I love Christmas season. The minute that turkey is in my belly and I wake up in a food coma the morning after Thanksgiving, I am officially ready for Christmas. From the Christmas music to the houses twinkling with lights each night to the chilly winter days, the month of preparation for Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year. This year though, I just can't seem to get into the Christmas spirit.
It's not that I don't want to get into the spirit of Christmas. It's not even that I'm feeling homesick not being home for the holidays. The problem is Australia is just plain backwards! I'm walking around in shorts and sandals, spending my days off at the pool and enjoying long summer nights, yet somehow it's Christmas season?! I see ads on the televsion for Christmas and I get that frustrated feeling I normally get when people try to put up Christmas decorations in October. But then I have to stop myself and it suddenly hits me that Christmas is a week away. How can it be? Christmas in the summer time? Am I really going to spend Christmas outside in the sun? Is that really in the Christmas spirit? It just doesn't make sense!
Christmas, for me, has always been associated with the winter. Snowflakes and hot apple cider, big wooly Christmas sweaters and furry slippers, sitting by the fire opening presents Christmas morning; now that's a real Christmas! Christmas in a bikini? Not so much.
I grew up with Christmas images of Santa Claus living in the snowy North Pole, everyone wishing for a white Christmas, and the beginning of winter signaling the Christmas season. It was always a sad day when it was time to store the summer clothes away for the winter, but it was also bittersweet because bringing out those winter clothes meant Christmas was coming! Snowballs and snowmen, skiing and sledding, and holidays in the snowy mountains were all part of celebrating the holidays. A vacation at the beach? Now that's not a Christmas activity!
But here I am, living in Australia and about to have the most backwards holiday season I can imagine. There will be no white Christmas for me this year. Maybe I can work on my tan, maybe I'll enjoy a day off from work lying on the beach. Surely not very Christmas-esque, but I'm trying very hard to embrace this backwards Christmas. It will defintely be one for the memories! And on the bright side of it all, at least I won't have to remember to turn off my fireplace so as not to light Santa Claus on fire!
16 December 2012
07 December 2012
Essential Life Skills I'm Learning In Nebo
I initially thought I'd come to Nebo, do a little grunt work, earn a little money and be on my way to New Zealand & Fiji. And while all of that is all still true, I am actually gaining a plethora of life skills I never would have had if I hadn't come to Nebo. I'll list them here, as I think it's quite remarkable all the things I'm learning here!
Life Skills Learnt in Nebo
- I can now sucesfully take a nap during the middle of the day. I don't mean "rest my eyes in front of the tv" kind of nap you have whilst waiting for dinner. I mean full-blown, I'm having dreams of epic proportions, I don't know when that time passed kind of sleep. Before coming to Nebo, no matter how tired I was, I just couldn't nap. I'd close my eyes and I'd try so hard to will myself to sleep, but it just never happened. So thank you Nebo for not only succesfully curing me of my inability to sleep during the day, but for also transforming me from a non-napper to an olympian napper!
- I may not be able to drive a 4X4 car on Fraser Island, but I am a pro at driving a golf cart on narrow sidewalks, through rows of mobile home units, while maybe only hitting a stair railing or a trash can here and there. Seriously, this is like 4X4 road tripping golf cart style, and I can do it like a pro! Linen and cleaning supplies in tow, I drive these buggies with style and class. One day I'll be old and wrinkly and I will need to drive a golf cart to get to my neighbors house for our weekly 4pm early bird dinner; this is when this life skill will definitely come in handy.
- It's hot in Nebo. Hot like you've probably never experienced before. I'm talking 100 degree days on top of unbearable humidity. It's not like I can wear baggy sweatpants and a hoodie every day. I have to bring out the shorts and the tank tops. I really have no choice. Otherwise I might melt like the Wicked Witch of the West. Unfortunately short shorts and creepy, female-deprived miners don't really mix. But, oh, how I have perfected the evil eye "don't you dare stare at me" face. These miners can't get more than a three second glance before I am scaring them away with my evil eye. This is obviously essential, because when I get back to San Francisco I am definitely going to have to fight off all those miners digging for gold!
- After a long 15 hour day in the heat---ha! who am I kidding? I sit in an office all day. Excuse me. After a long 15 hour day doing horribly tiring administrative work in the air conditioned office, nothing is better then sitting outside on a cool summer night and having a beer with your friends slash coworkers. I'd like to say I've mastered the skill of acquiring the taste for beer. I'd really really like to. It's about as essential here in Nebo as it is waking up for work every morning. But I suppose I can't be succesful at everything, and this is just one life skill that's never going to happen for me. I guess I'll just stick to the cider for now!
- And finally, the very last and probably least important life skill I've learnt here in Nebo. I can now beautifully and eloquently make a bed in record time. And I don't mean pull the duvet and sheets up and kind-of-sort-of make it look like it wasn't slept in. I mean hospital corners, smoothed and wrinkle free duvet, 5-star hotel made bed. My mom would be proud if she saw these beds. But let's be realistic. Once I leave Nebo, I'm never going to use this skill again! Sorry mom!
30 November 2012
Life in Nebo So Far
I'm exhausted, my bones ache and my new outback life consists of work, eat, sleep, repeat. But given all that, life here in Nebo isn't as bad as I prepared myself for.
My first working day started off with a definite bang. I woke up at 5:00 in the morning, started housekeeping work at 6:00 in the morning, and after 13 hours of making beds and cleaning bathrooms I finally finished my first day. Oh, and then I woke up at 5:00 am the next morning to do it all over again. This is probably the most grueling tough work I have ever done, but boy oh boy does the money make up for it. With hours like these, I will be working close to 60 hours a week, not spending a penny as all my food and accommodation is provided, and I will save up enough money for my upcoming trips to New Zealand AND Fiji with maybe even a little left over to bring home with me. Yes, the work is definitely worth it.
So where am I? What's it like? Well let me tell you! I am living in a camp of mobile homes set up like individual hotel rooms. Aside from the maybe 20 people on staff, the camp is home to Australian miners who live, what I think is, a strange life. They work a schedule where they are "on two weeks, off one week" or some other time frame involving being on and off. They all generally live in bigger cities, but when they are "on" they need a place to stay within close vicinity to the mine. So enter an accomodation camp like the one I'm working in; a home away from home for miners who are currently on shift. The miners are gross and sleezy and stare at me like they've never seen a female before in their life, but aside from the staring they leave me alone.
The work I have done so far is mainly housekeeping (you think miners are gross from afar , try cleaning up after them...ew!) and a little bit of work doing dishes in the kitchen. It's not TOO bad, but the heat and humidity definitely make it harder. So far it has been 80 - 90 degrees on average, and I'm told it going to get even hotter as summer rolls in! But on the very bright side, after only a few days here the manager informed me that their current receptionist is leaving and he's chosen me to take over that administrative position! This means more office work, less housekeeping and air conditioning! I wanted this admin position from the get go, so when I was offered the job without having to ask I was beyond excited. Once I get into doing primarily admin work these next eight weeks will fly by!
Surprisingly, the accommodation here is much nicer than I anticipated. I have my own room and bathroom, a wardrobe in which I can unpack out of my suitcase, a tv with cable, a mini fridge and a free gym that is a two second walk from my room, After living in hostels for the past few months this is definitely a nice change of scenery!All my meals are provided as well, which is a huge money saver. For breakfast and dinner I go to the mess hall which completely reminds me of the dining halls at university. Since all miners are gone during the day the mess hall is closed during lunch time, and so after breakfast each day there is a sandwich and salad bar in which I can pack a lunch to bring with me to work. With all these benefits, on top of what I'm being paid, it will be more than easy to spend next to nothing whilst I am here.
So while I may be living in the middle of nowhere, and the long hard hours turn me into an exhausted zombie at the end of the day, I am surprisingly not dreading the next eight weeks as much as I thought I would. Work keeps me busy enough to not realize how stranded from civilization I am, and the living situation is a very comfortable setting in which to retreat to at the end of the day. And when all is said and done, and I am lying on a beach in Fiji or swimming with dolphins in New Zealand, it will all be so so worth it!
My first working day started off with a definite bang. I woke up at 5:00 in the morning, started housekeeping work at 6:00 in the morning, and after 13 hours of making beds and cleaning bathrooms I finally finished my first day. Oh, and then I woke up at 5:00 am the next morning to do it all over again. This is probably the most grueling tough work I have ever done, but boy oh boy does the money make up for it. With hours like these, I will be working close to 60 hours a week, not spending a penny as all my food and accommodation is provided, and I will save up enough money for my upcoming trips to New Zealand AND Fiji with maybe even a little left over to bring home with me. Yes, the work is definitely worth it.
