Don't think I've posted my "Oz journal" in a while, so...
Here's the obligatory update... going back to the beginning of March, because it's been awhile...
March 2-5
Went out with Flame (the Italian girl, whose actual name is Fiammetta. It’s Flame in Italian…) and handed out some resumes, and looked at some house ads. Got a killed blister from the “work shoes” I bought. Then went back, changed clothes and met Leon at Central Station. Went to Williamstown and looked at the house and around the town, which was nice. They were all art students so that was even better. Leon said I sounded Canadian (Hahahaha). He lived in Canada for awhile so… okay. Maybe I’m a secret Canadian. Why else would everyone say that to me, even in America? Anyway, he said it was actually up to his room mate Rob who got to move in so I thanked him for showing me around and went back to the hostel.
The next day, I went with Mel, Ally and Jo (the Kiwi and 2 N. Irish girls), and we saw the Melbourne Police Museum. The wind was HOT and TERRIBLE and apparently the risk of brush fire was really high. I almost got blown away walking back to the hostel! Went on line and searched for a job. Didn’t do much else because my internet ran out and now I’m going to start paying for it again, poo. Then we went to see the comedy night down the street. The comedians were really hit or miss, but they did enjoy making fun of backpackers. The night didn’t end well, as it resulted in a walk back to the hostel that was both very cold and very wet.
On the 4th, weather was freezing, so we stayed in and watched “The Dark Knight.” Also, it was laundry day, so not much exciting happened. I did get a text from Leon that a friend of theirs was taking to room, so Mel, who is staying in Melbourne probably for good, Flame, who is on a visa like me, and I decided we’re probably better off looking for a place to share together. I have enough money to last another month or two with careful spending, but if I can’t find anything within another two weeks, I’m considering fruit picking or going to jilleroo school. Then I could ride horses and herd sheep. Yeehaw!
Right now that sounds much more tempting than being in Melbourne. There’s a lot on interesting things in Melbourne, but the weather’s been bad almost constantly and it just feel dirty, probably because of the fires kicking ash into the air.
Job hunted @ IEP, then went back to YHA and got ready for “Dracula’s Cabaret” which was a sort of comedy, musical, dinner show set in a haunted house type venue. Kind of campy, but very cool. It also had a train ride, good food, and was highly entertaining. If you’re in Melbourne, I recommend it.
March 6-9
I really didn’t want to get up on Friday, so I took my time getting ready, then wandered around town for a few hours and handed out resumes. Most people I asked just gave me funny looks, then said “It’s because of the recession.“ Around 3.30 I went back to the hostel, changed clothes, then went to see “Watchmen” with Ally and Jo at the IMAX. Pretty cool. I’ve never seen a feature film on IMAX, so now all I have to wonder is what it would be like on Omnimax, hahaha. The movie was long, so I got back to the hostel around 9, wanted to go to bed, or read quietly for a little while, but got abducted by Fiammetta and the Italian boys (Paulo and Roberto) and ended up at a bar with my sketchbook and everyone had a good time doodling in it.
Next day, I got up and had to check out of YHA. Took two trips because that busted wheel is getting to be a real hindrance. The new hostel is kind of a dive for the price of it. It smells funny, is dark and gloomy and kind of dirty, and the kitchen sucks. Oddly, though, with the exception of the flush machination, the bathrooms are the nicest I’ve seen in any of the hostels. So that makes up for something.
BTW, in Australia, because of the water restrictions, most of the toilets have the option of either full or half flush. This hostel only has a full flush option and most of the toilets get stuck on flush here… so I guess this place is bad for the environment too, ha-ha.
Went up to the hospital and applied for a job there, then met up with Jo, Ally and Mel. Hung out, then ended up at the bar under the new hostel. Was actually pretty boring. There are no good dancing places that I’ve found yet in Melbourne. Makes me sort of miss Side Bar. “I just gotta dance!”
