And So, It Begins Again
Another year, another trip to the south.
While this isn't my first trip of the year that I will share with everyone, it is the trip of the year: what has become my annual sojourn to Australia. I really never fathomed that I would make it back to Australia four times - much less four times in a row.
As many of you know, I originally went down to Sydney back in 2012. After those first five months in galavanting around Australia I knew I would go back. Though the trip following my graduation in 2013 -- just ten months after I had left -- to lecture on my Masters thesis was an unexpected surprise.
From that trip, I met a group of academics through two conferences. And that snowballed into another paper that precipitated my 2014 trip. And now, here we are again; I'm gearing up to go speak at the Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) conference. Apparently I'm easily pressured into things or I, for some sick reason, enjoy writing academic papers.
Of course, along with the work aspect of this trip, there will be some enjoyment. I will get to see many friends, visit new places, and spend time in the city that I came to love a few years ago: Sydney.
With eight flights ahead of me in the next two weeks (amounting to 49 hours, 55 minutes of flying time -- more than 60 hours of transit with layovers), it will be simultaneously exciting and exhausting. But it will be worth it, no doubt.
Considering my excursion to Turkey and Morocco back in January, this trip will take me to my fifth continent of the year. Looking back over the last few years of travel, that doesn't seem all that crazy... But yet then I think about the fact that the first time I left the country was in 2008. And to think of all the things I have seen since then is nothing short of astounding. And humbling.
So, now it's time to head to the airport. It's been a busy week, and, as usual, I just finished packing. I'll check in again from my first stop!
While this isn't my first trip of the year that I will share with everyone, it is the trip of the year: what has become my annual sojourn to Australia. I really never fathomed that I would make it back to Australia four times - much less four times in a row.
As many of you know, I originally went down to Sydney back in 2012. After those first five months in galavanting around Australia I knew I would go back. Though the trip following my graduation in 2013 -- just ten months after I had left -- to lecture on my Masters thesis was an unexpected surprise.
From that trip, I met a group of academics through two conferences. And that snowballed into another paper that precipitated my 2014 trip. And now, here we are again; I'm gearing up to go speak at the Society of Architectural Historians of Australia and New Zealand (SAHANZ) conference. Apparently I'm easily pressured into things or I, for some sick reason, enjoy writing academic papers.
Of course, along with the work aspect of this trip, there will be some enjoyment. I will get to see many friends, visit new places, and spend time in the city that I came to love a few years ago: Sydney.
With eight flights ahead of me in the next two weeks (amounting to 49 hours, 55 minutes of flying time -- more than 60 hours of transit with layovers), it will be simultaneously exciting and exhausting. But it will be worth it, no doubt.
Considering my excursion to Turkey and Morocco back in January, this trip will take me to my fifth continent of the year. Looking back over the last few years of travel, that doesn't seem all that crazy... But yet then I think about the fact that the first time I left the country was in 2008. And to think of all the things I have seen since then is nothing short of astounding. And humbling.
So, now it's time to head to the airport. It's been a busy week, and, as usual, I just finished packing. I'll check in again from my first stop!
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