30

Well, with the coming of a new year, I always like to reflect on the past year. I suppose I should really focus on the last decade as that’s the big landmark, but since I’ve only had three decades, it’s a bit too much. I’ll stick to the year. Without exaggerating, I think I can safely say that 29 has been the biggest year of my life.

First let’s talk travel. This last year I have visited six of the seven continents. Sorry North America, it’s a bit of a slap in the face that you’re the one continent I didn’t visit but it also makes sense—I’m coming home to you soon. So why would I do a pre-emptive visit when I’ve still got so much of the world to see? When we made the decision to stay for another year, we decided to get as much out of Marcus’s flight benefits as possible, and we have certainly taken huge advantage of them. We were calculating the other day that including the first-class, business and premium economy flights we’ve had, we’ve probably saved well over $50,000 in flights. Of course, we’ve spent quite a lot more than we would have otherwise as well, but it was merely pennies on the dollar where the flight upgrades were concerned. We grabbed hold of this extra year with gusto. Marcus’s Qantas benefits have been the catalyst for some huge adventures.

Adventure one was South Africa (technically I was 28, but since we flew home on my birthday I’m still totally counting this in the year of 29). Kruger National Park and Victoria Falls. Three countries. Spotting the big five, meeting the wonderful Annina and Camilo, and getting a taste of Africa. Then there was the weekend in Japan, the busiest three days of sightseeing I’ve ever had. Most importantly the sumos. Oh the sumos! I could watch your ritualistic body slapping and salt throwing for ages, it’s no wonder the tournaments go for weeks at a time. Then we returned to South America, revisiting the city where our first “I love you’s” were said. I just realized we talked about moving in together before we had our first “I love you”. Obviously we already knew it before it was put into words. I think knew it on day one. But it was fun to revisit that city that has a little bit of extra meaning in it for us. We also got to see Santiago for the first time, a very enjoyable city that I wouldn’t mind seeing again. Of course in between these two cities was our biggest adventure yet—Antarctica. A beautifully surreal place that I still can’t believe I’ve seen. Smelly penguins, orca-like dolphins, whales afar and seals on icebergs. It was an amazing place that my words could never truly do justice to. We also met the Barretts and the Wongs, as well as many other colourful characters who will ever remain a part of our experience. That and the 20 kilos we put on on that damned wonderful boat. Still trying to work that off. Of course the affluence of baguettes and cheese in Geneva didn’t help. Which brings us to Europe. Switzerland and France, two more countries to add to the list. Two intense weeks with my four fellow interns attending UN meetings, learning about refugees and international advocacy, and actually meeting some of the incredibly intelligent women and men from refugee backgrounds who live in refugee camps, or came to Australia by boat (yes, a boat person) and spent time in detention centers, and/or have gotten arrested for having Burmese travel documents, and all kinds of other stories that I have never heard in person. These people have experienced the kind of terrors I have only read about. Some of which were caused by my own countrymen. A confronting two weeks that I hope to process through someday soon. I suppose that I’m processing a little every time I talk about it. The lovely Geneva with its old city, swinging summer temperatures and beautiful lake. Then to Zurich to reunite with our South African safari friends, Annina and Camilo. Then on to the city of love, with five days in Paris. The Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame, Ste Chappelle, Musee d’Orsay, Versailles, Sacre Couer, river cruise on the Seine, biking all over the city, and the discovery of a tasty red wine, Brouilly. Though exhausted from the past few months, it was wonderful to visit the lovely, quintessential Paris, enjoy its baguettes and cheese on nearly a daily basis, as well as enthusiastically attempt speaking in French, attempts richly rewarded in smiles, misunderstanding, and friendlier French people. Our favourite was a bar in the neighbourhood we were staying in, with such wonderfully friendly staff that gave us free food and drinks. Who knows why, but we loved them and enjoyed the friendliness.

On top of the international adventures, we also visited the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Marcus had his first scuba diving experience and I had my first scuba diving freak-out. Turns out I’m more of a scuba girl, but even then get worried about water going down my snorkel. But we took a boat and stayed overnight at the reef and got to see one of the most amazing natural wonders of the world. We also went to the Clare Valley in South Australia for the weekend to bike the Riesling trail (biking and wine tasting are consistent travel activities), and of course we spent a few weekends in Melbourne. Then there’s the recent surprise birthday trip to Tasmania. I’ll discuss my birthday weekend later, but this is one of the Australian places I’ve most wanted to visit. Its own island south of the continent, Tasmania has a rugged, chilly outdoors that is unique to Australia, with wonderful cheese and produce, and of course the MONA.