Decided that Sunday and Monday are going to be relaxing days because I’ve had a very tiring week, and nothing seems to be open on Sundays, and Monday is Labour Day here, so nothing’s open. Took the laptop to Mickey D’s and leeched some internet. Looked for a place to stay and more jobs. I’m convinced I need to try something that’s not city oriented, so on Tuesday when IEP is open again, I’m going to go ask about more… Outback related work. My kooky ideas and brilliant schemes change on a daily basis, often depending on the weather.
Labour Day: The Last Day of the Moomba Water Fest and First Full NICE DAY of WEATHER in Melbourne! For about a week I’ve had a sore throat (probably from being wet and freezing on The Night of Comedy) and it finally developed into something more… sinus-oriented, so I took it easy, read a bit and stopped at the Oz-equivalent to Jamba Juice, ie. Boost! I’m pretty sure I have a cold, so I got some Immunity Juice. Oddly, I noticed a bunch more help-wanted signs in all the stores that were closed today… mrg. Anyhoo, went down to Federation Square, which is lovely and I believe has free WiFi… might have to bring the lappy down to test that theory. Tried to listen to some music, but I’m pretty sure the battery of my Zen committed suicide sometime between Christmas and when I arrived in Sydney. I keep trying to listen to music and it keeps telling me I have half, then when I tried charging it, three-fourths, a charge before abruptly telling me I have none. SO, that sucks.
Saw off the N. Irish girls, as they left to go back home today. Mel informed me she found a 2 room apartment for 300p/w, so… that might be good. Went down to check out the last day of Moomba, listened to free music, watched a short fireworks display and ate a cookie. Seriously… carny food here is a bit odd. Kababs and pizza and cotton candy, sure, but sushi and laksha? Australia is really an ecclectic country, if only because of the wild food combinations.
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March 10-
Basically, did not do much for the except be sick, then slowly start to get better, hand/send out a bunch of resumes. Laid off walking around as much because I did not have a voice for a few days. Voicelessness is not cool when you’re looking for a job.
Of course, considering the free WiFi @ McDonalds, I ordered hot fudge sundays which felt wonderful on my sore throat. Spent a bit of time at Federation Square, because its beautiful there, but have been careful about how much money I’ve been spending until I can find a proper job.
Met another Italian girl named Arianna on the 12th and have started to help her improve her English. Basically, I had her read out of Harry Potter, then breakdown sentences. Mel, Fiammetta, Arianna and I went out for coffee later that night and had fun singing the body-parts song, trying to teach the two Italian girls about shoulders and knees, haha. I also checked out the library and used their free WiFi for a bit to send out more Cvs, but alas nothing yet except for a modeling agency that I jokingly applied to.
Sent out more Cvs, got rejected by a few cafes that require extraneous knowledge and experience with coffee (Melbournians take their coffee SERIOUS). Seems like you have to be certified to do anything in this country. But, the weather’s been nicer now, warm, so I read a bit of Harry Potter and laid out on the roof of the YHA. I’m trying not to spend any more than 10 dollars on food per day, which is actually fairly easy with all the cheap sushi and Subways around here. I guess in every country, the options are basically the same for Subway, but you have less seasonings and dressings. And people like ketchup on their sandwiches, which, despite my love of ketchup, I think is weird. But they think I’m weird because I asked for vinegar on my sandwich and apparently that’s unheard of. They don’t even give you that option (nor, sadly provolone cheese)…
I keep giving informal English lessons to the crazy Italians. English is a seriously screwed up language when it comes down to it (but that’s why I love it…) especially for someone who is learning by listening to other English speakers, many from a variety of countries…
Took a few days off the job search over the weekend and was about ready to go fruit pick, but I heard some horror stories about the living conditions, so I decided to stay around Melbourne, again. Went to a party on Friday night with Arianna, which was helpful because one of the ladies I met gave me some good information about English teaching in Melbourne (and market research… which I might look into) I really do like it here. On Sunday afternoon (the 22nd) I sent out some more CVs and I actually got a call back on Monday. Interview on Wednesday @ 9AM in South Melbourne. Going to have to look up the address. Also, a second interview was emailed to me for 3PM. Went to both interviews and decided the give the first one a try, considering the second was more sales-oriented and seemed like they required a bit of a commitment, while the first one, cancer-fundraising, was more traveler-friendly and I can choose when I want to work.
