How Australian I Am

I didn't quite realise how much I love the beach until we finally went this weekend. I've always enjoyed the beach - basking in the sunshine, frolicking in the waves, getting dumped, being reminded by seashells of the beauty of small things, following (and pestering) crabs, feeling like you have no cares so big as the ocean, that nothing can truly be wrong when the world is so big - but never considered myself a beach girl. I'm not bleached-blonde or tan, I don't surf, thongs (or as I'm constantly chided by my American and English friends, "flip flops") are not part of my usual footwear, I don't live in my bikini. 


In all honesty I could never live by the beach - it is merely a holiday destination - but I discovered in Manuel Antonio that apparently my history with the beach has left a resounding impression, soaking under my skin while I wasn't looking (too busy splashing around), so much so that when I took a walk along the beach in the gentle drizzle, when I first put my toe to the rough, reassuring sand and inhaled the sweet, salty air, it was like coming home. I realised that I had missed the beach. That I crave the feel of sand under my feet, wading in the waves, discovering all manner of treasures the ocean has offered. 

This beach is definitely to blame. I've been coming here practically every other year after Christmas for NYE - and I'm really looking forward to going again this year!

Travelling on my own has helped me form a better sense of what it means to me to be Australian. I've long adored travelling, felt the need to pursue adventures in new and exciting places, in what is likely a desperate bid to satiate my impossibly curiosity about everything. But now I've come to understand more acutely exactly what it is I truly love about travelling; I love meeting other people (mostly Canadians so far!), the immediate and transient friendships you form based on shared situations, the comraderie, the freedom and independence to explore, the self-reliance, the possibilities, the chances you take, the glimpses snatched into another country, another culture, another way of life. I'm proud to tell people I'm Australian, and love how it defines me, the expectations it entails: fun loving, happy go lucky, easy going, carefree, outdoorsy, quick to a joke and a laugh, great sense of humour, opinionated, up for anything. I think I fit the bill. 


x
J(ust an Australian)G(irl)