming the city.

Later that night, I met flat mate number 2...

Lukas was definitely an older soul.  He had taken a gap year between high school and college to travel Europe.  When I met Lukas it was night time and we were in our backyard with the neighbors.  So I really didn't know what he looked like until a few days later when we ran into each other in the kitchen.  I was amazed by how nice he was.  Unlike Dylan, who is really expressive and says everything that's on his mind, Lukas is very calm and cool.  He is very level-headed.  I think I probably have the most in common with him.  When we talked about our day or weekend, it was genuine.  He didn't go to church, but he didn't mind hearing about my experience. Likewise, I didn't go out and party but I enjoyed hearing about his adventures. I remember one time, he and I were so hungry and it was Cheap Tuesday at Domino's.  Our house and Unit 5 down the street usually all went together.  I remember everyone was at our place running around and it was absolute chaos.  I looked at Lukas and said "I say we go ahead."  He jumped up and said "Let's do it." And we had the best quality time waiting on our pizzas together.  One morning I walked into the kitchen and saw a rat run under the refrigerator.  Lukas was the only one home so I drug him out of bed to come check it out.  We never saw him again, but we set up a trap...

And actually the day I left, I found his hole in the wall.

So the first week was the hardest week.  The first morning I woke up and felt like life wasn't real.  It was the strangest feeling ever. I didn't know anyone but Dylan and the neighbors.  I had no way of contacting home.  The stores were a 20 minute walk down the road, so I limped down and bought a phone.  Dylan helped me figure out how to use it.  I begged my mom if I could come home.  She said I would probably regret it if I did.  She put my dad on the phone and I can't remember what he said, but somehow after talking to him I felt like I would be okay.  My neighbor David invited me to have dinner with him that night.

 Now up until dinner with David, every conversation I'd heard involved alcohol.  It was discouraging.  But I started breathing again when David asked if he could say a blessing for our meal.  It turns out that he is Catholic.  His parents are from Malaysia, but he was born and raised in Perth, Australia.  I really only hung out with David a few other times, but I was happy to know he was nearby.  

So a week went by and we still had an open room in our house.  The first day of orientation came up and I was excited to meet new friends on campus.  That didn't quite happen but on the way home it was really funny.  As I was walking down our street, I passed Lukas talking to some other guy.  Then I passed Dylan on his long board.  When I turned into our front gate this girl behind me said "Oh, do you live here?"

I was to Lilly like Dylan was to me.  I was her first friend in Sydney.  I helped her get settled in.  Lilly is seriously the coolest chick I know.  And yes, that is Johnny Depp on her shirt.  She's from New Zealand, but had come from spending a year in France as an Au pair.  Lilly is quite talented as well.  She is an actress, musician, and linguist.  When I hear the song 'I Miss You' by Beyoncé, I think of Lilly.  That song was playing from her room constantly.  It was either that song, One Direction, or Frank Ocean.  Unless, of course, she was playing her Ukelele.  I know she's going to be a famous actress some day.  She's got the best charisma and personality.  Lilly is probably the easiest person in the world to get along with.  One weekend Lilly, Dylan and I went to Bronte Beach and walked the coastline to the famous Bondi Beach.  Dylan took a train home from Bondi station and left Lilly and I to find our way back.  Keep in mind we were both new to the area at this point.  It was a good bonding time for us.  We rode through the nice area of Sydney and into the heart of the city.  I would have been freaked out if I were alone, but Lilly was used to public transport in France and calmly was able to figure it out.

So there are a lot of moments that come to mind immediately when I think of my life back in Australia.  But it's hard for me to think about it without seeing the faces that I saw every single day.  I know my trip definitely had a large spiritual component and friendships through church.  But it's Dylan, Lukas and Lilly that I carry deepest in my heart.  I don't know how, but I was placed with the three best individuals that lived in Sydney, Australia during 2012.  A year later, I'm still so thankful God.