March 27-
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday I did the fundraising thing. Work starts between 9.30 and 10AM and goes till roughly 6.30PM. Exhausting, outside, door-knocking work that really isn‘t worth the pay, but I got to see quite a bit of the non-city part of Melbourne, which was also nice. And a ginormous spider. Monday was especially interesting because, despite raising next-to-nothing (which is bad because I get paid on commission. I can totally sympathize with Gill from The Simpsons!), we were in a pretty posh area with mansions. Which made all the worse for raising almost no money. One lady had a MOAT (okay, it was a fairly large koi-pond that enwrapped the entire entrance to her house, but you had to cross a bridge to get to the door!), I tell you, and she said she had no money to give! But mostly it was bad just because it was a work day so no one was home, and most of the houses had those silly speaker-boxes, and you can‘t really haggle with those. Taelor, one of the girls also going fundraising, also did pretty poorly, but she also mentioned that she has a room available for pretty cheap, so I might have someplace to stay that’s cheaper than a hostel for a little while anyway. She just has to run it by the landlord first. Tuesday and Wednesday I put out more resumes, then popped down to St. Kilda to lay on the beach for a bit. And was traumatized by the entrance of Luna Park (SCARY SMILING SUN!). Unfortunately, I think the park is closed for some reason, but if I have the money and get a chance, I’d like to go before I have to head home. Luna Park is Australia’s amusement park chain, so… yeah.
Did a few more days of fundraising from the 3-6th, again down by St. Kilda, but I’m convinced I’m not going to go back (They‘re doing a work trip to Canberra for ten days next week anyway, and I don‘t fancy being stuck with that particular group for over a week…) I’ve put out close to 70 resumes, so something’s got to come up soon. I did get to see a whole tree filled with funky, multicolored birds, though, which was interesting. I took a video which will hopefully get uploaded soon, once the WiFi in the house gets fixed.
Apr 7th-
Tuesday. Moved into a house with Taelor (from work) and Kate. They’re cool. Taelor’s a vegan, so that we’ve been experimenting with foods. We attempted to make vegan tacos, which turned into a bizarre fusion of Mediterranean and Mexican. It was really good actually. They’re also running a dog-minding business on the side, so we had a couple of dogs running around. That coupled with the fact that the house is pretty old and dirty makes for bad allergies, but considering I haven’t had a problem with them yet, I think it’s a fair price to pay for next-to-nothing accommodation. I had been paying 200$ p/w at the hostel, plus food. Now I’m paying… 50$ p/w, plus food. Nice.
The other girls I’m living with work for Greenpeace, who happen to be looking for people to work, so I called them up and got an interview. Then chilled for a few days. Went to the interview on Tuesday the 14th, which went well. Unfortunately, after they looked at my visa details, they couldn’t hire me because its only valid till the end of June and they’re looking for longer-term workers. So again, no job, and at this point I‘m starting not to care. BUT, one of the Kate’s dad owns a farm and needs some people to sheer some trees in the next few weeks or so. Thus, we‘re all taking a little trip for one of the coming weekends. Which means I’ll at least get a little bit of money (put it this way, I’ll make more money in one weekend than I made in two weeks at the cancer place). Did laundry and went with Taelor to see a comedy show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Probably won’t see Tim Minchin after all (sadly… but maybe I’ll just go for the heck of it… its only money and I missed AFP… so there).
