After my first week in Australia I wrote in my journal: "It strikes me that I have traveled all the way to the other side of the world only to run into people who are doing the same thing as me. Australia is the perfect place for first-world babies to extend their youth. It is as if this country was built for backpackers who need temporary cell phones, jobs, housing and bank accounts."
Now, I think that Australia is that and much much more. There is an air of accessibility here that is foreign to the United States. If you want a job you can get one. If you want an education you can do that too. Universities aren't free but they are extremely affordable. There is no fear of unemployment and impending failure so there is no temptation to extend your youth through excessive schooling and living off the parents. Australia is a place where you really can do the dishes to pay for your meal and clean the floors to pay for a place to sleep.
The hostels here are overflowing with Western Europeans. At first I thought that most of them were here doing gap years or enjoying those long holidays that Americans are always envious of, but actually a lot of them are here to work. With the rest of the first world in crises Australia has become an economic oasis. As my Brazilian friend said, "When you have people trying to immigrate here from Switzerland you know that it's a good place to live." Yet, oddly enough, there are very few Americans out here. In fact, this is the only place that I have ever traveled where people guess that I am Canadian before they ask if I am from the United States. I feel as if I stumbled upon a secret that the rest of my country knows nothing about.
To be fair, the job market in Australia is not easy for everyone to break into. Fluency in English is extremely important. I have been told so many times by Estelle and by my roommates how lucky I am to be a native English speaker. It is also much easier to find a job in Australia if you are in your twenties. This is simply because the older you are the harder it is to get a work visa and you need a work visa for all legal employment. So, to qualify my above statements: if you are 18-31 and fluent in English, Australia is an amazing place to be.
I am currently training for a fundraising job. Yes, I am one of those annoying people who tries to get you to donate money in the street. No, I do not work on commission. This is just such a legitimate company that I feel like I have to give it a shot. The company is called Public Outreach. It is based in Canada and has been in Australia for three years. Public Outreach fund raises for really well-known charities such as: Save the Children, Oxfam, and the Australian Conservation Foundation. For every $1 donated less than 18 cents goes to company costs, meaning 82 cents goes to the charity. Yet, somehow they manage to pay workers a living wage (it pays more than my bar job...what?) Anyway they are just branching out to San Francisco and LA so you should look them up if you get the chance. http://www.publicoutreachgroup.com/
So right now, I am working part time for the bar job and part time for Public Outreach. I need to save money to continue my Adventures on Walk About...wow I used the name. Anyway, I will still try and blog as much as I can. :)
Saturday 29 October 2011
Sunday 23 October 2011
Apartment/Job
Today is October 23rd, exactly one month since I first arrived in Australia. I have done so many things and met so many people in the last month that September 23rd seems like forever ago. I realize that I have neglected to write much since I arrived in Sydney -- honestly it is because I started panicking a bit. I got to Sydney a week ago and everyone was warning me that come summer all of the backpackers would arrive and hostels would be unaffordable and I might not be able to find a job. So of course, ah this is so typical of me, I thought: oh no what if I can't find a job or a place to live and I have to fly back to the Bay Area without ever making it to Melbourne or Tazmania and I fail at life and end up crying in some sad corner of the world...so I went obsessively house and job hunting and I actually found both within six days, which I think is somewhat of a record -- though I am still looking for a second job.
I found the job yesterday, completely by happenstance. I was walking by and I randomly decided to stop into a downstairs bar/restaurant. This is how the conversation went:
Me (in a really cheery voice): Hi, I was walking by and this looks like such a cool place. I am just wondering if you are hiring
Manager: Yes we are. Do you have experience?
Me: Yeah totally
Manager: Come in at nine for a trial and if it works out your hired.
I know what!?
