Last week in Australia: Leaving because of the Coronavirus?

This was one hectic week, my had is still spinning.

Monday, 16 March

I woke up ealry to fit in a breakfast and reading session before the start of the day. I went with Mags and Jakob to drop him off at school and I then went to the gym for a morning workout.

After that I got dressed and ready for a couple of hours in the office doing some new accounting tasks. I went back home for lunch where I decided to watch a couple of documentaries(my favourite thing to do in cold weather). I went to the gym for a relaxing yoga hot flow yoga session. When I finished I walked home and watched the sunset as well as talked to my mom for a while. When I got home I talked to my Dad.

We ate dinner and continued with our usual nightly ritualof a tv show. Tonight we watched Married at first sight.

I went to bed checked up on my family and meditated before going to sleep.

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Tuesday, 17 March

I woke ip and talked to my dad first thing. He taljed to me and reminded me to use every opportunity to my advantage and to try everything and work hard. Thanks for the morning motivation Pappa!

I then continued to get a coffee, read my book and have breakfast before going with mags and her son again. After dropping Jakob off at school Mags treated me with a 3 pour tea ritual. This was definitely something I will always remember and recommend to anyone. The tea get boiled at 3 different temperatures and with every pour it has a new taste. I also went on a walk that morning before going to the office. I went home for lunch and watched my new guilty pleasure on youtube: secret eaters. Give it a go.

I walked back to the office and listened to the sound of the ocean before doing some work.

That evening I went to the gym and did an abs,butt and thight group workout class. Absolutely brutal. I was covered in sweat from head to toe. With the virus getting worse by the day a part of the class focused on sterilizing all the equipment we used and making sure everything we touched to wiped off.

I booked a bioscore testing for tomorrow morning, it’s a bunch of physical tests to tell you the age of your body based on your lifestyle. I’m actually really excited to find out what my score is.

I walked home after the gym and made sure to walk near the beach while watching the sunset and hearning all the birds in the surrounding trees.

When i got home I skyped my mom,borther and sister, prepared for the night and ate some dinner.

Then I had a dreaded but eye opening conversation with Mags. Whether I shoul go home before all the borders close of stay in Australia when everything shuts down internationally. The virus is so unpredictable as well as how people react to it. I talked to my mom and dad afterwards and no one knows what to do.

I pushed away the stressful thoughts and focused on getting a good nights sleep after meditating.

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Wednesday, 18 March

I woke up early, skyped my Mom and Dad and went to the gym for my bioscore testing. After a quistionare, measured and physical tests including TRX rows, the rowing machine, jumping, core work, agility etc. I was totally tired. Who knew the test would be a nice workout. I then went home got dressed for my 9 to 5 had breakfast, read and prepared my lunch.

At work all everybody was talking about was the travel bans and international borders shutting. I took this as a sign to think more about the decision I had to make. I would want to be with my family when the whole world decides to do quarantine.

For lunch I went and found a sunny spot(this was the first day the sun shone in a while) to eat at while I read my book about nutrition. I then went back to work and finished the day. Throughout the day I made sure to check the news frquwntly on more info about the Australian international borders.

I walked home and called my mom and we talked mire about my situation.

When I got home I grabbed my stuff and we all went down to the beach for dinner. It was really cold and windy but still enjoyable with an amazing view. After a while we all went home and everyone finished their dinners. I went to bed before 8 as I was absolutely exhausted.

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Thursday, 19 March

I woke up and saw a flight ticket that my parents sent me on our family group chat. The ticket is for tomorrow. My heart started racing, everything happend so fast in this moment. I immediately skyped my dad to ask whats going on. He said that they thought it was the best thing to do. For me to get home safe and be sure of being with my family. I was relieved that a defision was made but I definitely wasn’t prepared for it to be this soon. I was happy to be with my family, but not happy to leave all the people I’ve met here. I talked to Mags for a while and also called the embassy for some advise, they also just said that changes where going to be made soon and advised me to go home as soon as I can.

I had a quick breakfast and then went for a last walk to take everything in for a last time. I’m flying tomorrow at 11am. Its crazy. My mind couldn’t understand the situation I’m in. When I got home I started packing all my things.