As if we didn’t travel the hell out of this last year.

Moving on from travel, we have professional growth. While my work life was somewhat less than...perfect/a step forward/providing of professional growth, I did learn one lesson. Your relationship with your boss is everything. Less than four weeks into this job, I found that relating my events of the day to Marcus was ending in tears. Less than a month into the job. I had zero decision-making power and was getting scolded left and right. I found that ambition was not a favoured attribute. This was incredibly frustrating and my initial reaction was to turn inward and reduce my interactions with that frustrating environment. Of course that was never going to be a good solution, and I must have at some points resembled a petulant child. So I thought this over, over the next few months, and tried to identify the way forward. One person recommended reading the five love languages and trying to decipher what my boss’s was and to try to figure out a better way of communicating. I suppose that was how I eventually concluded that what was needed was trust. There is one employee in our office who makes more headway with our boss than the rest, and this is due to a trust that has built between them. It may not be a stellar working relationship, but it was something to go on. So instead of making suggestions on what work I thought needed to be done, I stopped putting any thoughts forward and to just do what I was told. This seemed to work. I also thought of my interactions with my last boss, and how she didn’t really want to talk about work until a more personal, non-work chat was had. This frustrated me and I didn’t play to it, but that only ended up in my own demise. So I decided to try the non-work chat with this boss, and that seems to have worked wonders. The relationship has improved drastically and I haven’t been scolded in...months? She started using the firm voice with me the other day, but I managed to turn that around quickly into a smile. Amazing. I take this as a massive lesson in people skills and boss politics. Make the boss happy first. Learn to adapt to their working style and it can be very helpful in the long run.

That was a pretty big hurdle for me, and while all of this was going on, I was also undertaking my Master’s in Development Studies (read International Development Studies for intelligibility) and taking full-time classes. Well really, the terms are a little shorter since I don’t have finals (essays instead) and since there was a gap of more than three months in between my first and second semester. That was a major downer, and I had some serious doubts about the proliferation of free time in my days. But then we went to Antarctica, and classes started right when we got back. And BOOM! Back into it. Then during campaign time at work, the busiest few weeks of the year when I’m working full-time, I was also going to classes full-time and trying to do research and prepare for my internship in Geneva. Intense. Weekends were spent studying, nights were spent studying, and my average day saw me on campus from 8am to 9pm. Ugh. Any form of working out went right out the window, but at least my eating habits remained healthy and regular. As did my sleeping habits. I am not a fully functional person without eight hours of sleep, though the shrieks from the baby next door tried awfully hard to take that away from me. Thank goodness for earplugs.

I’ve been wanting to work in the field of international development for seven years now, and with many failed attempts to both volunteer and work in the field, this was an excellent course of action. Although I take issue with much of the form of instruction, in the end I appreciate the degree. These classes gave me a good introduction to the field, very clearly illuminating that it is an extremely difficult field to work in and that there is a lot of trial and error. Well, mostly error. And that much of the work isn’t making sustainable change or making lasting impacts on the lives of those it helps to serve. I’m also starting to see that those people development seeks to serve aren’t very involved in this work and aren’t given much of a say about the work going on in their communities. This was so clearly illustrated during my internship in Geneva, where in a conference of hundreds, ours was the only group with refugee representatives who could speak personally about their experiences of displacement. Our group had community representatives from Bhutan, Eritrea, Somalia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Burma, Sri Lanka and India whose friends and families are still in those countries trying to find peace and calm in the middle of conflict. It seems strange to me to not consult with the very people whose life you seek to improve. I look forward to gaining personal experience in the field and building on my small (but growing) academic knowledge.

Then we arrive at the very reason we stayed this extra year in Australia—citizenship. After nearly five years of living in Sydney, I became an Australian citizen on the 15^th of May. I am now the proud owner of two passports (and got to give the newbie a run in Europe!). It still feels strange to say, “I’m Australian.” I’m American. My background is and always will be American. To say I’m Australian doesn’t roll out of my mouth—Sydney has not been my fast friend and it’s a struggle that continues. But I think I will have a greater appreciation for this country when I return to the US and re-ground myself in what used to be my normality. Is it normal anymore? I don’t think so. I’ve been gone for too long for it to have the same impact on me that it did while I was living there before. I’ve grown, and perhaps I’ve moved backwards in some ways. But coming back to Seattle and recalibrating is something I feel will do me a world of good. I’m looking forward to my 30’s. Who knows what they’ll bring.

I find myself looking in the mirror sometimes and think, “I’m 30.” I’m 30. It seems old, but I know it’s really not. And I feel...like the same person I’ve always been.