It all started in January 2005 when L, S and I embarked on a sibling vacation to Barcelona. L and I had traveled together many times, but this was our first time traveling abroad with our younger brother. With fondness, I remember our tapas dinners, flowing sangria and S complaining about his “cankles” from walking all around the city. We survived a hotel room together and a small rivalry over who would take the lead on navigation. It was a spectacular trip for the sites we saw, the food we ate and the experience we shared.
In January 2008, we repeated our adventure together in Greece, where we tackled Athens, Santorini and my big little brother driving us around in a compact car. We made a great little team and we were all eager to walk and explore (and with no fear of “cankles”). After our big fat Greek adventure, we each continued on in our separate travels, with L and S making a small backpacking appearance in the UK and Belgium. Unbeknownst to L and I at the time, these trips had sparked in my brother a great appreciation for travel – and wanderlust.
Fast-forwarding three years to the present, we reunited again on different shores and under wildly different circumstances. S had eventually given in to the lure of backpacking and left NY for a year-long jaunt around the world, but then inadvertently landed a job in Sydney. As a result, for two weeks this month, we all found ourselves together again in Australia. We converged from different corners of the world as L made the marathon flight from NYC and I swooped down from Shanghai. This time, it wasn’t purely a vacation or a trip. It was quality time together and a long-overdue reunion. The running jokes and sibling quirks were mostly unchanged, but the togetherness prevailed above all.
For me, it wasn’t until my last afternoon in Sydney, walking with my brother around Darling Harbour, that I felt just how much I would miss my brother and sister. I realized how geographically scattered we were, and that a reunion like this one would not come easily or often. And yet, I felt so grateful for the trip, for the time together and for them. I hope another three years won’t pass before we are reunited, but I have a feeling we’ll find each other again in a far-away place with a map in hand and countless memories to smile upon.
(P.S. For those wondering, the quote is from the movie “Eraser.” Only the Arnold can deliver that line to a crocodile with a straight face.)
