Yesterday I went to the horse races. Oh boy, was it ever an event. People get all dressed up and many wear hats as if they were on their way to a royal wedding. I've never seen hats like that up close. I wore a hat myself. A designer straw hat probably worth at least $200. Crazy!! Social events and fashion is quite different out here although there are similarities, such as teenagers dressing as skanky as they possibly can. I remember that phase. You are just trying to look sexy but you don't really know what's up or how things should fit or how you appear to others. hahah It was kind of funny for me to see and think about yesterday. There was a fashion show and everything! Besides the fashion, there were other similarities, such as drinking. :) Everyone was drinking and we were invited to stay in this big tent with a few other families. There was a lot of wine and a lot of food and that pretty much makes for good times. :)
I bet on a few horses. One had the most incredible name of Captain, my Captain so of course I had to bet on the one. I think it had a bad start and didn't even cross the finish line though. I made my horse bets based on name alone. So I also bet on Kittens got Claws, Tha Hab, Old Mystique, and I wanted to bet on Strike Me Happy but didn't. Of course Strike me Happy was the big winner. There were about 6 sets of races with different horses in each race. Pretty kool. There were like at least 10 tables of bookies there and you got to see the odds written up either electronically with the fancier bookies or by hand in chalk or on white board with the less technology incline bookies. It was my first time at a horse race and my first time betting on horses. Very fun but I ended up losing money which is a lot less fun. However, it was "play money" given to Dave and I from the family so that made losing hurt a lot less. Dave and I lost $97 dollars between the two of us. It was an experience I will remember for a long time. Don't think I will ever turn into a gambler though. Betting is just fun and it makes watching the races a lot more interesting. I advise people with addictive personalities to stay away from shit like that though. Probably for the best.
Oh and I think I've made somewhat of a decision when it comes to vegetarianism. I will limit my meat intake to 2-3 times a week and I will eat only free-range animal meat. That means that I won't eat any beef or chicken that has been kept in a box or cage with 30+ more chickens and god knows what kind of treatment. I won't eat animals that do not get any decent standard of living. At least free range animals get to chill all day out in the sun on the farm and are fed properly and treated well for the most part. Unlike the mass production of meat that goes to supply McDonald's and KFC and all that. So products here in Oz tell you if it's free range. Chicken is clearly labelled and virtually all beef out here is free range. I will have to look up what the standards are back home and how the labelling works. Free range is more expensive but at least I know I am not supporting horrendous cruelty and animal mistreatment. That will make me feel a hell of a lot better about eating meat. Maybe one day I will become a full veggie but for now I think that this is a great start. :) I would also like to encourage others to do the same where and when possible.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Mulching (Day 8.5)
Working with Al this morning went well. We did some animal yoga, some multiplication tables, a science experiment and report, a spelling "test", and a blog entry. I am starting a blog with him to keep record of some of the things we are doing as well as to teach him to blog and to get him writing. Should be good.
After my morning with Al, I spent a few hours with Trish in the garden. She used to work for Rupert Murdoch actually, learning to garden at his cottage. Pretty awesome! I don't know much about the guy but I know he owns a lot of the media. Pretty controversial stuff I would say. People seem to have strong opinions about him. I can't say I know much about the guy or what he owns. Anywho, I learned about mulching today and I mulched. Mulching is covering up the earth with hay, wood chippings, or a few other things I forget, so that you keep the moisture in and reduce the amount of weeds you get by at least 50%. Pretty kool huh? It gives the garden a nice look as well. I really will have to get out and take pictures of all these things like the rock patio, the garden, George the calf, and the chickens and baby chicks.