So, it turns out that this place has only been open for three weeks and they just started looking for people, which is lucky because I just randomly came across it but unlucky because it is only open Wednesday through Saturday and I don't even know how many hours I can get. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. During my trial I made about a million dumb mistakes: I got confused about prices, pressed the wrong buttons on the register, gave some people too much foam, not enough foam (though apparently the amount of foam you like is related to your nationality: I gave this Dutch guy what I thought was way too much foam -- it rose like a half inch over the glass -- and he looked so happy that I think he actually fell in love with me for a second). The worst mistake that I made was confusing the lemonade with really cheap margarita mix. I don't think that a vodka margarita mix is a very good drink. Anyway,I worked alongside this awesome British girl who was totally patient and taught me everything, and the most beautiful and ridiculous thing about the whole situation is that the manager was running around the whole time and didn't seem to notice any of the mistakes that I made. At the end of the day he said that I was hired but we still need to work out hours (which means I probably need to get a second job) but whatever. It restored my faith in my Sydney job search.
Now, about the apartment. I found it on Gumtree (the Australian version of Craigslist). It is an awesome high rise building with a rooftop pool right in the cool gay area of the CBD. I am paying a little bit less than I was at HQ and once prices go up it will be a lot less. I live with three Turkish university students. They read the Koran obsessively, get angry when I bare my shoulders, and pray facing Mecca six times daily (kidding -- there are so many stupid stereotypes about Islamic people.) They are actually super chill and open minded. I met them a few days ago and this guys Korean girlfriend made everyone dinner. That is when I decided I could stay for a few months.
I moved in this morning. My hostel friends are all surprised that I am leaving because most people talk about finding a place but take about a month to actually move out. Estelle hasn't even searched for a job or an apartment yet, she just laughs at my stress and says, "Lili, you are so silly. It will work out." Maybe Europeans and Australians are more relaxed than Americans. I feel like I am the only person that worries in this entire country...oh well, there is always room for growth.
I found the job yesterday, completely by happenstance. I was walking by and I randomly decided to stop into a downstairs bar/restaurant. This is how the conversation went:
Me (in a really cheery voice): Hi, I was walking by and this looks like such a cool place. I am just wondering if you are hiring
Manager: Yes we are. Do you have experience?
Me: Yeah totally
Manager: Come in at nine for a trial and if it works out your hired.
I know what!?
So, it turns out that this place has only been open for three weeks and they just started looking for people, which is lucky because I just randomly came across it but unlucky because it is only open Wednesday through Saturday and I don't even know how many hours I can get. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. During my trial I made about a million dumb mistakes: I got confused about prices, pressed the wrong buttons on the register, gave some people too much foam, not enough foam (though apparently the amount of foam you like is related to your nationality: I gave this Dutch guy what I thought was way too much foam -- it rose like a half inch over the glass -- and he looked so happy that I think he actually fell in love with me for a second). The worst mistake that I made was confusing the lemonade with really cheap margarita mix. I don't think that a vodka margarita mix is a very good drink. Anyway,I worked alongside this awesome British girl who was totally patient and taught me everything, and the most beautiful and ridiculous thing about the whole situation is that the manager was running around the whole time and didn't seem to notice any of the mistakes that I made. At the end of the day he said that I was hired but we still need to work out hours (which means I probably need to get a second job) but whatever. It restored my faith in my Sydney job search.
Now, about the apartment. I found it on Gumtree (the Australian version of Craigslist). It is an awesome high rise building with a rooftop pool right in the cool gay area of the CBD. I am paying a little bit less than I was at HQ and once prices go up it will be a lot less. I live with three Turkish university students. They read the Koran obsessively, get angry when I bare my shoulders, and pray facing Mecca six times daily (kidding -- there are so many stupid stereotypes about Islamic people.) They are actually super chill and open minded. I met them a few days ago and this guys Korean girlfriend made everyone dinner. That is when I decided I could stay for a few months.
I moved in this morning. My hostel friends are all surprised that I am leaving because most people talk about finding a place but take about a month to actually move out. Estelle hasn't even searched for a job or an apartment yet, she just laughs at my stress and says, "Lili, you are so silly. It will work out." Maybe Europeans and Australians are more relaxed than Americans. I feel like I am the only person that worries in this entire country...oh well, there is always room for growth.
Tuesday 18 October 2011
Sydney day 3. Australia day 25...I think
When I wrote my last entry I had just gotten to Port Macquarie. Later that day we visited the koala hospital. This was an uplifting experience because I was beginning to think that traveling to Australia expecting to see a koala was as misguided as flying to California in hopes of spotting a movie star -- though I suppose visiting a koala hospital is a bit like cheating, like going to a book signing or a live concert. Anyways the koalas were really cute.