So where am I? What's it like? Well let me tell you! I am living in a camp of mobile homes set up like individual hotel rooms. Aside from the maybe 20 people on staff, the camp is home to Australian miners who live, what I think is, a strange life. They work a schedule where they are "on two weeks, off one week" or some other time frame involving being on and off. They all generally live in bigger cities, but when they are "on" they need a place to stay within close vicinity to the mine. So enter an accomodation camp like the one I'm working in; a home away from home for miners who are currently on shift. The miners are gross and sleezy and stare at me like they've never seen a female before in their life, but aside from the staring they leave me alone.
The work I have done so far is mainly housekeeping (you think miners are gross from afar , try cleaning up after them...ew!) and a little bit of work doing dishes in the kitchen. It's not TOO bad, but the heat and humidity definitely make it harder. So far it has been 80 - 90 degrees on average, and I'm told it going to get even hotter as summer rolls in! But on the very bright side, after only a few days here the manager informed me that their current receptionist is leaving and he's chosen me to take over that administrative position! This means more office work, less housekeeping and air conditioning! I wanted this admin position from the get go, so when I was offered the job without having to ask I was beyond excited. Once I get into doing primarily admin work these next eight weeks will fly by!
Surprisingly, the accommodation here is much nicer than I anticipated. I have my own room and bathroom, a wardrobe in which I can unpack out of my suitcase, a tv with cable, a mini fridge and a free gym that is a two second walk from my room, After living in hostels for the past few months this is definitely a nice change of scenery!All my meals are provided as well, which is a huge money saver. For breakfast and dinner I go to the mess hall which completely reminds me of the dining halls at university. Since all miners are gone during the day the mess hall is closed during lunch time, and so after breakfast each day there is a sandwich and salad bar in which I can pack a lunch to bring with me to work. With all these benefits, on top of what I'm being paid, it will be more than easy to spend next to nothing whilst I am here.
So while I may be living in the middle of nowhere, and the long hard hours turn me into an exhausted zombie at the end of the day, I am surprisingly not dreading the next eight weeks as much as I thought I would. Work keeps me busy enough to not realize how stranded from civilization I am, and the living situation is a very comfortable setting in which to retreat to at the end of the day. And when all is said and done, and I am lying on a beach in Fiji or swimming with dolphins in New Zealand, it will all be so so worth it!
21 November 2012
Abby Goes To The Outback
It's amazing how an impending deadline can just creep up on you. One moment you feel like you have all the time in the world, and the next it's basically crunch time. This is exactly what happened to me with the expiration date on my Australian Working Holiday visa. I knew I would need to find work in Oz after my east coast trip if I wanted to be able to afford a trip to New Zealand, but as I was traveling the east coast it felt like I had all the time in the world to find a job. Now here I am, with nine weeks left on my visa, and heading to the outback to make some fast money.
When I left Surfers Paradise I assumed I'd find a job in Brisbane, hopefully two, fairly quickly and have more than enough time to save up some money for more traveling as well as enjoy some time living the city life. But once I got to Brisbane I realized it would take a little longer to find work than I anticipated, that I actually had really limited time until I had to leave the country, and even if I did find a job I'd really only make enough to finance my living costs in the city with hardly anything to put away for savings. I was financially stressed out and beginning to worry I'd have to come home without being able to go to New Zealand, an option I really wasn't happy with. I came home from Australia the first time without feeling like I finished my trip and I really didn't want to make that mistake again.
So to solve my financial predicament I began to look at what they call "regional work," which is really just hard work out in tiny little towns in the outback. I knew it wasn't the ideal job (come on, I'd much rather be a city girl!), but I knew it was my only option if I wanted to keep traveling. So I decided to suck it up, go to the outback for 8 weeks, make a lot of money really fast and know that it was all an ends to a mean which would fund even more traveling.
As I write this post I am on a plane, heading to a tiny little town about two hours west of the coast. The town has a population of approximately 284 people (or it did in 2006), it is full of miners and truckers and is about the size of a clementine orange on google maps. Not really my kind of place, but again it's all for an end goal! I will be working in an accommodation village, which can house up to 600 people, basically serving miners and truckers stopping through the tiny town. I'll be doing anything from housekeeping to kitchen work to bar work to possibly admin work. Basically I'll be an all-rounder at a junction cafe. But on the bright side I will be working 45-60 hours a week, so hopefully I will be to tired from all the hard work to actually care that I'm stuck in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do.
So here goes. Abby, a city girl who prefers hustle and bustle, getting dressed up and being surrounded by heaps of people at any given time, is taking on the outback. It will be dead quiet, full of redneck Australian miners and cowboys and definitely the complete opposite of a busy city. It might be ugly at times, and probably a little bit dirty, but it's short term and it will be worth it when it's all over.
Stay tuned! This blog has taken a definite turn of direction, and hopefully my struggles (or maybe surprising outcome which turns out to be better than I expect) will make a good laugh for all of you back home. I sure hope the outback is ready for someone like me!
10 November 2012
Going Backwards and Moving Forward
Well I have yet again been slacking on the blogging. Partly because I was just having too much fun finishing my trip up the East Coast of Australia and partly because once said trip was finished I hit quite a wall. I've spent so much time collecting my thoughts, and figuring out my next plan of action, this blog has kind of gotten shoved aside. But I'm here, back now, and ready to report!
The last few bits of my East Coast trip were absolutely amazing. From taking a two day boat trip through the Whitsunday Islands and seeing the most amazing beach in the world, Whitehaven Beach, to finally getting to the top of the East Coast to Cairns, I had an absolute blast. I perfected my Australian tan, I found some amazing friends, and I made some memories that I will never forget.
But alas I am on a Working Holiday, and at some point the holiday part has to end and the working has to commence. For the entire duration of my East Coast trip, I always knew that when I was ready to leave a place, there was a pretty set path laid out for me and I always knew where to go next. But once I got to Cairns all of a sudden I had no idea what to do next. Should I work and finish out my visa in Australia? Should I go straight to New Zealand? I just didn't know! Unfortunately, and maybe fortunately since I am the most indecisive person in the world, my bank account decided for me that I had to find a job if I wanted to be able to fund my trip to New Zealand. But the next question was where in Australia should I go?!
Since I had such an amazing time in Surfers Paradise the first time around, and knew I could easily get my job at the hostel back, I decided the most sensible idea was to head back to Surfers. And so I did. I tried to prepare myself for a different experience than the first, but that was easier said than done. I arrived back to my old hostel to a not as friendly group of people, an overly controlling manager and way to much drama in just a weeks time than I really wanted to deal with. I am, after all, still on Holiday and even though I may need to work I still want to have a good time in the meantime! And on top of all that, there just weren't any jobs to be found in Surfers Paradise. Sometimes you can just tell that something isn't working out, and you just know it's not going to fall into place, and that's the exact feeling I got from Surfers Paradise this time around. So I decided to hell with it, I am going to go to Brisbane.
Brisbane is a big city so there will be a lot more job opportunities and it is a place which I spent very little time in during my travels so I can start somewhere fresh with no expectations. It was never a place that was on my radar, but it's only about two hours from Surfers and seems the most sensible place to go and try to sort work out. I have limited time left which I can work until my visa expires, and I need to make all the money I can before I head to New Zealand. So here you have it, a couple more days time and I will be on my way to Brissy!
This post is, in a nutshell, a very condensed version of what's been going on the past few weeks over here in the Land of Oz. It's been mostly good times, and some tough times, but I am getting through them and still so happy to be in Oz. Hopefully once I get to Brisbane, I can settle down with a job, and have even more exciting stories to tell! So until next time--which will hopefully be much sooner this time around!
The last few bits of my East Coast trip were absolutely amazing. From taking a two day boat trip through the Whitsunday Islands and seeing the most amazing beach in the world, Whitehaven Beach, to finally getting to the top of the East Coast to Cairns, I had an absolute blast. I perfected my Australian tan, I found some amazing friends, and I made some memories that I will never forget.
But alas I am on a Working Holiday, and at some point the holiday part has to end and the working has to commence. For the entire duration of my East Coast trip, I always knew that when I was ready to leave a place, there was a pretty set path laid out for me and I always knew where to go next. But once I got to Cairns all of a sudden I had no idea what to do next. Should I work and finish out my visa in Australia? Should I go straight to New Zealand? I just didn't know! Unfortunately, and maybe fortunately since I am the most indecisive person in the world, my bank account decided for me that I had to find a job if I wanted to be able to fund my trip to New Zealand. But the next question was where in Australia should I go?!
