It's all good

I have loved just about every minute of this year. All those other than the ones spent on that couch, and maybe the hour and a half a week spent at the evil place that need not be mentioned. I have made some friends that I know I will be friends with for the rest of my life. This week has been particularly reminiscent of the great times spent in Melbourne.
First off, we spent Tuesday evening touring the lane way bars of the Melbourne CBD (downtown). Amazing how much you walk by every day and don't even notice when you live in a city of 4 million.
On Thursday evening we hit the wine tasting down at Fed Square. Fantastic to have my carefree, wild, good timing chick back (I know that isn't the typical image most people have of her, but you ain't seen her at wine tasting!). The last few months for her were hectic to say the least. You could almost see the physical weight lifted off her shoulders when she pressed send to turn in her last paper, and it was just in time for our wine tasting. And she came out in full colors.
On Friday afternoon, I went down to the evil place to meet up with my old co-workers from the Jewish school. As much as most of those students were horrible little creatures, the staff were amazing. I don't regret working there even for a minute. The people I met there were among the finest I have ever met on the planet. There was John Wright, my Aussie version of my hero Uncle Hoz. A super cool old Aussie bloke that is phenomenal teacher and a better athlete than most people my age. Then there is Robert Field, a cantankerous Kiwi Jew that will speak exactly what is on his mind. He reminded me of Les Bennett from Fife. He has an absolute heart of gold that seemed pissed off a lot of the time. He is a big reason why I didn't develop a poor opinion of Jews. Speaking of, Ben Oliver was also the biggest stop gap from developing antisemitism. Another Jew that I worked with that was just an absolute sweetheart. Everyone that knows Ben loves him. He is very unassuming and gracious that can hold a great conversation. You can sit down with Ben an chit-chat for hours and feel like you've been best mates with him your whole life. Then there is Vince Curatore, the principal that runs the show. What a job he holds! He is essentially the liaison between the whack-jobs and the secular teachers and he amazingly holds the peace very well. But probably the closest friend I have made in this country is my mate Stuey. When I met him, he didn't really like Americans. He thought we were loud, obnoxious, insular a-holes. Which amazingly enough I changed this opinion. I have met a handful of people in my life (outside of family) that I know would do anything for me. Saggy, Nick, Cap'n Zito, Karl are a few that I would count as near brothers. I didn't figure in 1 year I would develop another here. But it kills me to think I won't be hitting the footy with this silly little Brit. Or drinking beers and watching the fire and listening to Brian play the guitar in his backyard. But the joy of the internet is that staying connected is not a difficult task in today's world. And Stuey has already decided he is willing to invest some money in the American economy to come see Montana.

Last night for the fourth we went to an American diner and had dinner with our American expat club. Just a few more people we'll miss. As much as we wanted to avoid making American friends over here (we didn't move to the other side of the planet to hang with people from around the corner), we just couldn't help hanging out with Marc and Alana and Angie and Kane. Their wit and sarcasm is just too entertaining to avoid, and Marc is a Kiwi so that helps justify it.
This is the reality of this adventure to me. Nikki said it best in her last post when she said: "We've learned that even though life goes on for our friends back home, it doesn't mean that they aren't in our thoughts and we aren't in theirs". It sucks to be away from friends and family, but I could never trade away the experiences and friends made here. And, along those lines, as much as it sucks to be leaving this place and all the great times had here, I can't wait to see my favorite Chicago Bears fan club; nephews Tyler and Wyatt, and niece Abby. As much as it sucks to not have a fire over at Stuey's, I can't wait to have a poker night with Whalen, McClure, and Shane Hosley, and all the other guys. As much as it sucks to not listen to Robert bitch in the staff room and John spout his words of wisdom in the staff room, I can't wait to discuss obscene topics in the lunchroom with Teresa, Nixon, and Karl. As much as I'll miss going to the footy with Stu, I can't wait to go to the a Seahawks game with Nick. As much as I'll miss fancy pants dinners with Tim and Carol, I can't wait to whoop Nick and Cara and Jeff and Dawn at some silly board game. As much as I'll miss gallivanting to some exotic Aussie locale, I can't wait to spend a school break going to Montana and building something in the shop with my Dad or building or fixing something for my Mom. Such is life, as one chapter closes another opens. If we focus on the the sad part of things we're losing we'd miss the great things unfolding in front of us.
So, to answer the question that is always asked: "what did you like best about Australia?" The easy answer is... the people. The sights were amazing, but people made it a home for us.