Every time it comes to writing “Australia 2”, it turns out I have something else to do. Maybe I need to check emails, find a snack, go for a walk, Google something, or watch Community on Netflix.

As it happens, my procrastination has led to me finishing all 55 hours of Community so I’m running out of excuses. Also, I’m learning to become less scared of what might come up. If I’ve been in a good state of mind, I didn’t want to ruin it by dragging up difficult memories of Australia and laying all my feelings bare for the internet to see and judge. If I’ve been in a bad state of mind, the last thing I’d want to do is think about how “terrible” everything was.

But the thing I like about walking is that, it allows you to think. It’s actually scientifically proven (see Stanford Uni, CA) that walking increases your creativity (by 60%!) as the rhythm of your walking adjusts your brainwaves to put you in a state of “flow”. You will also (hopefully) be away from distractions such as your phone, and be more relaxed in general. (It’s also a beneficial way to undertake having a difficult conversation as it’s less confrontational than sitting down).

So during my walk this afternoon, the creative part of my brain recognised that my Australian experience was both a genuine once-in-a-lifetime, never-to-be-repeated, unique experience that I was incredibly fortunate to have, and that it was also very difficult and stressful.

It reminded me of the childhood game “Fortunately, Unfortunately”, and I thought it would be a fun way to provide a summary of Australia and there would be an even 50/50 split of “good” versus “bad”. So here goes…

• Fortunately, on 11 March 2020, I crossed the border from Laos to Cambodia.
• Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, the world was closing down. My next destination, Vietnam had shut its borders and it was looking like I was going to have to go straight to Australia. Unfortunately, I didn’t have an Australian visa. Unfortunately, I was in Siem Reap. Unfortunately, I needed to be in Phnom Penh to get a Medical, but I wouldn’t get there until 16th March and the facility wasn’t sure whether to accept me as Siem Reap had the first case of Covid in the country. We had heard that Australia might be closing its borders imminently.
• Fortunately, after the Receptionist staff consulting with the higher-ups, the Medical facility accepted my appointment. I got to Phnom Penh on 16 March, had the medical the next day and, after initially being told that the results would take 2 weeks (it would have been too late by then!), I got the “all-clear”, and received my Australian Working Holiday Visa the same day, on 17 March 2020. I called my partner, Claire, booked flights for 19 March (to arrive 10:45am 20 March), and cried.
• Unfortunately, I randomly woke up at 3am on 18 March 2020, and saw a text on my phone. It was from the airline, AirAsia, stating that my flight transfer country – Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur airport) – had closed its borders and my flight to Australia had been cancelled…
• Fortunately! In the early hours of 18 March, I managed to book onto one of the only flights available out of the country: Phnom Penh to Changi (Singapore) with Jetstar and Changi to Sydney with Scoot. It would leave on 19 March and arrive 20 March.
• 19 March 2020: Australia announces that they are closing their international borders to non-citizens and residents at 9pm tomorrow – 20 March 2020.
  
• I check my flight details: FORTUNATELY I would be arriving in Sydney, Australia, at 1pm on 20 March 2020… providing there was no more delays or cancellations.
  
• Feeling sick, stressed and tense the whole time, partly because I had been staying in a hostel, had a sore throat, and who knew, maybe I had Covid and they wouldn’t let me on the plane! I board the first plane to Singapore on 19 March.
  
• Unfortunately, the only ticket I had managed to get was a “self-transfer”, which meant that technically, I had to enter Singapore, collect my bag, and check in “from Singapore”, even though I was only transitting. I went to two moderately helpful and very busy helpdesks, filled with people with similar issues. With time ticking down to catch my next flight, I eventually found out that yes, I could enter Singapore no problem – I just had to stay there in a hotel for two weeks, self-isolating.
  Nope! That wasn’t going to work.
  
• With little time to spare, I decided to ditch my bag in Singapore and fortunately, catch my connecting flight to Sydney. I can vividly remember going to the helpdesks and to the barrier with the guard that separated me from my luggage – my 50L Osprey rucksack that I had been living out of for the past five months. That bag was essentially, my home. I had to leave it. I can remember how my face felt. Exhausted. Crestfallen. Confused? I definitely remember NOT feeling annoyed. A wave of calm came over me; a single-minded focus. Leave the bag. Get on the plane. I can’t remember anything after that. I don’t know if I slept. I seem to remember a persistent internal tension due to being at the mercy of the whim of external forces. A feeling that wouldn’t leave me until I left the country again, 728 days later.

I think that’s it for tonight. It’s actually been extremely fun reliving all of this and taking the wins with the struggles! Rest assured, there is more drama to come…

Until next time!

Kirsty.

Top photo: Backpacker friends! Jake, Jodie and I on the Stray bus in Battambang, Cambodia on 14 March 2020