Our next stop after Port Macquarie was the Hunter Valley wine country, which was not nearly as pretty as California wine country but all snobbery aside it was a good experience.
We got into Sydney the next morning. Estelle and I had already booked a week in a hostel that her boyfriend's friend works at. The hostel is called HQ Backpackers. It is only two months old, located right near the center of town, and incredibly clean. In fact, after two weeks in the orphanage and a week of car camping, HQ feels like some sort of communal luxury hotel. Everything is shinning wood floors, brown pleather furniture, and bright orange doors. As the English would say: looks pretty smart eh?
Anyway, the big downside to this hostel is that the internet here SUCKS but I am trying to make it work so bear with me. <3
We got into Sydney the next morning. Estelle and I had already booked a week in a hostel that her boyfriend's friend works at. The hostel is called HQ Backpackers. It is only two months old, located right near the center of town, and incredibly clean. In fact, after two weeks in the orphanage and a week of car camping, HQ feels like some sort of communal luxury hotel. Everything is shinning wood floors, brown pleather furniture, and bright orange doors. As the English would say: looks pretty smart eh?
Anyway, the big downside to this hostel is that the internet here SUCKS but I am trying to make it work so bear with me. <3
Thursday 13 October 2011
Byron Bay, Nimbin, Coffs Harbor, Port Macquarie
Would you rather drink a pint of Victoria Bitter or Carlton Draft?
Would you rather pay $1 for Coles white bread or $4.50 for a loaf of multigrain?
Would you rather listen to Down Under by Men at Work five times in a row or an entire Beyonce album?
Would you rather buy a digital camera with a really good zoom or one with a panoramic option?
Would you rather stay in a hostel for $20 per night or camp out for free? Even if your only shower options are freezing cold beach showers?
Would you rather travel with one person you really really like and one person you can not stand or two mediocre people who you don't really care if you keep in touch with?
My Answers: Victoria Bitter, multi grain, Down Under, panoramic, camp, one person you love and one person you can't stand (hate is a bonding experience)
In my last entry I did not do Byron Bay justice. The town might be a Santa Barbra-Santa Cruz-Point Reyes Station but the coastline is 100,000 times more fantastic than any coastline I have ever been to. This is a low--tide season so the waves roll in thin smooth layers that seamlessly glide back down shore. From the coastline you can spot dolphins and humpback whales and the water sparkles like blue magic under the hot Australian sun. I splurged on a half-day guided kayaking trip (they don't rent out kayaks in Byron because of ocean dangers and stupid things tourists do with animals so you have to do a guided tour.) It was AWESOME. We paddled up to groups of whales and dolphins as they happily swam through the clear ocean waters. The guide said that it was the clearest visibility day that he had seen in months!
At night we went to Cheeky Monkeys, a famous backpacker bar/restaurant with an awesome $6 dinner special: a pretty good steak, chips (french fries), salad, and a pint...I know awesome right?! (and no, in case you were wondering I am not a vegetarian anymore). At night they have stupid games where you can win prizes. Two people got close to naked on stage to win a scuba diving trip. Later bar filled up with backpackers and by midnight everyone was dancing on tables to popular American music.
All in all Byron Bay was AMAZING DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE PLACE SO FAR...DONT YOU HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS?
The next morning we left Byron Bay. Our first stop was Nimbin. Nimbim is a little hippie town in the middle of no where. Its only selling points are drug tourism and the spectacle of drug tourism - people either go there to buy drugs or to ogle at the weed positive culture. Going to Nimbin with Estella and Rhys made me realize two things: 1. how unfazed I am by stoned - tie dye wearing - mate drinking - hippies and 2. how uncomfortable they make most of the world. Nimbin is one of those towns with so many high people that walking around sober makes you feel slightly paranoid, as if you are on the wrong level to understand your surroundings. After about an hour of walking the town (which is only about five or six blocks) Estella and Rhys wanted to leave because the town made them feel uncomfortable and I wanted to leave because I found it a bit boring.
