On December 2, 2016, at 7:15 am, it was finally time. My plane from Munich took me and my 21 kg backpack suitcase (which can luckily also be pulled) to Düsseldorf, then continued to Abu Dhabi and finally I landed in Brisbane with a 45-minute delay on December 3, 2016, at 6:15 pm. My last day before leaving Germany was a real horror day. Nothing went as planned. It was especially difficult for me because I couldn't relax due to the stress and could only say goodbye to a few people in a hurry. I wanted to stroll through the Augsburg Christmas market one last time with my girls and say 'goodbye' in peace. But it didn't happen. I could only briefly drive into the city, hug my girls, have a group cry in front of the Pow Wow, and then rush home to get everything ready for my departure. After already despairing a lot that day, my dear friend Nina said, 'Teresa, they say in the theater, if the dress rehearsal goes badly, the main performance will be even better, and that's how it will be with your departure tomorrow.' I clung to that thought. After the transfers and flights went smoothly, it seemed like my friend was right. But a few minutes before landing in Brisbane, bad luck seemed to follow me. We got caught in a storm front with wind, thunder, and rain, so my flight arrived with a 45-minute delay. But since my transfer was waiting for only 1 hour, I nervously called my contact at the language school to inform her about my delay. From her, just a few minutes after setting foot on Australian soil, I heard the typical Australian expression 'no worries', which means 'no problem'. And it wasn't the last time I heard that expression that evening. Due to the bad weather, the luggage couldn't be unloaded. So I waited and waited for my luggage, a little nervous if the transfer was really waiting for me. When the suitcases finally appeared on the baggage carousel and the passengers left the airport one by one with their bags, I waited and waited in vain. When I eventually stood alone in front of the baggage carousel, I realized that my backpack was not there. I then turned to the baggage service. There I heard 'no worries' again several times. And I just thought to myself, 'oh, I do have worries! I'm alone in Australia without luggage, and it's still unknown where my luggage is. That is a problem!' But what I immediately noticed: Australians are really a very friendly and helpful people. After the 'missing report' for my luggage was done, I rushed to my transfer. After waiting for over an hour for me, we finally left Brisbane for the Gold Coast. I was very nervous during the ride because the latest check-in for my apartment was at 9 pm and I knew it would be very tight. I already imagined myself as a homeless person without luggage sleeping on the street ;-) In the end, I was able to check into the apartment, my landlord Ray, a chubby Indian or something like that, showed me my apartment, where I was greeted by a cockroach in the bathroom. Ray simply took it in his hand and threw it on the balcony. The apartment is really huge. I have my own bedroom with two balconies and my own bathroom in the room. The bedroom is very sparse with a small wardrobe and two disgusting stained dressers. Otherwise, there is a complete large kitchen, dining room, and living room, as well as a roof terrace and a pool for all apartment residents.
