Oh man... just like that it's all over.
Want some numbers? I love numbers.
43 days
9 flights
9 buses
7 trains
47,800ish km travelled
<5 travel mishaps (woo!)
It'd be a joke to count the steps buts its a truckload
Oh! I can't forget: 1 very tired but very, very happy woman.
I'm currently at the airport in Rome preparing to board 1 of 3 flights back home to Sydney before catching a bus back to Canberra. I'm dressed for winter with my jeans, long sleeve shirt, hoodie and jacket which is causing a few strange looks from people nearby as its 35+ outside but I know what I'm getting into. I arrive at 5am in Sydney and I will not be freezing my butt off in shorts that's for sure.
So, we've come to the end of Rhiannon's wild 6 week overseas adventure. It's safe to say I have had the most incredible time. I'm really grateful to anyone who read this blog throughout my travels, sometimes I forget that people do read it as it can feel a bit like a diary at times but I'm really glad I kept it up while I was away.
Another thing I've been doing is journaling, keeping tickets and writing about everything I did each day of my trip. I've been keeping it in this journal my sister bought me for Christmas and I'm pretty in love with how full it is:
It just goes to show how much I have done on this trip. I've climbed to the top of Mt Vesuvius, walked in Times Square, seen the hills of Tuscany, sung songs in the Austrian alps, gotten drunk in a karaoke bar in Amsterdam and met so many incredibly cool and awesome people. Plus much, much more.
But that's not all I've done.
I've overcome a lot of mini panic attacks as things didn't always go right. I've faced my fears of being alone in a room of strangers and having to start a conversation. I've struggled with language barriers, but never missed a bus or a train and always checked it was going to the right place before boarding.
I confirmed with myself what my therapist used to tell me, which is that people do like me despite me thinking they don't. The many friends I made along the way on this trip is a testament to that. This trip has helped me realise it's just me getting in the way and that's been a huge weight off my shoulders.
I've had to order at many, many restaurants and deal with times where they were out of the one food I had prepared myself mentally to order (Marty - it happened again with gelato!) But I got over my panic. I told them to give me another minute and had another look.
These might sound like minor things, and they are, but they were big things to me. And overcoming them is a big deal. I'm a stress head, I like to control what's happening around me. Usually, I only go to restaurants I've eaten at before where I know what's on the menu, I don't like ordering if someone else could do it instead and I certainly don't like trying new things on my own.
But I did all of that, over and over again. And after a while I started to feel comfortable.
I can feel myself becoming more confident and it's a wonderful feeling.
I'm so glad I went on this trip, despite the nagging voice at the back of my head that kept saying "are you sure?" up until the point I boarded the plane.
It's been amazing and I've loved keeping you all updated as I went.
Here's to the next one!
I need to start planning before the depression of being back to work and uni kicks in (jk - I love my work friends - hi guys, I know you're reading this - see you Monday!)
Till next time,
Rhi xx
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