Swedish acknowledgements.

Well, it's time to leave for Melbourne (Friday), and don't get me wrong: I can't wait to get back. But I've had such an amazing time abroad with so many people. They need a soppy emotional acknowledgement blog post.

First of all, I'll say this. It's been such a pleasure to meet such smart, educated, motivated, ambitious people. It takes a certain mindset and decision to decide to spend a semester abroad in a different country. It's been amazing to talk to people about so many different countries and even visit them together.

I'll start with my two favourite ladies. I introduced these two to each other and they ended up the best of friends; Lindsey and Marion. You girls have been fantastic, I'm going to miss our partying and our gossipy fika sessions. I'm proud to call you my friends and confidantes.

Next... Lucas! Mister tall Canadian so proud of his corner of the world! We got along so well and I'm so glad to call you my travel buddy. Paris, Poland and Malta were fantastic with you and we must stay in contact! I'm so thankful you convinced me to go to Italy when I was on the fence about it, because it ended up being yet another fantastic trip for me. Thank you. Keep being you!

Next would be Rachell and Christin. You ladies have also been great for gossip, partying and downtime; thanks! The semester would be quite different if not for you two.

Next are the American lads, Max, Zach and Jake. I'll admit that my impression of Americans wasn't the best to begin with. But the way I got to know you three, it's helped me turn that around for the better. You guys keep it up!

Other Canadians, Josh, Meryn, Kyle: thanks for being there, really. Especially Meryn when I was homeless for a couple days. Arnaud and Julien! My French buddies! You guys kept things lively and I'm glad I could finally tell you apart by the end of the first week.

Italians! Giovanni, Marta, Andrea etc, I've loved being able to talk to you guys! You always included me and I loved being around you in Lapland. You were another reason that I ended up going to Italy. You inspire me to keep up my not-quite-fluent Italians.

And the fellow Aussies! Amy, Steven and Billy; you kept me grounded with conversations about home. Thank you for the company in such a strange little country.

At this point the Örebro group just widens and it gets impossible to thank you individually. People I saw on a regular basis, always asked me how I was, where I'd been, my next trip, and complaining how I was never around! I've loved getting to know each and every one of you. Don't forget the crazy little Australian girl.

Special mention to the Scanbalt Balalaika and Vodka Tour! We were such a great group of people and you made the trip even better. Tour manager Zane, you were brilliant, keep it up! Alex, Luke, Owen, Manon, Emily, Mitch, Romain, Andrew.... Well I could keep going. I still can't believe how much we drank that whole week.

That's enough emotional for me, I think. When we all separate and go back to our own lives, we'll still remember all those stupid, funny, ridiculous, delirious, drunk moments and smile for years to come.

If any of you are interested, I wrote a memoir about my waitressing experiences in Melbourne (November 2011). It's available at Amazon in both paperback and Kindle. 

If it wasn't for waiting, I never would have gotten out to Sweden and met all you lovely people. I've also been told that the way I tell stories is entertaining. The first day I started writing I served a woman with multiple sclerosis; it's all written down here in this monster.

Again... thank you. Thank you for this wonderful part of my life. Take care.

On the Scanbalt Balalaika and Vodka Tour.

Hello everyone! Wow, it's been an amazing, exciting, exhausting week of travel - but the travels aren't stopping just yet! But before I go on my Italy tour tomorrow, here's a round-up of my tour with Scanbalt.

The tour involved jumping between Tallinn, St Petersburg and Helsinki. This tour included a range of students from all corners studying in Sweden and Norway. Much of the usual antics happened when a new group of people are getting to know each other and travelling simultaneously. The main transport of the week was ferries, and this was something a little strange, as I have been flying for every trip I've been on (except for Sea Battle which was another ferry).

Tallinn was great to return to and explore properly. We got a tour, and we even experienced some of the local night life.

Saint Petersburg is absolutely stunning. I'm not quite sure how to describe the sensation and the culture. Politeness could almost be a weakness in getting around Russia, and the best way to cross the street is just DO IT. English is scarce and the architecture is stunning. Nearly pickpocketed, I was lucky enough to be travelling with a watchful group of friends.

Helsinki was a great calm down after the intensity of Saint Petersburg. It actually reminded me lots of Melbourne; a modern city with tram tracks and grey tones.

I've been so lucky and so blessed so far, but this trip really hammered in how fortunate I really am. This was an amazing trip, I met so many ambitious and fun souls and laughed so much!

Next stop... Italy!

The Mish who went to Malta.

Malta was a nice trip. Not so much touristy like the other trips I've become used to, but more of a beach holiday. Just relaxing and taking things at my own pace.

We jumped from the main island to Gozo and back again.

We also watched Eurovision at the local bar! It was treated like a sporting event, everyone cheering for Malta (they came 6th). I wish they'd won just to see what would happen around us.

Next trip: a ferry tour! Tallin, St Petersburg and Helsinki in one week.

The ideology of a 'home' and being nomadic.

I've gotten to thinking about the mythology of being 'at home' somewhere, calling a place 'home' and ideas of places that can be a 'home'.

First I'll say that my upbringing was less traditional; certain events meant that my family was always moving. We never stayed still for long, we lived in countless rentals; I attended three primary schools and two secondary schools. We weren't still long enough for me to associate a certain building as my home. Not that I'm complaining, but at the same time I hear about people who have lived in the one house all their life and my mind can't wrap my head around it.

 

The biggest move was from Melbourne to Mildura. This lasted a couple of years for me, and we moved away from familiar faces and relatives. I'll admit that while it's a nice little town, it just didn't feel like a home to me. No offence meant to any friends of mine from Mildura reading this, but I grew up a city girl and that wasn't going to change.

 

Another significant move was when I graduated high school, got accepted to Deakin and moved back to Melbourne for university - solo. I was working out how to make a home for myself - cooking, cleaning, working, studying. Constantly checking my bank account and looking at grocery receipts. Being back in a familiar place like Melbourne helped, and I had relatives nearby that provided the family element that I was lacking.

However, I learned the hard way that it wasn't healthy to be so dependent on family - or other people - and that I had to live for myself and form my own path. I took a bit of time to figure out who I was with less outside influence, and waiting on people part-time taught me a lot more than I realised about people and life.

Being accepted for exchange in Sweden has been another rattle in my idea of home - but not necessarily in a bad way. I consider Örebro yet another home because it's bared witness to another burst of growth and maturity that would never have happened otherwise. I've made so many friends from all corners of the world and I've experienced and seen so much already. I may be near broke when I return to Melbourne; but I have no regrets.

Notice that last sentence? I said return to Melbourne, and not home.

Perhaps this way of thinking has occurred from a less than stable way of life, but I have no regrets about that either. It's forced a new perspective on me and I've learned to accept that it's made me who I am and it's gotten me to this point. Me, Michelle - quirky, nice, strange, approachable... and nomadic.

...I mean, I'm writing this from Örebro, Sweden.

Even as a city girl in a place such as Melbourne, it's been enough to help me navigate Metro and big cities in Europe. Travelling and coming across seemingly impossible roads to cross makes me, out of habit, look for subways and other ways to cross.

This habit of mine was important in figuring out how to access the Arc de Triomphe in Paris!

I'm even nomadic with my friendship groups; I tend to bounce around different groups and make sure to catch up with everyone. That hasn't even changed in Sweden, there always seems for there for somebody to talk to.

We're dealt with the hand of life, and it's all about how you handle it as a person and how much you can let it affect your daily life. There's the pain, but there's also the joy. I live with the pain and ghosts of my past, but it helps me find the joy in everything else.

I hope this has given some insight as to who I am, and settled any misconceptions.