Our next stop was Coffs Harbor. We stayed there for all of five minutes to take a picture with The Big Banana. From what I saw, Coffs Harbor is made up of strip malls and a big banana plantation so that is pretty much all there is to do there. After a great photo shoot (I am being sarcastic - it was cold and I had to pee) we hopped back in the car and headed all the way to Port Macquarie, which is where I am now. From what I have seen so far Port Macquarie is a step up from Coffs Harbor...maybe a small step...but there is a Koala Hospital and we are camping near the beach so life could be a lot worse :)
Would you rather pay $1 for Coles white bread or $4.50 for a loaf of multigrain?
Would you rather listen to Down Under by Men at Work five times in a row or an entire Beyonce album?
Would you rather buy a digital camera with a really good zoom or one with a panoramic option?
Would you rather stay in a hostel for $20 per night or camp out for free? Even if your only shower options are freezing cold beach showers?
Would you rather travel with one person you really really like and one person you can not stand or two mediocre people who you don't really care if you keep in touch with?
My Answers: Victoria Bitter, multi grain, Down Under, panoramic, camp, one person you love and one person you can't stand (hate is a bonding experience)
In my last entry I did not do Byron Bay justice. The town might be a Santa Barbra-Santa Cruz-Point Reyes Station but the coastline is 100,000 times more fantastic than any coastline I have ever been to. This is a low--tide season so the waves roll in thin smooth layers that seamlessly glide back down shore. From the coastline you can spot dolphins and humpback whales and the water sparkles like blue magic under the hot Australian sun. I splurged on a half-day guided kayaking trip (they don't rent out kayaks in Byron because of ocean dangers and stupid things tourists do with animals so you have to do a guided tour.) It was AWESOME. We paddled up to groups of whales and dolphins as they happily swam through the clear ocean waters. The guide said that it was the clearest visibility day that he had seen in months!
At night we went to Cheeky Monkeys, a famous backpacker bar/restaurant with an awesome $6 dinner special: a pretty good steak, chips (french fries), salad, and a pint...I know awesome right?! (and no, in case you were wondering I am not a vegetarian anymore). At night they have stupid games where you can win prizes. Two people got close to naked on stage to win a scuba diving trip. Later bar filled up with backpackers and by midnight everyone was dancing on tables to popular American music.
All in all Byron Bay was AMAZING DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE PLACE SO FAR...DONT YOU HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE WRITE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS?
The next morning we left Byron Bay. Our first stop was Nimbin. Nimbim is a little hippie town in the middle of no where. Its only selling points are drug tourism and the spectacle of drug tourism - people either go there to buy drugs or to ogle at the weed positive culture. Going to Nimbin with Estella and Rhys made me realize two things: 1. how unfazed I am by stoned - tie dye wearing - mate drinking - hippies and 2. how uncomfortable they make most of the world. Nimbin is one of those towns with so many high people that walking around sober makes you feel slightly paranoid, as if you are on the wrong level to understand your surroundings. After about an hour of walking the town (which is only about five or six blocks) Estella and Rhys wanted to leave because the town made them feel uncomfortable and I wanted to leave because I found it a bit boring.
Our next stop was Coffs Harbor. We stayed there for all of five minutes to take a picture with The Big Banana. From what I saw, Coffs Harbor is made up of strip malls and a big banana plantation so that is pretty much all there is to do there. After a great photo shoot (I am being sarcastic - it was cold and I had to pee) we hopped back in the car and headed all the way to Port Macquarie, which is where I am now. From what I have seen so far Port Macquarie is a step up from Coffs Harbor...maybe a small step...but there is a Koala Hospital and we are camping near the beach so life could be a lot worse :)
Monday 10 October 2011
Day, what day is it again?
When I left Brisbane it was pouring outside -- that incombatable tropical rain that saturates everything. Everyone in the orphanage was hungover from a big Friday night. As I packed to make check out, my friends were pushing beds together -- setting up to watch a marathon of Geordie Shore. It was a sad goodbye...but I guess that is the backpacking lifestyle. We made vague plans to meet up later in the season, and I set off for the Gold Coast.