Taelor and I then went down to her family’s house on Phillip Island for the weekend. Phillip Island is known for its wildlife and nature preservation, so she showed me around outside by the mudflats (the weather was spittin’ so we had to wear rain slickers). It felt like I was on the coast Scotland, or back home (because there were tractors and cows and crop fields on the other side). We walked back along the road, which was kind of bizarre because of all the wallaby bones. Wallabies are like raccoons and possums in the sense that they are small, nocturnal and major road kill. Except in this area, there are no natural predators to carry away the bodies, so they just sit there as the bugs and nature decompose them. It was morbid, but sort of interesting to see some of the still-intact skeletons. The next day (Sunday the 19th), we went to one of the islands wildlife parks and I got to feed wallabies and kangaroos. Took a lot of pictures, though I somehow forgot to take some of the dingoes (seriously beautiful animals, even if they eat people on occasion). Then we headed to the Nobbies, where you could look through telescopes and see seals (or sea lions), although they were too far away to really see them well. Thankfully, the weather was lovely and the whole coast was amazing to look at and take more stunning pictures of. Around 3Pm we got on the bus and headed back to the city.
A fourth person moved in, an Israeli guy named Lonny while we were away. He’s pretty cool, but another supervisor at Greenpeace (he actually did my interview). He seemed a bit upset I didn’t get in because of the visa technicality and was trying to get me to extend my visa so I could go work for them and then stay indefinitely. Ha, door knocking is fine for a little while, but not as a career, though its nice to know I impressed them in the interview. Talked to Kate again a few days later, and she said its possible that I might be able to stay down and work on her Dad’s farm for a few weeks, rather than just a weekend. So that’s cool. Beats door knocking and helping Paolo with homework. On Wednesday, I went with Taelor and her friend Carmel to the East Brunswick club, which is sort of funky, hippy-vegan pub, and played some pool. I’ve been experimenting with cooking since I’ve had the free-time, so that’s a plus. Now I can things other than eggs, pasta and pizza. Yay!
Yeah, kind of boring, but whatever. Here's another picture for you to goggle at:
The Nobbies!
-The Captain
March 2-5
Went out with Flame (the Italian girl, whose actual name is Fiammetta. It’s Flame in Italian…) and handed out some resumes, and looked at some house ads. Got a killed blister from the “work shoes” I bought. Then went back, changed clothes and met Leon at Central Station. Went to Williamstown and looked at the house and around the town, which was nice. They were all art students so that was even better. Leon said I sounded Canadian (Hahahaha). He lived in Canada for awhile so… okay. Maybe I’m a secret Canadian. Why else would everyone say that to me, even in America? Anyway, he said it was actually up to his room mate Rob who got to move in so I thanked him for showing me around and went back to the hostel.
The next day, I went with Mel, Ally and Jo (the Kiwi and 2 N. Irish girls), and we saw the Melbourne Police Museum. The wind was HOT and TERRIBLE and apparently the risk of brush fire was really high. I almost got blown away walking back to the hostel! Went on line and searched for a job. Didn’t do much else because my internet ran out and now I’m going to start paying for it again, poo. Then we went to see the comedy night down the street. The comedians were really hit or miss, but they did enjoy making fun of backpackers. The night didn’t end well, as it resulted in a walk back to the hostel that was both very cold and very wet.
On the 4th, weather was freezing, so we stayed in and watched “The Dark Knight.” Also, it was laundry day, so not much exciting happened. I did get a text from Leon that a friend of theirs was taking to room, so Mel, who is staying in Melbourne probably for good, Flame, who is on a visa like me, and I decided we’re probably better off looking for a place to share together. I have enough money to last another month or two with careful spending, but if I can’t find anything within another two weeks, I’m considering fruit picking or going to jilleroo school. Then I could ride horses and herd sheep. Yeehaw!
Right now that sounds much more tempting than being in Melbourne. There’s a lot on interesting things in Melbourne, but the weather’s been bad almost constantly and it just feel dirty, probably because of the fires kicking ash into the air.
Job hunted @ IEP, then went back to YHA and got ready for “Dracula’s Cabaret” which was a sort of comedy, musical, dinner show set in a haunted house type venue. Kind of campy, but very cool. It also had a train ride, good food, and was highly entertaining. If you’re in Melbourne, I recommend it.
March 6-9
I really didn’t want to get up on Friday, so I took my time getting ready, then wandered around town for a few hours and handed out resumes. Most people I asked just gave me funny looks, then said “It’s because of the recession.“ Around 3.30 I went back to the hostel, changed clothes, then went to see “Watchmen” with Ally and Jo at the IMAX. Pretty cool. I’ve never seen a feature film on IMAX, so now all I have to wonder is what it would be like on Omnimax, hahaha. The movie was long, so I got back to the hostel around 9, wanted to go to bed, or read quietly for a little while, but got abducted by Fiammetta and the Italian boys (Paulo and Roberto) and ended up at a bar with my sketchbook and everyone had a good time doodling in it.
Next day, I got up and had to check out of YHA. Took two trips because that busted wheel is getting to be a real hindrance. The new hostel is kind of a dive for the price of it. It smells funny, is dark and gloomy and kind of dirty, and the kitchen sucks. Oddly, though, with the exception of the flush machination, the bathrooms are the nicest I’ve seen in any of the hostels. So that makes up for something.
BTW, in Australia, because of the water restrictions, most of the toilets have the option of either full or half flush. This hostel only has a full flush option and most of the toilets get stuck on flush here… so I guess this place is bad for the environment too, ha-ha.
Went up to the hospital and applied for a job there, then met up with Jo, Ally and Mel. Hung out, then ended up at the bar under the new hostel. Was actually pretty boring. There are no good dancing places that I’ve found yet in Melbourne. Makes me sort of miss Side Bar. “I just gotta dance!”
Decided that Sunday and Monday are going to be relaxing days because I’ve had a very tiring week, and nothing seems to be open on Sundays, and Monday is Labour Day here, so nothing’s open. Took the laptop to Mickey D’s and leeched some internet. Looked for a place to stay and more jobs. I’m convinced I need to try something that’s not city oriented, so on Tuesday when IEP is open again, I’m going to go ask about more… Outback related work. My kooky ideas and brilliant schemes change on a daily basis, often depending on the weather.
Labour Day: The Last Day of the Moomba Water Fest and First Full NICE DAY of WEATHER in Melbourne! For about a week I’ve had a sore throat (probably from being wet and freezing on The Night of Comedy) and it finally developed into something more… sinus-oriented, so I took it easy, read a bit and stopped at the Oz-equivalent to Jamba Juice, ie. Boost! I’m pretty sure I have a cold, so I got some Immunity Juice. Oddly, I noticed a bunch more help-wanted signs in all the stores that were closed today… mrg. Anyhoo, went down to Federation Square, which is lovely and I believe has free WiFi… might have to bring the lappy down to test that theory. Tried to listen to some music, but I’m pretty sure the battery of my Zen committed suicide sometime between Christmas and when I arrived in Sydney. I keep trying to listen to music and it keeps telling me I have half, then when I tried charging it, three-fourths, a charge before abruptly telling me I have none. SO, that sucks.
Saw off the N. Irish girls, as they left to go back home today. Mel informed me she found a 2 room apartment for 300p/w, so… that might be good. Went down to check out the last day of Moomba, listened to free music, watched a short fireworks display and ate a cookie. Seriously… carny food here is a bit odd. Kababs and pizza and cotton candy, sure, but sushi and laksha? Australia is really an ecclectic country, if only because of the wild food combinations.
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March 10-
Basically, did not do much for the except be sick, then slowly start to get better, hand/send out a bunch of resumes. Laid off walking around as much because I did not have a voice for a few days. Voicelessness is not cool when you’re looking for a job.