Since I had such an amazing time in Surfers Paradise the first time around, and knew I could easily get my job at the hostel back, I decided the most sensible idea was to head back to Surfers. And so I did. I tried to prepare myself for a different experience than the first, but that was easier said than done. I arrived back to my old hostel to a not as friendly group of people, an overly controlling manager and way to much drama in just a weeks time than I really wanted to deal with. I am, after all, still on Holiday and even though I may need to work I still want to have a good time in the meantime! And on top of all that, there just weren't any jobs to be found in Surfers Paradise. Sometimes you can just tell that something isn't working out, and you just know it's not going to fall into place, and that's the exact feeling I got from Surfers Paradise this time around. So I decided to hell with it, I am going to go to Brisbane.
Brisbane is a big city so there will be a lot more job opportunities and it is a place which I spent very little time in during my travels so I can start somewhere fresh with no expectations. It was never a place that was on my radar, but it's only about two hours from Surfers and seems the most sensible place to go and try to sort work out. I have limited time left which I can work until my visa expires, and I need to make all the money I can before I head to New Zealand. So here you have it, a couple more days time and I will be on my way to Brissy!
This post is, in a nutshell, a very condensed version of what's been going on the past few weeks over here in the Land of Oz. It's been mostly good times, and some tough times, but I am getting through them and still so happy to be in Oz. Hopefully once I get to Brisbane, I can settle down with a job, and have even more exciting stories to tell! So until next time--which will hopefully be much sooner this time around!
09 October 2012
Driving On The Left Side Of The Road
For the rest of my time in Australia I'm going to avoid motorized vehicles. They're like the oil to my water, and it's just not working out. They say third times the charm, but in this case my charm might be deadly. So I'm just calling it quits.
The story starts with Fraser Island. The biggest sand island in the world, Fraser is just a 20 minute ferry ride from the tiny little town of Rainbow Beach. When I arrived in Rainbow Beach I was gearing myself up for a fun three days of four-wheel driving in the sand, amazing beaches and lakes, and some fun goon times on a campsite. And while I did get that, I also learned that driving on the left side of the car, whilst on a sandy track, is no piece of cake! I decided to have a go at driving the 4wd Toyota Land Cruiser, thinking that if I attempted to drive on the narrow inland track, where a track was basically already embedded into the sand, it would be much easier than driving on the beach. Boy was I wrong! About 20 minutes into my drive, while already struggling to stay on the track, I ran smack into a tree! Luckily, I was going very slowly and nobody was hurt, however I did manage to crack the radiator and put the car out of commission. While it was pretty embarrassing at first, afterwards I was the talk of the camp, and I still managed to have an amazing time. But the crash really should have been my first sign that I just shouldn't drive in Australia.
Fast-forward four days and I am in the teeny tiny town of 1770. Aside from the beach and a couple shops, this town has nothing to do aside from the famous Scooteroo tour on motorbikes. Forgetting my struggles in Fraser Island, I of course signed up for Scooteroo. At the start of the tour we were dressed up in leather jackets, tattoos (fake of course!) and given our own motorbikes to ride. I struggled a bit on the practice track, but figured I would get the hang of it once I got on the road. And again I was proved wrong. I kept hugging the left side of the road (which I blame on being used to driving on the right!), couldn't keep myself centered and thus was very wobbly, and was incapable of mastering the sharp turns. After about an hour in, the tour guides could easily see I was struggling and offered to let me ride on the back of one of their bikes. I was more than happy to jump on the bike as a "koala" and let someone else worry about the driving. And once I did I had so much more fun, and got to go even faster than one of those motorbikes would go!
So as an end result from both of these trips I have decided it's just not in the cards for me to operate motorized vehicles in Australia. I have struggled one time to many, which I am taking as a sign, and I am not doing Americans any favors as an ambassador for our impeccable driving skills! In reality, I think I am much better suited on the back of a bike and so I'm just going to stick with that from now on!
The story starts with Fraser Island. The biggest sand island in the world, Fraser is just a 20 minute ferry ride from the tiny little town of Rainbow Beach. When I arrived in Rainbow Beach I was gearing myself up for a fun three days of four-wheel driving in the sand, amazing beaches and lakes, and some fun goon times on a campsite. And while I did get that, I also learned that driving on the left side of the car, whilst on a sandy track, is no piece of cake! I decided to have a go at driving the 4wd Toyota Land Cruiser, thinking that if I attempted to drive on the narrow inland track, where a track was basically already embedded into the sand, it would be much easier than driving on the beach. Boy was I wrong! About 20 minutes into my drive, while already struggling to stay on the track, I ran smack into a tree! Luckily, I was going very slowly and nobody was hurt, however I did manage to crack the radiator and put the car out of commission. While it was pretty embarrassing at first, afterwards I was the talk of the camp, and I still managed to have an amazing time. But the crash really should have been my first sign that I just shouldn't drive in Australia.
Fast-forward four days and I am in the teeny tiny town of 1770. Aside from the beach and a couple shops, this town has nothing to do aside from the famous Scooteroo tour on motorbikes. Forgetting my struggles in Fraser Island, I of course signed up for Scooteroo. At the start of the tour we were dressed up in leather jackets, tattoos (fake of course!) and given our own motorbikes to ride. I struggled a bit on the practice track, but figured I would get the hang of it once I got on the road. And again I was proved wrong. I kept hugging the left side of the road (which I blame on being used to driving on the right!), couldn't keep myself centered and thus was very wobbly, and was incapable of mastering the sharp turns. After about an hour in, the tour guides could easily see I was struggling and offered to let me ride on the back of one of their bikes. I was more than happy to jump on the bike as a "koala" and let someone else worry about the driving. And once I did I had so much more fun, and got to go even faster than one of those motorbikes would go!
So as an end result from both of these trips I have decided it's just not in the cards for me to operate motorized vehicles in Australia. I have struggled one time to many, which I am taking as a sign, and I am not doing Americans any favors as an ambassador for our impeccable driving skills! In reality, I think I am much better suited on the back of a bike and so I'm just going to stick with that from now on!
28 September 2012
My Kinda Paradise
I fell in love with Surfers Paradise. Madly, deeply, in love. I seriously think Surfers Paradise is the long lost love of my life. So much so, that I had to force a temporary separation between myself and Surfers. I didn't want to, and it broke my heart, but in the name of love sometimes you have to do things you just don't want to do.
I really only ever planned to spend four nights in Surfers Paradise. I figured I would spend a few days at the beach perfecting my Australian tan, have a few crazy nights out in the iconic nightlife Surfers is known for and then be on my way, hungover and tan. Obviously I hadn't been struck by the love bug when I made this plan.
The first best thing I did in Surfers Paradise was check in to the hostel Surf n Sun. After two amazing days as a guest at Surf n Sun I literally stumbled upon a job opportunity at the hostel. Stumbled upon meaning one of the managers offered me the job around 1:00am whilst we were in a nightclub. The next morning I shrugged the conversation off, thinking there was no way it could be legit, until I was woken up by that very same manager coming into my room and telling me to get dressed for work. And so work began.
In exchange for free accommodation, I was vacuuming the guest rooms each morning, six days a week. Living for free, becoming a part of the staff, enjoying heaps of discounts at the hostel and being able to extend my stay in Surfers? Not a bad deal at all! I started work at 9:30 each morning and by 11:30 the day was all mine. I spent my days worshipping the sun (first by the hostel pool and then down to the beach once the sun was blocked by the tall buildings surrounding Surf n Sun), exploring the town, going out for girly cocktail dates, bonding with my new Surf n Sun family and of course having some amazing nights out with the hostel. Surf n Sun became my home away from home and the people I worked with became my temporary Australian family. To say it in as little words as possible, I was having the time of my life.
But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. My biggest concern about staying in Surfers Paradise too long was, unfortunately, money. While I was saving money by not paying rent, I was still spending money that was not being replenished. Surfers Paradise was only my second stop along the East Coast and I feared I would spend all my money in Surfers before making it any further. On that same note, when I decided to come back to Australia my biggest priority (and regret for not doing so last time) was to travel. As I have said before, I left Australia feeling unsatisfied with my trip and once I was home I could not shake the feeling of how badly I wanted to see the East Coast of Australia. So when I came back, my first and main goal was to travel. And while I was loving every single minute in Surfers Paradise, I was also getting itchy feet to travel again. Staying in Surfers any longer would mean settling down, finding a job that paid actual money and taking on some responsibility. And I just wasn't quite ready to do that. I still wanted to be a carefree backpacker.
So, against my own will, I booked myself a bus out of Surfers to continue on with my journey. I didn't want to leave Surfers Paradise, and I already miss it terribly, but it is just what I had to do. My job at Surf n Sun will be waiting for me when I finish my East Coast trip, and at that point in time I can move into the hostel, find a proper job and embrace everything there is to love about Surfers Paradise. But for now my love affair is on a temporary hold while I discover more hidden gems in Australia.
