Hasn’t the world changed in two years?
Well, life has changed so much - but let me take you back a while.
Growing up in Australia, I only ever dared to dream of boarding a plane and disappearing! Flying off to explore new lands and different cultures. Meeting amazing people and learning new languages
I mean, you were deemed ‘a bit fancy’ if you were lucky enough to go to Queensland or even head to the coast for a beach holiday, albeit probably camping and having the obligatory Vegemite sandwiches as a mainstay. Piling into the family car for the long trip with only your own thoughts and expectations and annoying siblings to fight with, the journey seemed interminable!
For me, it was boarding the night train from Parkes with my mum and sisters and a swathe of home made corned beef sandwiches and steaming mugs of milky coffee produced from a rather large thermos (which had seen better days!) not much sleep was had and my sisters would either sneak off to other carriages to meet boys or scare the wits out of me by telling ghost stories as the train steamed through the bush on our way to Grandmas.
My eldest sister was at teachers college so sometimes a trip was made to see her!
To me, that constituted a holiday.
I recall doing a school project on Syria and I couldn’t imagine what life would have been like, but dreamed of bright blue sky, crystal clear waters and delicious food.
Unlike our European counterparts, Us Aussies being inhabitants of the biggest island on the planet have had to make substantial journeys to explore other lands.
Being in the Southern Hemisphere has its pros and cons. As the world grappled with a seemingly unstoppable virus, Australia remained closed off and relatively virus free for a time, except for a few outbreaks and by comparison, kept numbers down. The brilliant and tireless work of scientists to give us vaccines to fight with has given us a chance.
I guess it was inevitable though that our borders would open as we can’t stay shut off from the world indefinitely. Mind you, the handling of it all and the forward planning was a shambles in my opinion!
Anyway…..back to the story!
I always envied northern hemisphere dwellers. As a teenager I was desperate to see bands like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and the like, but living down under made that virtually impossible! I made do with my records, but imagined being in the front row at a concert with Ozzy Osbourne looking right at me, or seeing Ritchie Blackmore shred a few riffs.
Bands rarely came to Australia but when they did, the price of a ticket was not easily found.
I did manage to save my pennies and attended a Black Sabbath concert at the Capitol theatre in Sydney back in 1980 (I think) and let me tell you, it was awesome! It gave me a taste of life. A taste of possibilities.
Life in Australia when I was growing up, was free from many of the struggles that other countries endured. Life was simple. Our expectations were few. As long as we had a roof over our heads and food on the table and could watch a game of footy or cricket on the weekend, we were pretty happy. Australia has always been the lucky country for those who worked and contributed. Has that changed, I wonder?
So now let’s flash forward to current dreams and aspirations
Aside from music, and my dreams of seeing bands in places such as The Royal Albert Hall, as a train lover I also dream of crossing the English Channel by train, crossing the top of India, riding the trans Siberian railway to name a few. Imagine travelling along the Silk Road!
I have been to Prague and walked over the Charles Bridge. I felt the weight of those who walked that bridge before me - free and captive and felt both humbled and fortunate.
Now as I sit with my darling husband nearing what is hopefully the last few days of hotel quarantine and isolation (in Thailand, mind you as Covid has messed with our lives long enough, so it was worth the risk of travel and if we were going to catch this virus, I’d rather be in a tropical paradise! ) oh and cheers to our insurance! As we recover from Covid, my mind is filled with past and future. Of all the amazing places I’ve seen, the things I’ve done but more importantly, my mind is reaching forward to where the next adventure will take us.
It will involve travel of many means and even though the world is struggling right now, it’s up to us to keep pushing and keep our hopes and dreams alive!
Think about what’s next because all of this will pass and boy, we will need to be ready for what comes.