Right now I am traveling with Rhys, a slightly awkward Aussie guy with an afinity for junk food and the musical taste of a tweenage girl, and Estelle, an awesome Belgian girl who is on the same page with me about nearly everything. So far we have hit up Surfers Paradise (party central), Lamington National Park (rain forest), and now we are in Byron Bay (hippie beach town). We will probably be in Byron for a few days so I will write when I get internet access again.
Right now I am traveling with Rhys, a slightly awkward Aussie guy with an afinity for junk food and the musical taste of a tweenage girl, and Estelle, an awesome Belgian girl who is on the same page with me about nearly everything. So far we have hit up Surfers Paradise (party central), Lamington National Park (rain forest), and now we are in Byron Bay (hippie beach town). We will probably be in Byron for a few days so I will write when I get internet access again.
Saturday 8 October 2011
Day Fifteen - Leaving Brisbane
England: What's his name?
Me: Rice
England: There is no way. How does he spell it?
Me: R-h-y-s
England: His name is Reese you idiot
Me: Then how come when I met him he said, "I'm Rhyce"
England: That's how you say Reese with an Australian accent. I can't believe you were going to travel with this guy and call him Rice the whole time.
Me: Whatever
Me: Rice
England: There is no way. How does he spell it?
Me: R-h-y-s
England: His name is Reese you idiot
Me: Then how come when I met him he said, "I'm Rhyce"
England: That's how you say Reese with an Australian accent. I can't believe you were going to travel with this guy and call him Rice the whole time.
Me: Whatever
Monday 3 October 2011
Day Ten
Today is my tenth day in Brissy - that's the name the locals call Brisbane. I like it because it reminds me of a nick name that an English grandmother would give to a toddler, as in: "Not now Brissy, wait for supper." Brisbane is a very livable city. Anyway, since it is pouring rain outside, today is a great opportunity to relax in an alley way coffee shop and describe my experience in some detail.
The Central Business District is a grid and street names run in alphabetical order with female names going north-south and male names running east-west. So if someone asks you to take Anne Street to George Street the directions are pretty easy to follow. There are several transit options around the city. There is the bus, which I have never taken; the ferry, which I have taken once but cannot tell you much about aside from the fact that it is really cool; and the train, which I have have only taken twice, once was from the airport and the other time was on a drunken mission to Fortitude Valley so the only things that I can tell you about the train with certainty are that it is clean and I think it runs until around midnight? Anyway, by now I am pretty familiar with the city. I know where I can find cheap sushi, $6 for four rolls (downstairs in the food court on Queens Street Mon-Wed from 5-5:30); the cheapest beer (the hostel bar during happy hour Victoria Bitter $8.50 a pitcher - here they call it a jug); and even a bolted outdoor cliff side (Kangaroo Point).
The hostel that I live in is called Brisbane City Backpackers (http://www.citybackpackers.com/). It is a large complex complete with free wifi, rooftop city views, tanning decks, a bar, movie room and a pool that no one ever goes in. My bed is located in room 40, a thirty bed dungeon my Canadian friend and I fondly refer to as "the Orphanage." The room's inhabitants are mostly long-termers, backpackers who have lived here for multiple months, so it is a mystery as to everyone how Canada and I slipped into the room. One of the long-termers is a guy from Canada who makes a six-figure income and yet decides to live in the social setting of the hostel. This all sounds great, but the other day he was complaining to me that he couldn't find a girlfriend, to which I replied bluntly "Well if a guy took me home and his house happened to be a thirty bed hostel room full of smelly backpackers...I would leave."
My core group of acquaintances here consist of two Canadians, two English guys, two
Swedish guys, and a Scottish guy, most of whom barely leave the Orphanage, which is comfortably reminiscent of some of my friends back home (you know who you are :)) In the morning they lie around, making fun of each other and generally talking shit. Fast foreword to six hours later: they are in the same position only a fresh bottle of Goon has miraculously appeared to join the party. They have recently developed the habit of posting up around the same two bunk beds so it is not uncommon for me to return from exploring or climbing at Kangaroo Point to find a couple of British guys chilling on my bed. Their excuse for laziness: they have been traveling for six months, however I have the sneaking suspicion that they have been living the same way since they got to Australia.
