Working Abroad .06 (The End of the Journey)

Today was the last day of my working abroad adventure! Yesterday (Friday) was my last day in the Sydney office and a big group of us went to Messina to grab gelato - it was so good! I also explored other parts of the Google office here - such as the hidden room that you can only get to if you know where the secret button is. Seriously Google offices are so cool. Today I took the train and the bus to Bondi Beach - yes, the FAMOUS Bondi Beach where all the movie stars go! Of course it was stunning. But my favorite part was seeing the little plane fly by with a banner attached to it reading "Will you marry me Karen?" It was just like out of a movie! I was so excited for whoever Karen is. She sure is one lucky lady; I hope she said yes! Anyways, Bondi Beach is full of really cute shops and restaurants; I got a really yummy acai bowl and then did a long walk back towards Bondi Junction. I did some shopping and got a pedi/mani at a random nail place (perks of traveling alone - you get to spoil yourself whenever you want). It was so much fun. The whole area felt like an Aussie version of Santa Monica meets San Diego meets some European beach. Definitely one of my favorite places in the world!

Now that it's over, it's hard to believe that 6 weeks ago the whole thing had just begun. I just read through my first post that I wrote on my first day in my hotel room in Singapore, and it's pretty ironic that I feel the exact same emotions that I felt on that first day: "relief, happiness, gratitude and exhaustion". This journey really has come full circle! But even though I feel the same emotions, I don't feel like the same person.

Professionally this has been the best decision I've ever made: experiencing the cultures of different teams in our remote offices has been refreshing; finishing a project in an area of the business that I didn't know well at first feels incredible; and creating so many new partnerships and friendships at work has been so rewarding. I've grown a lot in my role at work and I'm so proud of myself for taking this leap of faith.

Personally this has been a truly eye-opening experience. I've realized that traveling alone is one of the best ways to learn about and reconnect with yourself. I've always been at ease with being alone, but now I relish it. Having every single evening and weekend to myself was weird at first but quickly became normal. I've gotten used to flying alone, eating alone, wandering around alone (and usually getting lost), and figuring out public transportation in four countries alone! As cheesy as it sounds, I feel a greater sense of inner peace knowing that I can make my way around this vast world all by myself. The quote below couldn't be more true: