Chasing Amy-Lou

Christmas is well and truly over. New Year celebrations have been and gone and it’s now the beginning of February; 2015 is in full flow, and surprisingly (or maybe not) I find myself in a place called Orange in central NSW.

The decision to come to Orange was not one I made on a whim. I pondered over it for a fair few days, deciding whether or not it would be a good idea. I had been in Sydney for three weeks, I’d had a blast, made some new friends and ticked another few items off my Australian bucket list (Hunter Wine Valley tour, Blue Mountains, a day at Summer Bay, the Sydney Harbour Bridge). I wasn’t however, convinced that Sydney was a place I wanted to remain and find work.

Vast as it is, with opportunities around every corner; fast-paced and bustling, not unlike London (if somewhat smaller, I felt), I failed to connect with Sydney in the way I’d maybe hoped. The city was alive with activity, busy and exciting but in a similar vain to Brisbane, I found it to be less appealing than I’d hoped.

Whereas Brisbane had been small, I had almost felt welcome in the city. It had at times felt like home and it would be an easy place in which to live. Sydney, for me, felt like a place I’d much rather visit for a few days than settle there. Disappointed as I was with these emotions, I didn’t rule out the option of looking for work here. I enrolled on an RSA/RCG course which would enable me to work in bars and establishments that required gambling knowledge and I handed out my CV to various pubs around the city.

Not wanting to limit myself to staying in Sydney, I grilled the boys about finding work in their hometown of Orange. One said he’d possibly be able to get me a few shifts at the local sports club (Waratahs) and another mentioned that his mum may be able to set me up with some work within their family business. Now, I’ve had experience of relying upon friends for work before, and great as their intentions might be, it doesn’t always work out in the way one would hope. If the boys couldn’t help me out and employment in Orange looked bleak, I’d be faced with being extremely bored in a small country town, the prospect of returning to Sydney a genuine reality, and once again, the hunt for work a soul destroying chore.

Therefore, I scoured the internet for positions available in Orange; I looked into Au Pair work and also searched for fruit picking jobs which would enable me to attain my second year visa. During this time, I kept seeing signs for Orange everywhere I looked: buses with the word Orange written on the side; wine I had with a meal from the vineyards of Orange; even the colour Orange. Surely it was a sign? And after almost four months of hoping something in my travels would go my way, I couldn’t ignore it. The search however, was futile, until, one day, one of the boys sent me a link to a recently placed ad on Gumtree. It was for a three month bar maid position in a place called Hotel Orange. The position carried with it attractive elements: live-in, a bar tab for food and drink each week, a weekly wage and the opportunity to do some work on their farm which would, in turn, grant me my second year visa. It seemed too good to be true.

Not wanting to waste the opportunity, I took the bull by the horns and seized the day, Carpe Diem, so they say! Phoning the Hotel straight away I received a positive response from the management and organised a trial shift for the coming Saturday. And the rest, as they say, is history.

So here I am, in Orange, in my third week of employment and actually, genuinely, happier than I have been for a while. The place I’m living is ok, it’s no Buckingham Palace but it will do for the next three months. The hours are long and there’s no give with having weekends off (which is a ballache as I quite fancied getting on the piss with the lads on a Saturday night). The food I’m provided with is better than I’ve experienced over the last four months; the gym I’ve joined is decent, and will hopefully help in shedding the ten pounds I’ve put on since my travels began; Orange is small and there’s not much to do but get this: I’m surrounded by my friends. Genuine friends. Something I’ve been missing for quite some time. Even though I won’t get to spend that much time with the boys, knowing that they’re there, knowing that their hospitality is available to me whenever I want is a comfort and a blessing. The kindness of strangers over the last month or so has been astounding. Something that I will take from my travels is how genuinely open, kind and accommodating people can be. The boys have been nothing but diamonds since we met at New Year and I will be forever in their debt. I can’t have wished for a better group of people to have around me; their support and generosity knowing no bounds. It’s acts like these that make travelling a worthwhile experience.

Well, back to Orange. What can I say about it? It’s small put it that way. I don’t know how small I was expecting it to be but it probably wasn’t this small. For a place with 40,000 plus people though, it ain’t so bad. Orange sits in central New South Wales, about three hours west of Sydney, having to drive through the Blue Mountains to get to it. It has the highest mountain in Australia: Mount Canobolas and also has a lake which takes the same name: Lake Canobolas. I was told on good merit that Orange was originally supposed to be the Capital of Australia, sitting between rivals Sydney and Melbourne. However, due to lack of water resources the town was unable to take the accolade and Canberra was built instead.

So far I’ve discovered that Orange has one main street, Summer Street which houses clothes stores, department stores, coffee shops and pubs. Orange has a lot of coffee shops and pubs. There’s also a cinema, a bowling alley and a number of gyms; about eight cricket teams and similar figures for local football (soccer) teams. It hosts a food and wine week in March/April and has a number of lovely parks. While the CBD (if you can call it that, as I feel slightly cheated using the term) is pretty small, the surrounding residential areas of Orange stretch a surprisingly long way. The houses are mainly all one storey; something I’ve had to get my head around in Australia (hardly anybody lives in two storey houses) and have quite a bit of land to them; no tightly packed, two-up two-downs out here.

There’s also a difference in atmosphere; people talk to each other in Orange. People know one another. There’s less animosity of a major city and for that reason I feel quite comfortable and at home here. Orange is also growing, being one of the fastest developing cities in Australia. I wouldn’t quite call it home just yet but knowing I have a job, a place to live and a network of people around me makes it so much easier. I’m also living among real Australians. I’m experiencing what it’s actually like to live here as opposed to just backpacking and surrounding myself with tourists and travellers.

I spent Australia Day with my friends; we drank beer, had a BBQ, listened to Triple J’s Hottest 100 (an annual tradition) and played cricket. I work with Australians; I serve Australians and I mix with them every day. To me, this is part of why I came here, to get a feel for the Australian way of life. In the coming weeks I’m hoping to take a trip to Federal Falls for an arduous bush walk with the guys. I’m wanting to visit Lake Canobolos and Mount Canobolos and I’m hoping to spend time watching some of the lads play cricket.

Although I’m not driving through the outback in a rented car, although I’m not surfing at Bondi Beach or doing farm work in the middle of nowhere, even though I’m not seeing some of the sights most people would associate with Australia, I am experiencing it in my own way. I’m doing it for myself and I’m liking the fact that my life for the next few months will be lived out in bright Orange.