But, oh Surfers, how I can't wait to come back to you and fall in love all over again! <3
I really only ever planned to spend four nights in Surfers Paradise. I figured I would spend a few days at the beach perfecting my Australian tan, have a few crazy nights out in the iconic nightlife Surfers is known for and then be on my way, hungover and tan. Obviously I hadn't been struck by the love bug when I made this plan.
The first best thing I did in Surfers Paradise was check in to the hostel Surf n Sun. After two amazing days as a guest at Surf n Sun I literally stumbled upon a job opportunity at the hostel. Stumbled upon meaning one of the managers offered me the job around 1:00am whilst we were in a nightclub. The next morning I shrugged the conversation off, thinking there was no way it could be legit, until I was woken up by that very same manager coming into my room and telling me to get dressed for work. And so work began.
In exchange for free accommodation, I was vacuuming the guest rooms each morning, six days a week. Living for free, becoming a part of the staff, enjoying heaps of discounts at the hostel and being able to extend my stay in Surfers? Not a bad deal at all! I started work at 9:30 each morning and by 11:30 the day was all mine. I spent my days worshipping the sun (first by the hostel pool and then down to the beach once the sun was blocked by the tall buildings surrounding Surf n Sun), exploring the town, going out for girly cocktail dates, bonding with my new Surf n Sun family and of course having some amazing nights out with the hostel. Surf n Sun became my home away from home and the people I worked with became my temporary Australian family. To say it in as little words as possible, I was having the time of my life.
But, as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. My biggest concern about staying in Surfers Paradise too long was, unfortunately, money. While I was saving money by not paying rent, I was still spending money that was not being replenished. Surfers Paradise was only my second stop along the East Coast and I feared I would spend all my money in Surfers before making it any further. On that same note, when I decided to come back to Australia my biggest priority (and regret for not doing so last time) was to travel. As I have said before, I left Australia feeling unsatisfied with my trip and once I was home I could not shake the feeling of how badly I wanted to see the East Coast of Australia. So when I came back, my first and main goal was to travel. And while I was loving every single minute in Surfers Paradise, I was also getting itchy feet to travel again. Staying in Surfers any longer would mean settling down, finding a job that paid actual money and taking on some responsibility. And I just wasn't quite ready to do that. I still wanted to be a carefree backpacker.
So, against my own will, I booked myself a bus out of Surfers to continue on with my journey. I didn't want to leave Surfers Paradise, and I already miss it terribly, but it is just what I had to do. My job at Surf n Sun will be waiting for me when I finish my East Coast trip, and at that point in time I can move into the hostel, find a proper job and embrace everything there is to love about Surfers Paradise. But for now my love affair is on a temporary hold while I discover more hidden gems in Australia.
But, oh Surfers, how I can't wait to come back to you and fall in love all over again! <3
12 September 2012
A No Shoe Wearing, Marijuana Smoking, Guitar Jamming Kinda Town
If you time warped Santa Cruz, CA back to its original form during the 60s and 70s, you would be in a replica of Byron Bay. A tiny little beach town almost 500 miles north of Sydney, Byron Bay is like no place I have ever been.
Really, it's the people that make this place what it is. A head full of dreadlocks, feet the color of the ground they walk on, and pants that look like they came from Aladdin's wardrobe, Byron Bay attracts hippies from all over the world. When I first got to Byron, I felt very out of place. Blow drying my hair in the communal bathroom, it felt as if every girl was staring at me like I was an alien from the 21st century. And what can I say, while I have no judgements towards people who choose the hippie lifestyle, it's just not my cup of tea.
I stayed at The Arts Factory Hostel - a magnet for hard-core hippies promoting hostel camping. For non-hippies types such as myself there were standard dorm rooms to sleep in, but for those who want to become one with nature during their stay in Byron they can sleep in the Big Teepee (which is exactly what it sounds like) or pitch a tent and camp out on the hostel grounds. Aside from the varied sleeping arrangements the hostel is home to fearless roosters wandering the grounds who will steal your food the minute you are not looking as well as large dinosaur-looking Iguanas who like to stare you down while you eat your brekkie.
While the hippie lifestyle isn't really for me, being immersed in it was quite an experience that I am glad I had. In line with the culture of Byron Bay, the hostel hosted a "camper-wide" talent show one night during my stay. From accoustic singing with the guitar to a puppet show with dolls to the sound of the didgeridoo, any and all talent was welcome. While enjoying the show I met a group of people also staying at the hostel and we all bonded over listening to the music and drinking goon.
After the show was over my new friends and I decided to carry on. And as we sat around a table, drinking our goon, getting to know each other and jamming to the guitar, more people began to join us. From a German boy on the ground playing his drum in tune to the guitar, to the French man joining in on the ukulele to the ever growing group of hippies dancing around us, we all came together to enjoy the music and the company. And as I sat around watching this scene unfold around me, I thought "I'm here. I've finally made it back to Australia and I am sooo happy to be here."
One of the things I missed most about traveling was the people you meet. Not only do you have the chance to meet people from all over the world, but people who are traveling are so open and friendly to everyone they may cross paths with. Cliques don't exist, backstabbing and drama is a foreign concept and pre-conceived judgements are thrown out the window. Because no matter who I may meet along this trip, we all have one thing in common: the love for travel.
As all good things must come to an end, I decided 3 nights was plenty of time for me in Byron Bay. I have currently made it to Surfers Paradise, which is the beginning of the Gold Coast in Queensland. Time to put the shoes back on, leave nature outside and see what Surfer's Paradise has to offer!
Really, it's the people that make this place what it is. A head full of dreadlocks, feet the color of the ground they walk on, and pants that look like they came from Aladdin's wardrobe, Byron Bay attracts hippies from all over the world. When I first got to Byron, I felt very out of place. Blow drying my hair in the communal bathroom, it felt as if every girl was staring at me like I was an alien from the 21st century. And what can I say, while I have no judgements towards people who choose the hippie lifestyle, it's just not my cup of tea.
I stayed at The Arts Factory Hostel - a magnet for hard-core hippies promoting hostel camping. For non-hippies types such as myself there were standard dorm rooms to sleep in, but for those who want to become one with nature during their stay in Byron they can sleep in the Big Teepee (which is exactly what it sounds like) or pitch a tent and camp out on the hostel grounds. Aside from the varied sleeping arrangements the hostel is home to fearless roosters wandering the grounds who will steal your food the minute you are not looking as well as large dinosaur-looking Iguanas who like to stare you down while you eat your brekkie.
While the hippie lifestyle isn't really for me, being immersed in it was quite an experience that I am glad I had. In line with the culture of Byron Bay, the hostel hosted a "camper-wide" talent show one night during my stay. From accoustic singing with the guitar to a puppet show with dolls to the sound of the didgeridoo, any and all talent was welcome. While enjoying the show I met a group of people also staying at the hostel and we all bonded over listening to the music and drinking goon.
After the show was over my new friends and I decided to carry on. And as we sat around a table, drinking our goon, getting to know each other and jamming to the guitar, more people began to join us. From a German boy on the ground playing his drum in tune to the guitar, to the French man joining in on the ukulele to the ever growing group of hippies dancing around us, we all came together to enjoy the music and the company. And as I sat around watching this scene unfold around me, I thought "I'm here. I've finally made it back to Australia and I am sooo happy to be here."
One of the things I missed most about traveling was the people you meet. Not only do you have the chance to meet people from all over the world, but people who are traveling are so open and friendly to everyone they may cross paths with. Cliques don't exist, backstabbing and drama is a foreign concept and pre-conceived judgements are thrown out the window. Because no matter who I may meet along this trip, we all have one thing in common: the love for travel.
As all good things must come to an end, I decided 3 nights was plenty of time for me in Byron Bay. I have currently made it to Surfers Paradise, which is the beginning of the Gold Coast in Queensland. Time to put the shoes back on, leave nature outside and see what Surfer's Paradise has to offer!
08 September 2012
Traveling Blues
So I've arrived in Sydney. Getting here on the 15 hour flight was, again, not as bad as Anxious Abby pre-determined it would be. Shocking, I know.
When I planned my return to Sydney I decided I would stay at a different hostel than the one I spent so much time at last time around. I really wanted a fresh start, and thought a less familiar hostel would serve that purpose. In hundsight, maybe this was not the best idea ever as the hostel I found is quite a dud. Not very social or friendly and I haven't met anyone via the hostel. As hostels are the best way to meet people in Australia, it's quite unfortunate that this hostel didn't really give me what I needed.