After lunch I went to see the beach I went to almost everyday. I had a last swim and layed in the beach for a while.

Later that day I went with Mags to the office. Payed for my ticket and scheduled cancellations for all my things. I walked to the gym to get my Bioscore results. The Trainrt that gave me my results said that she was really amazed with my results and that I should continue with my lifestyle as its working great for me. I then ended my membership and walked back to the office. Mags took me to my 9 to 5 job so that I can inform enveryone on whats going on. I’m going to miss the people there. Everyone was so welcoming and nice the whole time.

When we got home me and Mags went to the beach for a sundowner. We took some bubbles and pastries ( dankie vir die amper surprise Mags! Jys amazing! ) . We had another swim and enjoyed some time in the sun.

This is the most bizarre 24 hours of my life. I woke up and found out I’m flying back to South Africa tomorrow morning. My head is still spinning.

One of the hardest things for me was leaving my Australian family behind. Thank you for everything, you guys made me feel at home and part of the family from the very start. I really made some soul connections with you. I will definitely be back!

We had dinner and had a last nightly ritual. Jakob also gave me some presents which made my night so much better.

I went to bed after double checking if i had everything and making a list of everything I had to do tomorrow morning.

What a day. I’m absolutely shocked.

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Friday, 20 March

We all woke up early because Mags wanted to take me to Bondi beach before the airport. We drove for a couple of hours. It was just before the sunrise when we parked next to Bondi beach . While watching the sun come up over this amazing view I skyped my parents and told them I’ll see them later. I can’t believe I’m going home after only a month and a half. Me mags and Jakob went for some breakfast and I had one amazing açai bowl! We watched the sun come up before walking back to the car. We took a route with an ocean view on our way to the airport in Sydney. I checked in my luggage. And then a hard moment came: greeting my family. My heart ached while saying goodbye and I definitely wished I didn’t have to. But I know I’ll see them again. I love you guys!

I went through security and waited to board at my gate. I was still dumbstruck because of everything that is happening.

I boarded the plane full of South Africans, I already flet like I was home. A 14 hour flight waited for me. A watched a couple of movies, slept a couple of hours had a couple of nice meals and checked the time remaining to SA a lot of times. I can’t wait to see my family. We landed in South Africa and I knew I was home as soon as I saw all the farms and beautiful land below me. I landed, had to fill in a form asking things of me to make sure I don’t have the Coronavirus. I went to grab mu luggage. My heart started racing, I’m so close to my family. I walked quickly and when I reced the arrivak gate I saw my dad and sister and my mom running to me with tears in her eyes.

I couldn’t believe I was with my family again. We jumped in the car and on our way home had the view of one amazing sunset. I talked about everything I experienced on the way home and felt so warm being in the presence of my people again. At home i had dinner and we all sat outside and talked for hours catching up.

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Saturday and Sunday

Waking up at 4am and unpacking. Sleeping at 2pm and a Coronavirus testing followed in this weekend. My sleeping schedule was out and I had to self isolate in my room and wear gloves and a mask while roaming in the house. But I was just glad to be home before the borders closed.

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How I’m feeling

This was a hard decision to make. I am really sad to have left Australia in such a hurry without proper greetings to everyone and with so much I still wanted to do and explore.

On the other side I’m glad to be home in a time with so much uncertainty and breaking news everyday. This pandemic is really scary and we all need to do our part so stay safe and stop the spread. #stayhome.

I believe I made the right decision to come home .

My plans for the rest of the year:

I have already done and am still doing a lot of online courses. Education is really important to me.

I also plan on starting online university through UniSa.

I don’t think I would be able to travel for the rest of the year. At this point there’s international travel bans and peronally i dont think this would change anytime soon.

While South Africa has its 21 day lockdown I plan on getting my life together, learning more about myself and finding what I want to do with my life.

Thank you so much for reading my blog. I hope this was a source of entertainment for you during this quarantine time.

We will get through this rough time if we stick together.

Thanks to Mags, Anthony, Jakob, Sofia , Lukas and of course Guss for treating me like another addition to the family. My time spent with you will always warm my heart and be remembered. I love you guys!