The highlight of the night came when it was time to go home. We got into a taxi to take us back to Bond. A few moments into the ride the driver asked if we wanted music. We said sure, and he turned on the radio. Queen "Bohemian Rhapsody" came on which we all were very excited about. The driver got the notion that we really liked the song and cranked up the volume. The 10 minute cab ride was full of six friends singing Bohemian Rhapsody and "I Would Walk 500 Miles..." The cab driver was even into it. Imagine six rather inebriated Americans, and an Australian taxi driver singing our guts out at 1am in the morning. To top it off, the driver was turning the cab lights on and off. Great music and strobe lights? Who needs clubs? We're just driving a cab around on Wednesday nights from now on. Oh wait, we don't have any more Wednesdays in Australia. Yikes! Regardless, the taxi made our night and I hope we made his as well.
Another brilliant idea we had that night was to play golf before we left Australia. Putting the number of the golf course into my phone at approximately 2:30 am, I called the course when I woke up to see if they had any openings. We made a booking for 1:30 and were excited to play again. To be honest, I was quite nervous playing with Adam, Jeff and Fink because I was carrying the reputation of Bond Uni golf team. Regardless, I was excited to get out and play with my American mates before we had to leave paradise. Mother nature must have been offended at how much we were trying to fit into our last week here. The radar looked like a rainbow as we were preparing to leave. As we were walking across campus with our clubs, Andrew (from the golf team) was running towards the car park to move his car because there was a hail warning coming. Great. This should be interesting with a bag full of 14 metal rods. Even our taxi driver laughed as us as we walked towards the cab. Despite the warnings, we only had a brief delay in the clubhouse as we waited out the rain. Once we teed off we were only rained on for 2 holes. The rest of the day was great fun. We even managed to find some leftover cigars from the Sydney trip and had them on the course. What a great way to go out.
Tonight we fought off the temptation to go out since most of us still have an exam on Saturday. Studying eluded me again as I got together with Jeff and Adam and continued to reminisce about our time here. We all share the same sentiment about having a bittersweet return home. All of us can hardly wait to see our families and celebrate Christmas, but it will be really hard to leave this paradise. As we laid around, watched the "tele", and reflected on our experiences, I remembered why I chose to study here. I remember complaining to Ashley about being bored on occasion in Australia. She responded simply with: "Enjoy it. That's why you chose to go." The truth is, I have learned to embrace the boredom and free time. Despite being broke, having this great time in Australia with no job, a rather easy class schedule, and new friends to share the experience with is something I will always remember. December sunburns, roos on the golf course, watching cricket over dinner; it is these things that will be unforgettable. Do I miss home? Absolutely. Will I miss Australia? Always. I'm already planning my trip back here at some time in my life...
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