Upcoming: Australia!

There hasn't been a lot to write about recently, but winter vacation is coming up now. On Thursday I'll be flying to Australia to meet Mom! We'll be sightseeing in Sydney and Cairns (which I'm pretty sure I can't pronounce correctly) until early January. I'm excited to see Mom again, and to go to a warm place where people speak English. Although I know what kinds of things we're planning to see and do, I still feel like I don't know what to expect from Australia.

This probably sounds really strange, but it's a little intimidating to go to a foreign country where English is the main language. Have I even done that before? For all the traveling I've done, I've never been to Canada or Great Britain. I think what freaks me out is the idea of being confused in a place where I really should be able to understand what's going on. In Japan I don't worry that much when I don't understand some of what's happening, because that's normal for me here. That's a part of everyday life. But if I'm in Australia and I can't understand someone, or I can't figure out how to get where I need to go, I think it's going to feel more like a crisis.

Another weird thought is the idea of being a foreigner in an English-speaking country. What if Australians don't like tourists? I'll be in an place where everyone speaks English, but I won't belong. Maybe that's what's so unsettling. Anyhow, it's strange, but I'm kind of nervous about going to Australia.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing Mom, seeing all the marsupials, snorkeling, eating Western-style foods, and being warm again. Australia has always been a place that was really interesting to me, but seemed impossibly far away. I kind of figured I'd never get to go there. So, as foreign as Japan is, somehow Australia seems like even more of an adventure.