Alayne and myself took a huge leap last spring and studied abroad together in Australia! We attended Macquarie University in Sydney and fell in love with the country and culture. While we were there we traveled many parts of Oz and were able to travel to Japan together. We see traveling as a way to build our friendship through unique experiences while learning about other cultures.
Traveling is our way to build a new perspective on an original. Reading about a city, state, country, culture, or landmark in a book can do no justice to experiencing it first hand. We see the world as a wide welcoming place and feel that we need to make our mark on it. There are too many things the globe offers to not take a leap of fate and travel it.
While we were in Australia, we embraced their culture 100%! From saying their lingo, eating their food, conversing with the locals, and being open to everything the country offered, including gay and lesbian Mardi Gras. This parade is the biggest gay and lesbian celebration in the world and we felt we should be apart of it and help to stand up for other people’s rights and indulge in the festivities! Being the fun and light hearted people we are, we went all out for the occasion to say the least! We went out, bought silly costumes, crazy wigs, and fun colored makeup to wear to the event. After getting dressed and costumed, we headed to the bus stop to take to Oxford Street in Sydney, were the very important event was held. Noticing that others weren’t as enthused as myself and Alayne, we were the only people dressed in full drag sitting on a bus and walking through the streets of Sydney! People were stopping to take photos with us and commenting on our unique looks, but we headed forward until we got to the parade! Thinking that Oxford Street would be flowing with others dressed as we were, we were surprised to notice that many were not!
Rounding the corner to Oxford, we noticed we were the far and few who went to the extent of dressing like we did! We laughed it off and decided to have the time of our lives nontheless! Funny enough, people seemed to think we were part of the parade, so nearly 400 people came up and took pictures with us and our outrageous attire!! The parade went on, and we became local celebrities for the day! It is a memory of our travels that will never be forgotten!
Alayne and I make for perfect traveling buddies because we are accepting to differences, and not only accept them, we embrace them. We see other cultures and lifestyles as beautiful and reasons why the world turns on its axis the way it does. Any opportunity we have to travel, we can’t pass it up. We live life to the fullest and with no regret. If ever a time comes to take a step backward and slow down, our next move is to take two leaps forward in life.