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The Year Was 2001
The TV was blaring sounds of terror and panic. The Twin Towers had collapsed. I saw people jumping from the top floors, falling to their death. I heard screams and watched people run.
For a young girl in Australia, I couldn’t fathom this happening somewhere in the world. It seemed unreal at the time.
Following on from September 11 however, I became fearful of our plane being hijacked. I was afraid to die in such a way. I didn’t want to jump from a building. I already knew I’d be too scared to jump.
A few years later, my parents announced that we were going overseas. Our first flight abroad as a family. The fear creeped back into my thoughts of the plane crashing.
Despite my inner fears, we packed for our trip as planned.
A Different Way of Life
When we arrived in the Philippines, the buildings and roads looked quite different to that in my city in South Australia.
Traffic was insane. There were multiple cars, zipping in and out of lanes. Beeping every few seconds. Jeepneys (buses without doors), mopeds and cars were jammed together on the roads. It was at best, organised chaos.