Transit Thoughts

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard”
Wise words from the man himself, Winnie the Pooh (aka. A.A. Milne)

*Thoughts during my transit home to Melbourne for Christmas*

Winter Blues

It seems it has become that time of year again. The time where early mornings are no longer a part of my day – and my energy no longer comes from the sun’s rays.

What do you do when you lose all motivation and energy, when you don’t even want to shower because it’s too cold when you get out? I feel like there’s just no point doing anything.

Dating Outside Your Own Culture

I still remember when I first came to this country and I was volunteering with about 18 girls and 2 boys together in this one house. Naturally we went on outings together and one day I pointed out a Vietnamese boy to one of the girls and was like ‘dayym he's cute’. I know I’m exaggerating when I say that the entire group shut up and stared at me like I was insane but that’s what it felt like. 18 girls, and only one of them could half relate by saying she could ‘appreciate the beauty of an Asian boy but wouldn’t go there’.

Magic Time

 There’s this magical time of day; a small window of every day that’s just made up of pure magic.

The children have just gotten home from school and the sounds of their laughter and play fill the busy streets.

Young lovers eat ice-cream from held hands as they skip stones into the lake, smiling with such love in their eyes.

The middle aged do their daily exercise in the sensual almost-sunset light.

Families take their beloved animals for walks along the lake where the sun glimmers off the calm ripples from the fishermen’s rods.

The fishermen; perched on the lake’s edge, catching fish for their cats' dinners.

Friends sit on tiny stools and enjoy ice tea together, laughing uncontrollably at each others conversations.

From afar, silhouettes of these people can be seen across the city lakes horizon. 

Each enjoying this warm time. Each enjoying the undying love of this time. Each enjoying being impossibly happy and caring at this time.

There’s this window of complete bliss for about half an hour each afternoon. I call it the magic time.

-Millie Burns

Unknown Fates

Never will I forget

The look on the face of a man who has just been in a bad accident.

First, you noticed the vehicle, ripped from it’s shell, torn to pieces by the bitumen, smothered along the road.

Then, the body by the vehicle, moving slowly, so slowly, unsure of what the hell has happened and why the hell his brain isn't connecting with his legs.

The Little Things...

Okay so I have known most of my life that I am pretty useless on my own. And I have been working on it. Constantly. But it's an extremely hard flaw to conquer.

I still remember little Millie - I must've been about 6 years old - being told to go up to the McDonalds counter on my own to order a soft serve.

Slowly making my way up the queue, I was telling myself over and over 'you can do this. It's not a hard thing to do'.

When I finally got to the counter at first the lady didn't see me and called for the next customer who, thank goodness, could see me in all my lack of height and said that I was first. 

Nervous as anything I spat out the words 'can I please have a soft serve' she said 'yes sure that will be 50 cents' I thought yes. I have done it.

Untill I looked at the money mum had put into my hands and noticed I was 20 cents short.

My Story

 

I took this photo on my first day in Hanoi. I was immediately welcomed into this country with open arms from many of it's people.

The first thing that tied my heart down to Ha Noi, the first city I'd explored in a country other than my own, was the architecture. Oh, the architecture. I mean look at these buildings. The tiny lanes, the tall thin houses, the french finishings on the buildings' façade.