I tried very hard not to let the lack of a good hostel situation set a negative tone for my trip. After all, Sydney was only ever supposed to be a place for me to kick the jet lag. But the hardest part about coming back to Sydney was how familiar it was. Being here doesn't really make me feel like I've started my adventure. I spent almost three months here last time, and I saw everything, if not more, of what I wanted to see in Sydney. There's nothing new and exciting about this city for me.
It has definitely been difficult to start my trip on such a lonely note. I am still a tad bit jet lagged and I think the exhaustion is definitely a key factor in my emotions getting the best of me. I wanted this trip to be a learning tool for me. An adventure that would not only be memorable, but that would teach me to be independent and self-reliant. Unfortunately, learning those lessons definitely comes with a few lonely days and nights.
I am trying very hard to confront my emotions head on and not let them determine my trip or my attitude. My emotions got the best of me last time and that definitely jaded my trip. I am constantly reminding myself that these feelings will not last forever, that I am capable of doing this, that I want to be here and most importantly to take the pressure off myself when things don't fall into place immediately. Because you know what? Getting through times like these is what's going to really make this trip a learning experience for me. And while I may fight with my emotions, in the end I am going to win this battle. This was my chance to hit the do-over button, which means not slipping back into the same patterns I succumbed to the first time around. Because as I saw, letting negative emotions take over was neither healthy nor productive. I am stronger then the hard times and I know I am capable of getting through them.
Today is my last day in Sydney, and tonight I hop on a 12-hour overnight Greyhound bus to Byron Bay. Can't believe four days ago I was on a 15-hour plane ride and here I am, barely un-jet lagged, and hopping on a miserable bus ride. I think I am in for quite a fun night!
When I planned my return to Sydney I decided I would stay at a different hostel than the one I spent so much time at last time around. I really wanted a fresh start, and thought a less familiar hostel would serve that purpose. In hundsight, maybe this was not the best idea ever as the hostel I found is quite a dud. Not very social or friendly and I haven't met anyone via the hostel. As hostels are the best way to meet people in Australia, it's quite unfortunate that this hostel didn't really give me what I needed.
I tried very hard not to let the lack of a good hostel situation set a negative tone for my trip. After all, Sydney was only ever supposed to be a place for me to kick the jet lag. But the hardest part about coming back to Sydney was how familiar it was. Being here doesn't really make me feel like I've started my adventure. I spent almost three months here last time, and I saw everything, if not more, of what I wanted to see in Sydney. There's nothing new and exciting about this city for me.
It has definitely been difficult to start my trip on such a lonely note. I am still a tad bit jet lagged and I think the exhaustion is definitely a key factor in my emotions getting the best of me. I wanted this trip to be a learning tool for me. An adventure that would not only be memorable, but that would teach me to be independent and self-reliant. Unfortunately, learning those lessons definitely comes with a few lonely days and nights.
I am trying very hard to confront my emotions head on and not let them determine my trip or my attitude. My emotions got the best of me last time and that definitely jaded my trip. I am constantly reminding myself that these feelings will not last forever, that I am capable of doing this, that I want to be here and most importantly to take the pressure off myself when things don't fall into place immediately. Because you know what? Getting through times like these is what's going to really make this trip a learning experience for me. And while I may fight with my emotions, in the end I am going to win this battle. This was my chance to hit the do-over button, which means not slipping back into the same patterns I succumbed to the first time around. Because as I saw, letting negative emotions take over was neither healthy nor productive. I am stronger then the hard times and I know I am capable of getting through them.
Today is my last day in Sydney, and tonight I hop on a 12-hour overnight Greyhound bus to Byron Bay. Can't believe four days ago I was on a 15-hour plane ride and here I am, barely un-jet lagged, and hopping on a miserable bus ride. I think I am in for quite a fun night!
06 August 2012
Take Two
When I first planned my trip to Australia, I never would have predicted this outcome. I initially went to Sydney with a very strict plan that I would find an apartment, I would find a job, and I would find Australian friends. However, once I arrived in Sydney I realized that maybe this plan wasn't so practical after all: "oh my god everyone is a backpacker and nobody has the same plan as me. What am I going to do?!" So I re-evaluated and came to the conclusion that maybe Sydney just wasn't the right city for me, and that maybe in order to make this plan work I needed to be in Melbourne (a city that is, after all, considered the San Francisco of Australia, so how could I not like this city?) After only two weeks in Melbourne, without ever really giving the city a fair chance, I switched plans once again and found a job opportunity in Perth where I could finally put my plan into action. But once I arrived in Perth I began to wonder why I even wanted to be a Barista in the first place—being a Barista meant 5am mornings, grouchy customers in need of their daily caffeine fix and I hated being a Barista at Peet's, so why would I ever want to do it again?? In the end I decided that "living" in Australia was just not feasible, and I decided to come home.
In hindsight I think my decision to come home was a little rash and a lot based on emotions and feeling so out of control that I didn't know what to do with myself. But even so, I still think it was the right thing to do at the time. I needed to clear my head and figure out what I wanted without all the pressure I was putting on myself to make things work. My dad kept telling me, "You can't fit a square peg into a round hole," and that is exactly what I was trying to do. But my biggest mistake was that instead of trying to find a "round peg", instead of being flexible, I remained adamant about sticking to my "square peg" plan and would not budge on that idea. When I could not make that plan work, I didn't want to be in Australia anymore. But I needed to come home in order to realize that this was the problem all along.
So here I am, four months after my return from Australia and preparing to return to the Land Down Under. Definitely didn't see that one coming! But once the novelties of being home (family, friends, my dog, my bed) became just an every day routine, I was able to gain some perspective. And there was a nagging voice in my head, that I just could not ignore:
And so starts the second half of my journey. I'm going back to Australia as a full-fledged backpacker this time. I'm going to live in hostels, travel up the East Coast via Greyhound buses, pop over to New Zealand and Fiji and maybe get a job if I start to run low on funds. There is no plan this time. Instead I plan to be totally flexible and just let things play out the way they do. And if things don't go my way, then I'll consider other ways. There's no better time to travel then now, and no better way to avoid regret then to come full circle and finish my journey.
So ready, set, go! Australia, are you ready for me a second time?!
In hindsight I think my decision to come home was a little rash and a lot based on emotions and feeling so out of control that I didn't know what to do with myself. But even so, I still think it was the right thing to do at the time. I needed to clear my head and figure out what I wanted without all the pressure I was putting on myself to make things work. My dad kept telling me, "You can't fit a square peg into a round hole," and that is exactly what I was trying to do. But my biggest mistake was that instead of trying to find a "round peg", instead of being flexible, I remained adamant about sticking to my "square peg" plan and would not budge on that idea. When I could not make that plan work, I didn't want to be in Australia anymore. But I needed to come home in order to realize that this was the problem all along.
So here I am, four months after my return from Australia and preparing to return to the Land Down Under. Definitely didn't see that one coming! But once the novelties of being home (family, friends, my dog, my bed) became just an every day routine, I was able to gain some perspective. And there was a nagging voice in my head, that I just could not ignore:
At first, I answered those questions thinking:"Why didn't I travel?""Why didn't I join the people I met on their backpacking adventures from the beginning and give up the idea of finding a job until I was flat broke and absolutely needed to work?""Why wasn't I flexible?"
The longer I kept having this conversation with myself, the more I started to wonder why I should wait until next time. Why not just go back, with this new-found perspective, and finish what I started? I couldn't come up with one reason why I shouldn't, so I simply decided I would."Yes, I could have just traveled. I probably would have met even more people that way. And once I got used to being a solo backpacker, I would have embraced the backpacker life""I could have done it!""Coulda woulda shoulda," I kept telling myself, "at least I'll know this for the next time I go to Australia."
And so starts the second half of my journey. I'm going back to Australia as a full-fledged backpacker this time. I'm going to live in hostels, travel up the East Coast via Greyhound buses, pop over to New Zealand and Fiji and maybe get a job if I start to run low on funds. There is no plan this time. Instead I plan to be totally flexible and just let things play out the way they do. And if things don't go my way, then I'll consider other ways. There's no better time to travel then now, and no better way to avoid regret then to come full circle and finish my journey.
So ready, set, go! Australia, are you ready for me a second time?!
27 March 2012
Yes I Know, I Have Horrible Blogging Skills
Well this is quite the overdue blog post. Things have been quite a whirlwind since I left Sydney, both good and bad, and every time I sat down to write a post I didn't even know where to begin.
