A Fond Farewell

I have spent five months in Melbourne.  And it is now over.  Where did the time go?  Someone here put it very well, in saying that they couldn't remember when we went from saying "we still have this much time left" to "we ONLY have this much time".  This is one of the most amazing countries I have had the pleasure to visit, and really hope I can come back soon, possibly to live for good.  

I have met some of the greatest people here, especially from jiujitsu.  I am gonna miss my girls team SO SO much.  I learned so much from them, it's amazing.  Last night, Robyn told me that from the way I was rolling, she would have promoted me to my orange belt if she had the power.  It felt really good to hear that from someone like her, who is a really sharp, really technical fighter.  I feel like my game has completely changed, but I won't really know until I get back to Berkeley and am on the mat again.  July is gonna be really hard to spend so long away from training, so I'm gonna have to really focus to stay sharp on my techniques.  I will always remember what I've learned from everyone at GZ: Carmen, Robyn, Jardi, Ann, Chris, Richard, Carrie.  EVERYONE.  I will miss training.

So after five months in Australia, what have I learned?

1. Everything is better with an Australian accent

2. Pack light

3. If you can survive New Zealand in the winter, you can survive ANYTHING

4. Melbourne weather can change faster than a Vegas showgirl

5. Souvlaki is best consumed at 3 a.m. after a long night out

6. Microbiology is hard no matter where you take it

7. Emus were spawned by pure evil

8. Seeing kangaroos never gets old

9. There is no shame in sleeping for 14 hours straight

10. No worries

Sydney tonight, Cairns tomorrow until the 31st, Darwin on the 1st.

Updates to come