Suitcaseless in Sydney

A grand welcome to Australia

I started my Watson journey with one suitcase, one carry on, and one backpack. All that I’ve deemed most dear to me, a meager 66 pounds. They say you can learn a lot about a woman from what she packs in her bag. I’ll be the first to admit that my packing priorities are… questionable.  Did I need to bring the pink Bratz themed shoulder purse, complete with a bedazzled heart-shaped zipper pull? Probably not. But it was important to bring along some fun-to-haves in addition to my need-to-haves. They’re a reflection of how I wish to live my life this year — to center joy and to feel agency over what brings me joy. That is, it’s a good day if I make a meaningful connection with an organization, but it it’s also a good day if I get to flaunt my purse around. I’d like to let go of the need to be the most productive, most economical, most efficient (in packing and otherwise) and to make my own decisions on what is important to me and what success this year looks like. 

After a 17 hour journey, I finally landed in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, both the need-to-haves and the fun-to-haves did not make it with me. Not a great start to the year. 

I commenced my cultural immersion into Sydney with a trip to the Bondi Junction Westfield Mall, as one does. I was planning on holding out on navigating the public transportation system for as long as possible, but I’m grateful that I was forced to venture out early. As much as I appreciate the challenge of making a home out of a completely new environment, there’s something particularly terrifying about a completely new transportation system. But overcoming that fear — trusting that you know, or can at least figure out, how to get from the unfamiliar to the familiar — helps you step outside of your comfort zone. Literally. 

I feel that short-term visitors often romanticize the lives of those that are more long-term residents of a city; I’m definitely guilty of that. Of the people getting off the bus, I caught myself wondering — are you worried about your safety as you head home? Is gun violence and sexual assault a real threat for you? Do you have comprehensive, accessible healthcare? Perhaps my rose-tinted glasses are more a reflection of what is lacking within my own community than what is present in this one. That is the beauty of this fellowship though. As one of my mentors Professor Carolyn Finney helped me understand, the Watson is as much about revealing who I am and what my values are through the witnessing of different lived experiences as it is about engaging with these differences. 

And for those of you at the edge of your seats, do not fear. My bags have arrived, albeit two days late. Suffice to say, never have I been happier to see an American Tourister.