Last I left off I was ready to depart for a tour of Kangaroo Island and The Great Ocean Road, so I suppose I will begin there. After spending a day in Adelaide (which was all I really needed there) I was picked up at the crack of dawn to make the long drive and ferry ride over to Kangaroo Island. Over the course of two days our tour guide drove us through basically the entire southern coast of the island. Yes, I saw lots of kangaroos (as well as ate some for lunch one day, which was surprisingly fairly good), as well as koalas, echidnas , lizards and wallabies--but I didn't eat those! I also took a crack at sand boarding and kayaking. The tour group itself was a disappointment, mostly comprised of older Germans who refused to speak English (as I have learned seems to be the unfortunate trend in Australia among the abundance of German travelers), as well as a group of 4 Irish siblings who decided off the bat that they wanted nothing to do with my friend and I. Fortunately I did the tour with a friend I had met in Sydney, and we had a fabulous time together goofing off, enjoying ourselves, and not really being bothered by the other lame tour-goers :)
Following the two days on Kangaroo Island, my friend Stacey and I were again picked up at the crack of dawn to make the trip along the Great Ocean Road from Adelaide to Melbourne. Luckily this tour group was filled with many more young travelers, and Stacey and I immediately fell into a group of really amazing people. Ironically enough the 4 Irish siblings were on this tour as well. Their first priority was to inform everyone on the tour group what awful people Stacey and I were (mind you they didn't speak one word to us on Kangaroo Island). But as these things tend to go, people were generally turned off by their harsh cattiness and didn't think twice about befriending Stacey and I. The Great Ocean Road mainly consisted of a lot of driving, a lot of stopping to look at rocks in water, one absolutely amazing hike up the Grampians and a lot of late nights bonding over copious amounts of wine & beer. But minus the little sleep I got, and the 630am wake up calls I painfully struggled through, I had an amazing time.
After driving the entirety of the Great Ocean Road I arrived in Melbourne. I was immediately excited for a fresh start in a new city, and a lot of my friends from the Great Ocean Road stuck around in Melbourne for about a week so I got to continue having some fabulous times with them. Unfortunately though, the first hostel I stayed at in the center of the city was awful. The people were so unfriendly, the bathrooms were horribly dirty and it was in a pretty awkward location in relation to the center of the city. Luckily I tried to spend as little time as possible in the hostel, but the negative vibe from the hostel really began to wear me down. It's hard to explain how a hostel could have such a huge impact on your trip to a city, but as a solo traveler hostels are the main source I have for meeting people, especially without a job. And as I began to spend more time staying in the hostel I just got more and more lonely as I tried to figure out what I wanted to do with my time in Australia. Nothing seemed to be falling into place as I wanted it to anymore, and I just started to feel really lost.
A few days into my time in Melbourne, I got an email from my program office about hospitality job openings in Perth. I had never even considered going to Perth, but the opportunity seemed like something I should explore so I sent off my resume. I was instantly asked to set up a Skype interview and from there I was offered the job on the spot. The job is a 3-6 month position as a barista at the Rydges Hotel that pays really well and will give me consistent hours. I think the lack of stability combined with the constant confusion of what I really want to do here has started to drag me down, so I am hoping this job will give me some stability and a sense of purpose each day.
I decided to spend another week in Melbourne before I left for Perth, but at a different hostel a little bit outside of the city in Melbourne's beach town of St Kilda. While the hostel was better then the previous one, I still didn't love it. Part of that may have entirely been me. I think once I decided to go to Perth I just kind of gave up on trying in Melbourne. Which in hindsight I think means I probably spent a little too long in the city. I think another component is my utter exhaustion with living in hostels. I have been staying in them for two months now, living out of a suitcase, and I am honestly sick of it. I just want my own space and my own home and a much more stable life with some stable friends.
So here I am, in Perth, crossing my fingers that a new city with a new job will help me get out of this funk I've slipped into. I never came to Australia to be a backpacker jumping from one place to the next on my own, and I am still not sure that that's even what I want to do. But in Perth I won't necessarily be a backpacker anymore and I can try out the living and working thing, which was always my plan from the beginning. I am trying to go there with an open mind and just let whatever comes to me come. But I also know Perth won't necessarily be the answer to the hard times I've been having. And maybe nowhere in Australia will be. But all I can do is give this opportunity a chance, and see what comes from it, and go from there. So stay tuned. At the very least I expect Perth to clear my head a little and give me more a sense of what I want from this trip and from this stage of my life. And I guess I'll just have to wait and see what comes next.
And of course, a few pictures to add to all the million words I just threw at you :)
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04 March 2012
For Those of You Not on Facebook...
Just thought I would post a few more photos of what I have been up to in Sydney. They are all on Facebook, but for those who aren't friends with me on facebook (or don't use facebook) I thought you might enjoy a few visual pieces of entertainment with me and some amazing Aussie animals :D
Not much else to report as of now. Today is my last day in Sydney, and then I am off to start my next adventure tomorrow. I am definitely excited for a change of scenery, a new place to explore and new people to meet! Once I get all settled into Melbourne, and after my trip along the Great Ocean Road, I will update a post with pictures and details about my latest adventure!
27 February 2012
A Change of Plans
I suppose to start this blog post off, I should first apologize for the lack of blog entries that past few weeks. Things have been quite a whirlwind of ups and downs and trying to figure everything out. And the biggest obstacle I have faced up to this point has probably been realizing I need to to let go of my expectations from coming to Australia and be willing to readjust my plans.
I initially came to Australia with the idea that I was going to move here. I would find a place to live, and a job, and maybe a nice group of Australian friends and I would make a semi-permanent life here for the next twelve months. I never intended to be a backpacker, nor did I pack with the logic that I might be lugging my stuff all over this massive country. I picked Sydney with no rhyme nor reason (it was always Sydney vs. Melbourne and Sydney has nicer weather so that was the final deciding factor) and I didn't think it really made a huge difference which city I was in. I was going to be in Australia so there was no way I wouldn't love every part of this country.
When I first showed up to this hostel in Sydney I was terrified. I didn't know a single person, it seemed like everyone was settled into a group of friends, and I had no idea what I was doing. And as I slowly gained more confidence, met more people and settled into Sydney I started to feel more comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that I have been living @ the same hostel for a month now. And while the city of Sydney never stole my heart (definitely not the way Rome did), I was so intent on making Sydney work out the way I wanted it to because I just couldn't stand the thought of showing up in another new city and not knowing a single person again.
Four days ago I hit my one month mark of being in Sydney and I have come to the realization this city is not quite working out for me the way I want it to. Finding an apartment seems impractical unless I want to live with ten other backpackers crammed into a two bedroom apartment. There seems to be more of an abundance of backpackers and immigrants then there are Aussies. And most importantly I think I have just found myself in a rut here in Sydney. So I have come to the conclusion that it is definitely time for a change of scenery.
In one week I am going to be leaving Sydney and heading down to Melbourne. Due to a small SNAFU with my hostel booking (combined with a huge music festival the weekend I arrive) I had to add a little adventure to my trip before I actually stick around in Melbourne for awhile. So before arriving in Melbourne I will head over to Adelaide and do a two day tour of Kangaroo Island followed by a three day trip along the Great Ocean Road which goes from Adelaide to Melbourne. After this trip I will arrive back in Melbourne where I have a hostel booked and will see where it goes from there.
I do need to find work sometime in the near future, so finding work in Melbourne would be ideal. However, I don't want to go to Melbourne with any expectations this time. I'm not going to show up and immediately figure out where to work and where to live. I think my first priorities need to be getting a lay of the land, figuring out what Melbourne is like and just letting myself figure out if I really like the city. If I do love Melbourne, then I will stay for awhile, work a bit and hopefully find a flat that is cheaper than living in a hostel. And if I don't like Melbourne then I am just going to move on to another city. Lucky for me, Australia is a massive country and I have no doubt that there's a city for me here somewhere that is just waiting for me to fall in love with it :)
I initially came to Australia with the idea that I was going to move here. I would find a place to live, and a job, and maybe a nice group of Australian friends and I would make a semi-permanent life here for the next twelve months. I never intended to be a backpacker, nor did I pack with the logic that I might be lugging my stuff all over this massive country. I picked Sydney with no rhyme nor reason (it was always Sydney vs. Melbourne and Sydney has nicer weather so that was the final deciding factor) and I didn't think it really made a huge difference which city I was in. I was going to be in Australia so there was no way I wouldn't love every part of this country.
When I first showed up to this hostel in Sydney I was terrified. I didn't know a single person, it seemed like everyone was settled into a group of friends, and I had no idea what I was doing. And as I slowly gained more confidence, met more people and settled into Sydney I started to feel more comfortable. So comfortable in fact, that I have been living @ the same hostel for a month now. And while the city of Sydney never stole my heart (definitely not the way Rome did), I was so intent on making Sydney work out the way I wanted it to because I just couldn't stand the thought of showing up in another new city and not knowing a single person again.