Of course, considering the free WiFi @ McDonalds, I ordered hot fudge sundays which felt wonderful on my sore throat. Spent a bit of time at Federation Square, because its beautiful there, but have been careful about how much money I’ve been spending until I can find a proper job.
Met another Italian girl named Arianna on the 12th and have started to help her improve her English. Basically, I had her read out of Harry Potter, then breakdown sentences. Mel, Fiammetta, Arianna and I went out for coffee later that night and had fun singing the body-parts song, trying to teach the two Italian girls about shoulders and knees, haha. I also checked out the library and used their free WiFi for a bit to send out more Cvs, but alas nothing yet except for a modeling agency that I jokingly applied to.
Sent out more Cvs, got rejected by a few cafes that require extraneous knowledge and experience with coffee (Melbournians take their coffee SERIOUS). Seems like you have to be certified to do anything in this country. But, the weather’s been nicer now, warm, so I read a bit of Harry Potter and laid out on the roof of the YHA. I’m trying not to spend any more than 10 dollars on food per day, which is actually fairly easy with all the cheap sushi and Subways around here. I guess in every country, the options are basically the same for Subway, but you have less seasonings and dressings. And people like ketchup on their sandwiches, which, despite my love of ketchup, I think is weird. But they think I’m weird because I asked for vinegar on my sandwich and apparently that’s unheard of. They don’t even give you that option (nor, sadly provolone cheese)…
I keep giving informal English lessons to the crazy Italians. English is a seriously screwed up language when it comes down to it (but that’s why I love it…) especially for someone who is learning by listening to other English speakers, many from a variety of countries…
Took a few days off the job search over the weekend and was about ready to go fruit pick, but I heard some horror stories about the living conditions, so I decided to stay around Melbourne, again. Went to a party on Friday night with Arianna, which was helpful because one of the ladies I met gave me some good information about English teaching in Melbourne (and market research… which I might look into) I really do like it here. On Sunday afternoon (the 22nd) I sent out some more CVs and I actually got a call back on Monday. Interview on Wednesday @ 9AM in South Melbourne. Going to have to look up the address. Also, a second interview was emailed to me for 3PM. Went to both interviews and decided the give the first one a try, considering the second was more sales-oriented and seemed like they required a bit of a commitment, while the first one, cancer-fundraising, was more traveler-friendly and I can choose when I want to work.
March 27-
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday I did the fundraising thing. Work starts between 9.30 and 10AM and goes till roughly 6.30PM. Exhausting, outside, door-knocking work that really isn‘t worth the pay, but I got to see quite a bit of the non-city part of Melbourne, which was also nice. And a ginormous spider. Monday was especially interesting because, despite raising next-to-nothing (which is bad because I get paid on commission. I can totally sympathize with Gill from The Simpsons!), we were in a pretty posh area with mansions. Which made all the worse for raising almost no money. One lady had a MOAT (okay, it was a fairly large koi-pond that enwrapped the entire entrance to her house, but you had to cross a bridge to get to the door!), I tell you, and she said she had no money to give! But mostly it was bad just because it was a work day so no one was home, and most of the houses had those silly speaker-boxes, and you can‘t really haggle with those. Taelor, one of the girls also going fundraising, also did pretty poorly, but she also mentioned that she has a room available for pretty cheap, so I might have someplace to stay that’s cheaper than a hostel for a little while anyway. She just has to run it by the landlord first. Tuesday and Wednesday I put out more resumes, then popped down to St. Kilda to lay on the beach for a bit. And was traumatized by the entrance of Luna Park (SCARY SMILING SUN!). Unfortunately, I think the park is closed for some reason, but if I have the money and get a chance, I’d like to go before I have to head home. Luna Park is Australia’s amusement park chain, so… yeah.
