So, I’ve been in Australia just over two weeks (neglected my writing for a while too, I apologise) and depending on the way you want to look at it, I’ve either done a little or I’ve done a lot.
My first day was spent in a shopping mall sorting out all the boring things that need to be sorted out when one moves away to work and travel. In true British style I queued. For hours. Not just to open a bank account but to purchase a SIM card so I could have an Australian phone number. I also queued in order to be told that a Tax File Number (NI Card equivalent) couldn’t be obtained from the Post Office but had to be applied for online. Great to see the art of queuing is alive and well on the other side of the world.
However, I persevered and managed to get things semi-sorted. My tax file number should be on its way soon, I have a bank account, an Australian phone number and my Medicare card (in case I need any legal drugs while I’m over here) is being processed as we speak.
I visited Australia Zoo where I petted a Kangeroo and hugged a Koala. I took a trip with my friend Nichola (whose hospitality I was enjoying) to Maleny and Montville. We also visited Mooloolaba beach and ate frozen yoghurt. I went to Tamborine Mountain and walked through the woods and I spent a lot of time walking around Brisbane, getting to grips with the city. But so far, that’s about it.
In the midst of all this unusually speedy organisation, considering I didn’t have any plan whatsoever, and in the days to follow, I kind of got to thinking; maybe I was born the wrong nationality; perhaps being Italian or Spanish would have suited me better as I seemed to have developed a penchant for the ‘bel far niente’, or the ‘beauty of doing nothing’ in Italian.
I came to Brisbane on 30th September and although I’ve done far from ‘literally nothing’, I haven’t for one, worked, I haven’t lifted a finger, I haven’t been out of my comfort zone and I haven’t broken a sweat. I’ve been quietly enjoying la dolce vita. I’ve enjoyed being a lady of leisure. I’ve enjoyed sitting in the sun, reading a book. I’ve enjoyed a mid-afternoon glass of wine and a stroll along the Brisbane River. Not once have I pined to be employed, or working, or earning money. I’ve been tranquil and calm and content. This won’t continue though; I have an active mind and I’ll soon get itchy feet, I just know it.
I do also understand that this phase of doing nothing can’t last forever. I have just moved out of Nichola’s place and am now paying to stay in a hostel in the city centre. I’ve partied with old friends from back home and spent money on eating out. It’s now time to get real and begin looking for work. I can’t enjoy the sweet life if I don’t have any money now can I? I updated my CV and checked out some ads on Gumtree. Deciding I’ll literally do anything (bar taking my clothes off for cash…more on that later) I started applying for bar work, café/barista work and waitressing; considering this is what I have most experience in I thought it’d be easiest to get into.
So this is where I bring you up to date. That ‘bel far niente’ I was talking about? Well yeah, of course that’s not me. I did think I’d enjoy being a complete lady of leisure, but you see, after a few weeks, it just gets a bit boring, especially when you’re on the other side of the world and don’t know anyone…
Since arriving in the hostel, I think I hit a bit of a slump. The room I was placed in had two English backpackers staying in it, both who worked full time (one who also had a job as a stripper at the weekend, I kid you not. Her parents must be so proud); and two young German lads who were also due to start working full time. There was no communal common room to go and sit in and mingle, and the hostel bar wasn’t strictly for guests; members of the public could drink there too, making it harder to distinguish who was a fellow traveller and who was a jobbing Aussie student. I felt a bit lost.
Although most of my time spent staying with Nichola had been filled with activities, even when she was at work, I knew I was coming home to someone I was familiar with and someone I could talk to. My weekends had been spent with an old school friend and his group of mates, so I’d never felt at a loss, I’d felt involved and happy. The first two days in the hostel though I honestly felt like an outsider, alone. It’s weird because that’s never happened to me before, on any of my past trips I’ve never struggled to click with someone, or find someone to converse with. There didn’t appear to be anywhere to ‘meet’ people here (Base Central, just for reference) and part of me began to crumble inside thinking ‘surely this can’t be it?’
I had such high expectations for Australia. In my mind, every minute would be spent doing something exciting and breathtaking; from skydiving, to snorkelling, to trips to Fraser Island, to Byron Beach and Surfers Paradise – I haven’t done any of that yet. That coupled with the fact that I hadn’t found a job and was wondering how hard it would be to land one, plus I had all my days free, with no-one to do anything with. I started to panic a little.
A quick Skype session with my mum and a conversation with Nichola soon changed my mind though. I had to remember, this wasn’t like any trip I’d been on before. This was a ‘working holiday’. I wasn’t restricted for time, I didn’t have to cram loads of activities into three weeks, I wasn’t going to be partying every night; this was going to be a change, a challenge and a test of character. I had to persevere. I had to push myself. I had to learn to be alone for a while and I had to enjoy my own company. I had to realise that I would have to do things on my own and that there wouldn’t be any problem with that at all.
On the second night in the hostel, I got chatting to some people after watching a film in the lounge area. They seemed nice enough and were friendly and some of them were in the same boat as me; looking for work, or working already. On the third day I decided to join the free walking tour and luckily met two German girls who had decided to stay in Brisbane until Christmas time and were also looking for work, again, just like me. We ended up having some dinner together and then went to the hostel bar and had a few drinks and did a bit of dancing, as you do. Things weren’t seeming too shabby after all.
To top it all off, I had two interviews within a week of each other and was offered both jobs. I decided to take both of them and I am due to start the first one tomorrow (Thursday 16th October). The cash will start rolling in, I won’t have to worry about filling my time and I am bound to meet more people through work. I’ve also decided to switch rooms and try to share with the German girls. In addition to this, my friend Andy has bought us tickets to a festival at the beginning of December (Stereosonic) and I’m also attending Laneway festival in Sydney in February. All in all, a complete u-turn.
To round it all off then, my first two weeks in Australia have been a mixed bag and certainly varied. I’ve experienced a range of emotions and have questioned my motives more than once. I’ve also learned that maybe sometimes my expectations are set a little too high, and I should learn to go with the flow a bit more. I’ve realised that this trip isn’t going to be a walk in the park; there will be days when I have amazing experiences and go on trips of a lifetime, taking in sights and basking in the fun of a different way of life. There’ll also be down days where not much will be happening, where I will have no-one to chat to and I suppose, in a way, I will have to learn to perfect that ‘bel far niente’.
Chasing Amy-Lou 