Four days ago I hit my one month mark of being in Sydney and I have come to the realization this city is not quite working out for me the way I want it to. Finding an apartment seems impractical unless I want to live with ten other backpackers crammed into a two bedroom apartment. There seems to be more of an abundance of backpackers and immigrants then there are Aussies. And most importantly I think I have just found myself in a rut here in Sydney. So I have come to the conclusion that it is definitely time for a change of scenery.
In one week I am going to be leaving Sydney and heading down to Melbourne. Due to a small SNAFU with my hostel booking (combined with a huge music festival the weekend I arrive) I had to add a little adventure to my trip before I actually stick around in Melbourne for awhile. So before arriving in Melbourne I will head over to Adelaide and do a two day tour of Kangaroo Island followed by a three day trip along the Great Ocean Road which goes from Adelaide to Melbourne. After this trip I will arrive back in Melbourne where I have a hostel booked and will see where it goes from there.
I do need to find work sometime in the near future, so finding work in Melbourne would be ideal. However, I don't want to go to Melbourne with any expectations this time. I'm not going to show up and immediately figure out where to work and where to live. I think my first priorities need to be getting a lay of the land, figuring out what Melbourne is like and just letting myself figure out if I really like the city. If I do love Melbourne, then I will stay for awhile, work a bit and hopefully find a flat that is cheaper than living in a hostel. And if I don't like Melbourne then I am just going to move on to another city. Lucky for me, Australia is a massive country and I have no doubt that there's a city for me here somewhere that is just waiting for me to fall in love with it :)
07 February 2012
Learning the Life of a Sydneysider
As I start to settle into life in Sydney, I try to remind myself every day to take things as they come and not build my plans around expectations. Some days this is harder than others, but I try to remind myself to just take it day by day and enjoy every minute.
Surf Camp was quite an experience. The days consisted of eating, surfing, sleeping, eating, surfing, eating, sleeping, repeat. While I was exhausted at the end of the day, it was a lot of fun. I was able to stand up on the board a few times, had some cute Aussie surf coaches to help me along the way, and made some really good friends. I am not sure if I will take up any more surfing while I am in Oz, but it was definitely an experience I am glad I had. Never again will I be able to say that I surfed the waves on the Australian East Coast :) Below are a few shots of me in action!
Upon returning back to Sydney, my goal has been to find an apartment. However, this is a more stressful task then I initially anticipated. Many apartments inside the city center are filled with 8-10 people in a two bedroom apartment and most of the flat mates are backpackers, not Aussies. I don't think that is exactly what I am looking for, so I have asked my program to help me pick some suburbs outside the city to continue my search. I am trying to find another solo traveler, or two, who is in the same boat as me and who wants to apartment hunt together. If I have a group of two or more, my program will set me up with this housing program that takes you and your friends around the city to furnished, affordable apartments. So that is currently the route I am trying to go as I try to find a place to live. Although I initially hoped to be out of the hostel within a week, it seems I may have to get used to hostel life for a bit longer as I apartment hunt.
Aside from the recent events, things are good here in Oz. Since I have nothing else extremely exciting to report, I think I will end some post with a few pictures of what I've been up to. Yay! Enjoy ;)
Surf Camp was quite an experience. The days consisted of eating, surfing, sleeping, eating, surfing, eating, sleeping, repeat. While I was exhausted at the end of the day, it was a lot of fun. I was able to stand up on the board a few times, had some cute Aussie surf coaches to help me along the way, and made some really good friends. I am not sure if I will take up any more surfing while I am in Oz, but it was definitely an experience I am glad I had. Never again will I be able to say that I surfed the waves on the Australian East Coast :) Below are a few shots of me in action!
Aside from the recent events, things are good here in Oz. Since I have nothing else extremely exciting to report, I think I will end some post with a few pictures of what I've been up to. Yay! Enjoy ;)
29 January 2012
My First Almost Week in Sydney
Some mornings I wake up and have to pinch myself as a reminder that I am actually here in Sydney. It's still pretty unreal to me, and generally it's moments when I am looking at the Opera House or listening to all the Australian accents around me that I remember where I am. But here I am. And while it's been a week since I left (and a little less than 7 days of actually being in Sydney) things are less and less overwhelming each day.
This past week has been a whirlwind of sight-seeing, walking around the city, meeting people and remembering what hostel life was like. Aside from the now-and-then homesickness that creeps up on me every once in awhile, I have been keeping busy and having a lot of fun.
On my first full day in Sydney I had my orientation with the Work and Travel Company. This program has a really nice facility in the center of the city with free wi-fi, a travel desk which provides help with planning any trips around Australia I may want to take and a job resource center that is responsible for helping to place me with any temporary work that may come up. I have kind of put the job hunt on hold for the first few weeks while I'm here and trying to embrace the holiday part of my adventure and let myself be on vacation. After working for so long saving up for this trip. I think I deserve a little vacation before I jump back into the working world! Aside from the logistical help, the Work and Travel Company also serves as a resource for any help I may need with setting up a life here in Sydney--from finding a place to live to dealing with being homesick and so far away from home. It's actually very reassuring to know that at the end of the day, if I needed somebody to help me with any obstacle I feel like I can't handle on my own, they could help me out.
The rest of my days here in Sydney have been spent purely exploring the city and meeting people. I took a tour of the city, I lounged around the beach for a couple days (sunbathing and playing in the ocean in January? Amazing!) and I may or may not have shopped just a little bit. :) The hostel I am staying at has so far been a pretty solid resource for meeting people. There's a cafe out front where there are always people from the hostel hanging out at, there's a few common tv/internet hang out rooms, and there's a bar in the basement that gets pretty wild later at night. I am in the "backpacker's ghetto" of Sydney, so pretty much wherever I go within a 1 mile radius I am destined to meet other backpackers who are doing the same thing I am.
Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you are reading this post) I am going to a 5-day Surf Camp. This camp takes me and a group of 60 people two hours outside of Sydney to a private beach where we surf all day and really get a good grasp on the sport. Everyone stays together in beach cabins that are only a few hundred feet from the beach, and every morning and every afternoon we are split into smaller groups of 8 and we are taught to surf. Who knows, maybe by the end of this camp I will be a pro surfer! However, if that doesn't happen, the best part about this camp will be that it is the same group of people for 5 days straight (not like a hostel where people are always coming and going) and I will be put into a situation where meeting people is almost forced on you.
Anyways, this has been a kind of broad overview of what has been going on with me here in Sydney. I hope that those who have been wondering, especially after my last less-positive post, have had their curiosity filled for the time being. The next post will probably be after surf camp, so I will be sure to give some more updates then! Hopefully I'll have some pictures uploaded next week as well, so for those who just want to skim my ramblings, there will be a visual to go along with! G'day!
This past week has been a whirlwind of sight-seeing, walking around the city, meeting people and remembering what hostel life was like. Aside from the now-and-then homesickness that creeps up on me every once in awhile, I have been keeping busy and having a lot of fun.
On my first full day in Sydney I had my orientation with the Work and Travel Company. This program has a really nice facility in the center of the city with free wi-fi, a travel desk which provides help with planning any trips around Australia I may want to take and a job resource center that is responsible for helping to place me with any temporary work that may come up. I have kind of put the job hunt on hold for the first few weeks while I'm here and trying to embrace the holiday part of my adventure and let myself be on vacation. After working for so long saving up for this trip. I think I deserve a little vacation before I jump back into the working world! Aside from the logistical help, the Work and Travel Company also serves as a resource for any help I may need with setting up a life here in Sydney--from finding a place to live to dealing with being homesick and so far away from home. It's actually very reassuring to know that at the end of the day, if I needed somebody to help me with any obstacle I feel like I can't handle on my own, they could help me out.
The rest of my days here in Sydney have been spent purely exploring the city and meeting people. I took a tour of the city, I lounged around the beach for a couple days (sunbathing and playing in the ocean in January? Amazing!) and I may or may not have shopped just a little bit. :) The hostel I am staying at has so far been a pretty solid resource for meeting people. There's a cafe out front where there are always people from the hostel hanging out at, there's a few common tv/internet hang out rooms, and there's a bar in the basement that gets pretty wild later at night. I am in the "backpacker's ghetto" of Sydney, so pretty much wherever I go within a 1 mile radius I am destined to meet other backpackers who are doing the same thing I am.
