actualizing my dreams: arriving in Australia

When we wake and step outside to see the sunrise we attune our bodies to the natural cycle of time and place. I learned this the other day from renowned podcaster and scientist Andrew Huberman, when he spoke live in Melbourne, Australia. 

So, today I’m starting the day with the sunrise, back in peak summer here in the southern hemisphere, and I’m taking time to write and share with you about the last two weeks that have landed me here down under.

Two weeks ago I zipped up a suitcase and began a series of stops along my route to Australia.

I began in the tiny, magical ski town of Winter Park, Colorado. Everything there is white. Frosted. Freezing. Icicles hang from gutters ten feet long and half a foot thick. Population 1,000.

Visiting one of my best friends there, I had a sacred few days to absorb the slow, serene pace of life and enjoy the wonders of snowshoeing on back mountain trails and hiking in the Flatirons. It was a time of deepening connection, exploration, and grounding.

I visited family in Portland, Oregon, and enjoyed connecting with those I love as being immersed in the greenery and forests of where I long called home. I did all the last-minute errands one does before flying across the world (bank, post office, stores...). My dad recreated an old family recipe for Dutch Babies, we went on long walks, caught up from the past months, and drank tea late into the night with a long-time friend.

Danny and I met (finally done with long distance!) and we flew to Honolulu, Hawaii where we stayed with yet more great friends. We were whisked around the island, exploring waterfalls, surfer-filled beaches, and roadside stops for fruit, and in my case sweet potato tacos.

Hawaii is magic medicine for my soul. I love being able to track sand into a car without second thought-- never quite shedding the outside world from the inside one. I love walking barefoot by a river, twirling on beaches, and feeling great aliveness. I'm thankful to the friends who brought such laughter and adventure into our lives during that time!

After a 10-hour flight we landed in Melbourne and without a doubt it is my favorite city I've ever been to. We've been hosted by yet more great friends (what abundance of loving connections!) and they taken us to explore neighborhoods like Lygon and Northcote and the incredible markets of Preston.

I've delighted in the infamous coffee here in Melbourne (it is worth the hype!), and fallen in love with the street art, a mix of old and new architecture, and the incredible multiculturality here. We visited the State Library Victoria, walked through bustling China Town on Chinese New Year, and found an incredible vegan Indian spot to eat and rest during our 13-mile walking adventure downtown.

Walking along the Yarra river, sipping a cuppa and looking out over such a gorgeous place I smiled to myself thinking back on all my dreams of travel.

When I was young all I ever dreamed about was traveling the world. I gripped purple kiddie scissors and cut out coral-studded oceans, rocky cliffs, and elegant chandeliers from stacks of magazines. I filled binders and Pinterest boards, then took to my bedroom walls– crafting a wallpaper of bright and alluring images that covered the walls so densely I forgot the paint color.

Then my dreaming outgrew even the walls, it crept onto my ceilings– newspaper clips, postcards, doodles, and photos of elephants and backpackers and rice fields and mountains and everything beautiful I wanted to touch. I lay in my bed and stared up at it all. I can’t wait I thought. 

There by the Yarra River running through Melbourne, I felt myself reaching back to celebrate that little dreamer in me. I'm living out my dreams.

But I’ve also realized travel means more than admiring beautiful destinations. Traveling means getting comfortable with being uncomfortable sometimes and gaining confidence by learning to navigate different cultures, languages, and ways of being. It is the angst of missing the late-night train and running around the platforms like a madwoman. It is bumping into people while learning to walk on the left side of the road. Travel is a great teacher for how to co-live with my partner, how we can support each other when days get long, and when we compromise on plans.

And travel is also a lot of logistics! Lord knows how many hours we've spent researching phone plan options, flight deals, how to open banks in Australia and all the documents we'll need. But I'm happy to do it, by pouring in all these hours we've been able to open this wild door of opportunity to come to Australia and live and work for the coming months.

Travel wakes me up to the present, pops the comfort of routine, and is an awakening to all that lies beyond the bounds of what I know. I feel my world expanding in each place I go, from a ski town to hawaiian beaches and here in Melbourne, not only becuase I see different cultures and lifestyles, but also becuase of the things I learn from the people I meet and visit.

Ultimately I am interested in living with intention. Seeking out learning, following my childlike curioisty to explore, hearing about how to align my body with natural cycles such as that of waking with the sun, and navigating new climates, peoples, histories and styles of life to weave a beautiful life.

I write to you now from a bus that will drop me in the wilderness for a 5 day trek along the South Coast Track here in Tasmania. I'll be here on this island state of Australia for the next few months and connecting with nature is the best way I'd want to start this chapter of my life. I'm reflecting on what it means to arrive to a new place and embrace all the wild intricacies of traveling and living the life of my dreams.

Cheers to dreaming!

Ava//

Rewilding Child