Did a few more days of fundraising from the 3-6th, again down by St. Kilda, but I’m convinced I’m not going to go back (They‘re doing a work trip to Canberra for ten days next week anyway, and I don‘t fancy being stuck with that particular group for over a week…) I’ve put out close to 70 resumes, so something’s got to come up soon. I did get to see a whole tree filled with funky, multicolored birds, though, which was interesting. I took a video which will hopefully get uploaded soon, once the WiFi in the house gets fixed.
Apr 7th-
Tuesday. Moved into a house with Taelor (from work) and Kate. They’re cool. Taelor’s a vegan, so that we’ve been experimenting with foods. We attempted to make vegan tacos, which turned into a bizarre fusion of Mediterranean and Mexican. It was really good actually. They’re also running a dog-minding business on the side, so we had a couple of dogs running around. That coupled with the fact that the house is pretty old and dirty makes for bad allergies, but considering I haven’t had a problem with them yet, I think it’s a fair price to pay for next-to-nothing accommodation. I had been paying 200$ p/w at the hostel, plus food. Now I’m paying… 50$ p/w, plus food. Nice.
The other girls I’m living with work for Greenpeace, who happen to be looking for people to work, so I called them up and got an interview. Then chilled for a few days. Went to the interview on Tuesday the 14th, which went well. Unfortunately, after they looked at my visa details, they couldn’t hire me because its only valid till the end of June and they’re looking for longer-term workers. So again, no job, and at this point I‘m starting not to care. BUT, one of the Kate’s dad owns a farm and needs some people to sheer some trees in the next few weeks or so. Thus, we‘re all taking a little trip for one of the coming weekends. Which means I’ll at least get a little bit of money (put it this way, I’ll make more money in one weekend than I made in two weeks at the cancer place). Did laundry and went with Taelor to see a comedy show at the Melbourne Comedy Festival. Probably won’t see Tim Minchin after all (sadly… but maybe I’ll just go for the heck of it… its only money and I missed AFP… so there).
Taelor and I then went down to her family’s house on Phillip Island for the weekend. Phillip Island is known for its wildlife and nature preservation, so she showed me around outside by the mudflats (the weather was spittin’ so we had to wear rain slickers). It felt like I was on the coast Scotland, or back home (because there were tractors and cows and crop fields on the other side). We walked back along the road, which was kind of bizarre because of all the wallaby bones. Wallabies are like raccoons and possums in the sense that they are small, nocturnal and major road kill. Except in this area, there are no natural predators to carry away the bodies, so they just sit there as the bugs and nature decompose them. It was morbid, but sort of interesting to see some of the still-intact skeletons. The next day (Sunday the 19th), we went to one of the islands wildlife parks and I got to feed wallabies and kangaroos. Took a lot of pictures, though I somehow forgot to take some of the dingoes (seriously beautiful animals, even if they eat people on occasion). Then we headed to the Nobbies, where you could look through telescopes and see seals (or sea lions), although they were too far away to really see them well. Thankfully, the weather was lovely and the whole coast was amazing to look at and take more stunning pictures of. Around 3Pm we got on the bus and headed back to the city.
A fourth person moved in, an Israeli guy named Lonny while we were away. He’s pretty cool, but another supervisor at Greenpeace (he actually did my interview). He seemed a bit upset I didn’t get in because of the visa technicality and was trying to get me to extend my visa so I could go work for them and then stay indefinitely. Ha, door knocking is fine for a little while, but not as a career, though its nice to know I impressed them in the interview. Talked to Kate again a few days later, and she said its possible that I might be able to stay down and work on her Dad’s farm for a few weeks, rather than just a weekend. So that’s cool. Beats door knocking and helping Paolo with homework. On Wednesday, I went with Taelor and her friend Carmel to the East Brunswick club, which is sort of funky, hippy-vegan pub, and played some pool. I’ve been experimenting with cooking since I’ve had the free-time, so that’s a plus. Now I can things other than eggs, pasta and pizza. Yay!
Yeah, kind of boring, but whatever. Here's another picture for you to goggle at:
The Nobbies!
-The Captain