Tomorrow (or today, depending on when you are reading this post) I am going to a 5-day Surf Camp. This camp takes me and a group of 60 people two hours outside of Sydney to a private beach where we surf all day and really get a good grasp on the sport. Everyone stays together in beach cabins that are only a few hundred feet from the beach, and every morning and every afternoon we are split into smaller groups of 8 and we are taught to surf. Who knows, maybe by the end of this camp I will be a pro surfer! However, if that doesn't happen, the best part about this camp will be that it is the same group of people for 5 days straight (not like a hostel where people are always coming and going) and I will be put into a situation where meeting people is almost forced on you.
Anyways, this has been a kind of broad overview of what has been going on with me here in Sydney. I hope that those who have been wondering, especially after my last less-positive post, have had their curiosity filled for the time being. The next post will probably be after surf camp, so I will be sure to give some more updates then! Hopefully I'll have some pictures uploaded next week as well, so for those who just want to skim my ramblings, there will be a visual to go along with! G'day!
24 January 2012
Reporting from Sydney
G'day mates! For all those who don't know, or didn't guess, I have made it to Australia. 14 grueling hours later and I'm officially hanging out with the Aussies. Despite my anticipations about the miserable plane ride, it wasn't all that bad. Luckily I was able to half sleep/half doze for about the first 8-10 hours and after that the time flew by fairly quickly. Needless to say, I wasn't as miserable as I figured I would be. So that's the good news :)
So after experiencing my first full day of Sydney, and the best word to describe it would be overwhelming. I am staying at what looks like a pretty fun hostel. It is located in what seems like the center of the city--although I haven't really gotten a good lay of the land yet, so I may be wrong. The hostel is pretty large (7 stories of rooms of bunk beds in all) and is full of people all traveling and/or looking for jobs and pretty much doing what I'm doing. But arriving by myself, with no wing man or friends already waiting for me, I have to say it's pretty intimidating. And although I am sure plenty of people probably know exactly how I am feeling, from the outside it seems like everyone is settling in with ease and I just feel like a deer in the headlights. I definitely find myself feeling very alone. Which is ironic given how many people I'm surrounded by. I've met a few people so far, and hopefully that list will begin to grow, but after just the first day I find it hard to be optimistic. In reality, I am far more homesick then I anticipated I would be. I know this is just something I have to give time and let things fall into place, but it's definitely hard to find the calm in knowing things will work out when everything feels so big and over my head.
Today, I have my orientation with the program I came here with. I am hoping that this will help clear things up for me. I was jet-lagged and exhausted yesterday so I kind of holed up, so hopefully today I can explore and wander around and keep my mind off of the homesickness and the overwhelming feeling that felt like a gray cloud over my shoulder yesterday. Hopefully the next post will entail a little more excitement. G'day for now!
So after experiencing my first full day of Sydney, and the best word to describe it would be overwhelming. I am staying at what looks like a pretty fun hostel. It is located in what seems like the center of the city--although I haven't really gotten a good lay of the land yet, so I may be wrong. The hostel is pretty large (7 stories of rooms of bunk beds in all) and is full of people all traveling and/or looking for jobs and pretty much doing what I'm doing. But arriving by myself, with no wing man or friends already waiting for me, I have to say it's pretty intimidating. And although I am sure plenty of people probably know exactly how I am feeling, from the outside it seems like everyone is settling in with ease and I just feel like a deer in the headlights. I definitely find myself feeling very alone. Which is ironic given how many people I'm surrounded by. I've met a few people so far, and hopefully that list will begin to grow, but after just the first day I find it hard to be optimistic. In reality, I am far more homesick then I anticipated I would be. I know this is just something I have to give time and let things fall into place, but it's definitely hard to find the calm in knowing things will work out when everything feels so big and over my head.
Today, I have my orientation with the program I came here with. I am hoping that this will help clear things up for me. I was jet-lagged and exhausted yesterday so I kind of holed up, so hopefully today I can explore and wander around and keep my mind off of the homesickness and the overwhelming feeling that felt like a gray cloud over my shoulder yesterday. Hopefully the next post will entail a little more excitement. G'day for now!
04 January 2012
Airline Rant
So as today was my last day of work at Peet's, it really hit me that my trip is just around the corner. While I am ecstatic that my barista days under horrible management are finally behind me (with a good chunk of hard earned money to speak for it all), there is no more time to be too tired from those early 6am shifts to procrastinate any longer. It feels like there is still so much left for me to do to get ready to leave, but in just 18 days (ready or not) I will be flying across the Pacific Ocean. Emphasis on the flying situation.
As some may know, as a graduation present my parents gave me a round trip ticket to Australia. It was great to know that they actually supported my trip (regardless of their sly comments about how I should just stay and hang out with them in California) and this gift meant one less cost for my dream trip that I've been working so hard to save for. And while I do very much appreciate this gift, it meant that if dad is paying he's choosing how I get there. And unfortunately that means using miles and flying on what I consider the jankiest airline ever--United.
This is a flight of 14 hours and 37 minutes. I can't even comprehend what one person is supposed to do on a metal tube in the air for 15 hours. It would be nice if the airline provided some sort of entertainment help to assist the passengers in maintaining their sanity on such a long flight. But no, not United. As an economy passenger (including economy PLUS), that would just be asking way too much. So what do they give you for the almost 15 hours you're flying with them in economy? Some booze, some dinner, and FOUR MOVIES. Four movies?! Seriously?! And what do they plan to do for the 6 or 7 additional hours once the four movies run out?? Do they make a bowling alley down the aisles? Or should I just twiddle my thumbs once my laptop battery dies? Because, oh, did I mention, plugs for your laptop are only available in business and first class. Apparently, as United was "updating" their airplanes, they couldn't be bothered to move behind business class to install some extra plugs. Did they think us economy folk just happen to have these magical laptops that stay charged for 15 hours? Or maybe, they thought, that if you're flying in economy you just don't get bored. I beg to differ. I'm lucky they're even giving me some free wine to help me try to get an hour or two of sleep.
Oh Qantas Airlines, how I wish I could fly with you. Qantas has over 500 movies and 250 television shows to choose from in the on-demand entertainment that is provided to the entire plane--including economy! Did I mention that Qantas even has a self service snack bar? I guess it's official. Australia must really be better then America, all the way down to their airlines. I expect this to probably be one of the most painful 15 hours of my life thus far. And while I know a year in Australia will immensely outweigh the horrendous flight I must suffer through, those 15 hours are still required of me to even begin my adventure.
And so ends my rant; everything will be positive from here on out, I promise! (And Dad/Mom, if you're reading this, I promise I do totally appreciate the plane ticket, even if I am flying on disgusting United).
As some may know, as a graduation present my parents gave me a round trip ticket to Australia. It was great to know that they actually supported my trip (regardless of their sly comments about how I should just stay and hang out with them in California) and this gift meant one less cost for my dream trip that I've been working so hard to save for. And while I do very much appreciate this gift, it meant that if dad is paying he's choosing how I get there. And unfortunately that means using miles and flying on what I consider the jankiest airline ever--United.
This is a flight of 14 hours and 37 minutes. I can't even comprehend what one person is supposed to do on a metal tube in the air for 15 hours. It would be nice if the airline provided some sort of entertainment help to assist the passengers in maintaining their sanity on such a long flight. But no, not United. As an economy passenger (including economy PLUS), that would just be asking way too much. So what do they give you for the almost 15 hours you're flying with them in economy? Some booze, some dinner, and FOUR MOVIES. Four movies?! Seriously?! And what do they plan to do for the 6 or 7 additional hours once the four movies run out?? Do they make a bowling alley down the aisles? Or should I just twiddle my thumbs once my laptop battery dies? Because, oh, did I mention, plugs for your laptop are only available in business and first class. Apparently, as United was "updating" their airplanes, they couldn't be bothered to move behind business class to install some extra plugs. Did they think us economy folk just happen to have these magical laptops that stay charged for 15 hours? Or maybe, they thought, that if you're flying in economy you just don't get bored. I beg to differ. I'm lucky they're even giving me some free wine to help me try to get an hour or two of sleep.
Oh Qantas Airlines, how I wish I could fly with you. Qantas has over 500 movies and 250 television shows to choose from in the on-demand entertainment that is provided to the entire plane--including economy! Did I mention that Qantas even has a self service snack bar? I guess it's official. Australia must really be better then America, all the way down to their airlines. I expect this to probably be one of the most painful 15 hours of my life thus far. And while I know a year in Australia will immensely outweigh the horrendous flight I must suffer through, those 15 hours are still required of me to even begin my adventure.
And so ends my rant; everything will be positive from here on out, I promise! (And Dad/Mom, if you're reading this, I promise I do totally appreciate the plane ticket, even if I am flying on disgusting United).
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