On The Cusp Of An Adventure…6 min read

Writing to you from beautiful Brisbane, Australia.

I finally made it here all the while staying sane, which to me is my first major accomplishment on this trip. Twenty-four hours of flight time, and a thirty hour trip in total… It ended up taking thirty-one and a half hours; the reason being covered in due time. Ottawa – Vancouver – Sydney – Brisbane. Simple; on paper…

Ottawa – Vancouver was a breeze. By the time I got there, the sun was setting as I ate a crispy fish n’ Chips in front of a bay window. I felt on top of the world, on the cusp of a memorable experience, nay an unforgettable one. I then went to my gate and played haki sack for 40 minutes, awaiting my departure to Sydney, and gearing up for my 16 hour flight. Bah! It can’t be that bad. (Previous personal longest flight record: 5 hours)

Sydney flight. Hour 1. Great. The plane is freaking packed. No elbow room for me. Thank god for the aisle seat though. OOuh! An on-board entertainment center! Let’s see what’s on here! Awesome! New movies!

Sydney flight. Hour 5. After two movies, I’ve pretty much exhausted my possible entertainment sources from the entertainment system (that I would enjoy anyways). I ask the flight attendant how long we’ve been in the air… She replies… I cringe. Thank god I brought some books! PING! Please fasten your seat belts, we’re going to go threw some turbulence. Okay… Never mind the reading… I think the last thing I want to be doing at this point is dizzying myself to a vomit. I’ll listen to some music.

Sydney flight. Hour 7. Damn pacific. Thinks it’s so big with it’s 2 hour turbulence! I can finally get some reading done.

Sydney flight. Hour 7 + 15 mins. I have a headache and feel sick from reading. Done with that! I get up for the forth time since the beginning of the flight to stretch and go to the bathroom. Upon getting back I decide to try to get some shut eye. I spot on the map that we’ve just crossed the equator. “Hey! It’s my first time in the south hemisphere.” What a cool thought! Sleep time.

Sydney flight. Hour 9. I’m up! Still excited from my recent cross into the southern hemisphere, I ask a passing flight attendant how long we’ve been in the air. “I must have gotten a good 5-6 hours of sleep in!”, I ponder. “9 hours, Sir” with the biggest flight attendant smile you’ve ever seen. Suffice to say I am no longer excited about my journey to the southern hemisphere. In fact, i’m beginning to think the southern hemisphere is a dick. I still have 7 hours on this metal tube! Why do we subject ourselves to this cruelty! I swear this stupid seat has gotten smaller and more uncomfortable since I was last awake! “Thank you! I reply, with the biggest smile I can muster up…”(which was basically a frown). I resign to watching repeat episodes of Two and A Half Men. It’s not pretty.

Sydney flight. Hour 13. Why are you even going over there? What were you thinking!? They can keep their stinking Kangaroos! Get me off this thing. Okay, okay… Deep breaths. (Suffice to say that the next three hours were complete torment. I take my hat off to people who travel often.)

Arrival in Sydney. For the last 45 minutes I’ve been telling myself, “you’re in Sydney soon! You’ll get to see the city by the window as you land! Heck! You might even spot the opera house!” As the seatbelt sign turns on, I get excited! I’m going to see Sydney for the first time! All I see for now while glancing across my two row mates out the window is sea. The guy in the window seat closes the window… “No, no no… He’s got to be kidding…” He’s not. I despise humankind.

“Please stay seated another 15 minutes when we arrive at the gate, as we have to spray the plane with herbicides.” In the grand scheme of things, 15 minutes is nothing. This is fine news…. What am I saying… This is horrible news. As the lights turn on in the plane, I notice, looking into other people’s eyes, that everyone else is in the same state of mind I am. Just to be precise, that’s the “GET ME OFF THIS THING” state of mind. I scribble down the last of the plane models I rode on for my buddy Tom who’s into planes, and leave this tube for good! (OTT-Van: Airbus Industrie A321, Van-Syd: Boeing 777-200LR, Syd-Bri: Boeing 737-800)

As I set foot in the terminal, I can feel my saneness coming back slowly… This better have been worth it… (Note to Pat: I tried getting into the “this is shitty, let’s see where it goes” State of mind… Did not work.) All I have left is an hour long flight to Brisbane and i’m there. Thank god, this flight flies by. I’m finally in Brisbane. Customs, baggage claim, etc. A breeze. Thank you baby Jesus.

I’m supposed to meet Kara, one of my roommates, who’s picking me up! I was supposed to check on Facebook to see if she was there with my new ipod, but once passed baggage claim, there is no internet… I wish there would have been a sign somewhere! I break my 100$ bill and get some change to call her. 50 cents = 20 seconds of phone time. I’m not even exaggerating. She says she’s right outside the door. Cool!

She is not right outside the door… I feel stupid. I call her once again from inside the terminal she gives me more detailed instructions (repeat this process 7 times!). 4$ and ninety minutes later, I feel like a complete idiot and I’m sure she figures her new roommate is a total jackass with no sense of direction. I could have taken a bus to the apartment and back by now. I go back inside to call her… In my head, I have no idea where I can go from here… I have literally walked every single inch of terrain where I won’t get shot for trespassing. I’m on the verge of giving up. I feel like i’m wearing a “sweat-er”. Get it? Ok… I walk past an airport map. Double take. There are two terminals… One international and one domestic. *FACEPALM* I came from Sydney, she figured I was Canadian. Lack of communication. I call her with the news. I’m relieved to hear in her tone of voice that I might not be the complete idiot she had made me out to be in her mind, i’m sure. We meet up with no problems and have a fun filled drive to my new home for the next 6 months.

Everything starts to look up! Brisbane is a beautiful, small town feel, big city with palm trees and lots of greenery. All my roommates are hospitable and all seem happy to meet me (oh, btw, I definitely misunderstood as we are 6 roommates, 3 girls and 3 guys. I have workout buddies now! yay!). My room has been cleaned and set-up (unexpected and much appreciated! Thanks Kara!). This might not be so bad after all.

Lesson learned : Get rich. That way, you can travel in first class where their seats turn into beds!

Australianly yours,

Joël

Last Updated on December 22, 2020 by Joël Collin-Demers