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Yesterday was my first excursion out of the city. This Australian guy took me to Mt. Warning, about two hours south in Wollumbin National Park just across the boarder in New South Whales. We powered through the 8.8km hike in about three hours The first part of the trail climbed through beautiful rain forest. This is not a dense canopied forest like the Amazon, but rather an open forest with an abundance of palm trees, ferns, and thick burnt orange trunks with bark so lightweight a chunk breaks like driftwood under your fingers. As the trail climbs, the forest loses density and the last km consists of following a metal chain up a somewhat steep rock face (not steep for climbers, but steep for everyone else). From the peak of Mt. Warning, I could see across green undulating hillsides, all the way out to the coastline.
The Central Business District is a grid and street names run in alphabetical order with female names going north-south and male names running east-west. So if someone asks you to take Anne Street to George Street the directions are pretty easy to follow. There are several transit options around the city. There is the bus, which I have never taken; the ferry, which I have taken once but cannot tell you much about aside from the fact that it is really cool; and the train, which I have have only taken twice, once was from the airport and the other time was on a drunken mission to Fortitude Valley so the only things that I can tell you about the train with certainty are that it is clean and I think it runs until around midnight? Anyway, by now I am pretty familiar with the city. I know where I can find cheap sushi, $6 for four rolls (downstairs in the food court on Queens Street Mon-Wed from 5-5:30); the cheapest beer (the hostel bar during happy hour Victoria Bitter $8.50 a pitcher - here they call it a jug); and even a bolted outdoor cliff side (Kangaroo Point).
The hostel that I live in is called Brisbane City Backpackers (http://www.citybackpackers.com/). It is a large complex complete with free wifi, rooftop city views, tanning decks, a bar, movie room and a pool that no one ever goes in. My bed is located in room 40, a thirty bed dungeon my Canadian friend and I fondly refer to as "the Orphanage." The room's inhabitants are mostly long-termers, backpackers who have lived here for multiple months, so it is a mystery as to everyone how Canada and I slipped into the room. One of the long-termers is a guy from Canada who makes a six-figure income and yet decides to live in the social setting of the hostel. This all sounds great, but the other day he was complaining to me that he couldn't find a girlfriend, to which I replied bluntly "Well if a guy took me home and his house happened to be a thirty bed hostel room full of smelly backpackers...I would leave."
My core group of acquaintances here consist of two Canadians, two English guys, two
Swedish guys, and a Scottish guy, most of whom barely leave the Orphanage, which is comfortably reminiscent of some of my friends back home (you know who you are :)) In the morning they lie around, making fun of each other and generally talking shit. Fast foreword to six hours later: they are in the same position only a fresh bottle of Goon has miraculously appeared to join the party. They have recently developed the habit of posting up around the same two bunk beds so it is not uncommon for me to return from exploring or climbing at Kangaroo Point to find a couple of British guys chilling on my bed. Their excuse for laziness: they have been traveling for six months, however I have the sneaking suspicion that they have been living the same way since they got to Australia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yesterday was my first excursion out of the city. This Australian guy took me to Mt. Warning, about two hours south in Wollumbin National Park just across the boarder in New South Whales. We powered through the 8.8km hike in about three hours The first part of the trail climbed through beautiful rain forest. This is not a dense canopied forest like the Amazon, but rather an open forest with an abundance of palm trees, ferns, and thick burnt orange trunks with bark so lightweight a chunk breaks like driftwood under your fingers. As the trail climbs, the forest loses density and the last km consists of following a metal chain up a somewhat steep rock face (not steep for climbers, but steep for everyone else). From the peak of Mt. Warning, I could see across green undulating hillsides, all the way out to the coastline.
On the way back from Wollumbin, we took a detour through the Gold Coast so I could get a taste of the glitzy, Surfers Paradise. Since I arrived in Queensland I have heard a lot of people equate the Gold Coast to Miami Beach, and..well.they were right: the Gold Coast is just like Miami, there is even an area called "Miami Beach." Regardless, it was amazing to see the ocean again. I missed ominous waves, the site of the horizon and the view to infinity.
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