Gardening is tough work physically but much more enjoyable than castrating calves or lifting heavy stones and digging holes to put them in. The garden here is beautiful! Again, I will have to take pics. There is this wooden walkway/gate you walk through and all along the posts there are roses growing. I really like it there. I did a bit of yoga standing there but it's not like at home where you can chill in the grass and not worry. You never know when I snake might be around and you want to take caution not to be bitten. If you are bitten you need to wrap the bite and get yourself to the hospital asap where they have the anti-venom. All hospitals have snake and spider anti-venom. I've only seen one snake in all my time so far in Australia though so it's not like a common occurrence but you do have to be aware.
I will be spending more time gardening with Trish, probably twice a week so I am looking forward to that. Hopefully I will learn enough and be able to apply it once I start my own garden. Who knows when that will be but it's knowledge I would like to have. One day I will probably have a house and I would like to have my own garden. More a vegetable garden I think but it wouldn't hurt to have some nice flowers around the front and back of the house. They are pretty and smell nice. :)
After my morning with Al, I spent a few hours with Trish in the garden. She used to work for Rupert Murdoch actually, learning to garden at his cottage. Pretty awesome! I don't know much about the guy but I know he owns a lot of the media. Pretty controversial stuff I would say. People seem to have strong opinions about him. I can't say I know much about the guy or what he owns. Anywho, I learned about mulching today and I mulched. Mulching is covering up the earth with hay, wood chippings, or a few other things I forget, so that you keep the moisture in and reduce the amount of weeds you get by at least 50%. Pretty kool huh? It gives the garden a nice look as well. I really will have to get out and take pictures of all these things like the rock patio, the garden, George the calf, and the chickens and baby chicks.
Gardening is tough work physically but much more enjoyable than castrating calves or lifting heavy stones and digging holes to put them in. The garden here is beautiful! Again, I will have to take pics. There is this wooden walkway/gate you walk through and all along the posts there are roses growing. I really like it there. I did a bit of yoga standing there but it's not like at home where you can chill in the grass and not worry. You never know when I snake might be around and you want to take caution not to be bitten. If you are bitten you need to wrap the bite and get yourself to the hospital asap where they have the anti-venom. All hospitals have snake and spider anti-venom. I've only seen one snake in all my time so far in Australia though so it's not like a common occurrence but you do have to be aware.
I will be spending more time gardening with Trish, probably twice a week so I am looking forward to that. Hopefully I will learn enough and be able to apply it once I start my own garden. Who knows when that will be but it's knowledge I would like to have. One day I will probably have a house and I would like to have my own garden. More a vegetable garden I think but it wouldn't hurt to have some nice flowers around the front and back of the house. They are pretty and smell nice. :)
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Teaching on the Farm (Day 7.5)
I've started teaching Al and it's going well so far. He is 8, and although super duper smart, he is still an 8 year old boy. Getting him enthused about yoga is not the easiest thing in the world but I will find a way. Maths are pretty easy to do with him and we are working on English. English is where most work is needed I believe and that's a good thing because English happens to be what I like best. We are also going to do a bunch of kick-ass science experiments and we go rock collecting and jogging outside all the time. Teaching in the country certainly has it's perks.
Aside from teaching, I feed a calf named George whose Mummy died and I feed the chickens and baby chicks everyday, twice a day. I definitely need to start taking pictures but I left my wire to connect my camera to my computer at my place back in Melbourne like a dummy. So there is no rush on the pictures because I won't be able to post them till I get back in Melbs anyways.
The other guy I am living in the cottage with is named Dave. He is 28 and from Cork. That's the same place where my friend Steve, who I went to visit in Ireland, is from. Dave is pretty chill and we are actually building a patio together. That's right, I am building a patio. How you ask? Well we collect rocks from the fields (which used to be glaciers, the rocks I mean), we load them into the back of the truck, and then we dig and fit the stones together like a jigsaw puzzle to make the patio. I will take pictures of this as well. Who knew I could make a freaking patio? I've never really done anything like that before in my life. It's a hell of a job BUT it's kool to actually make something. I always wonder how people build houses and buildings, like how you actually start, and while this is by no means a building, it's at least building something from scratch and therefore pretty awesome. The family is going to use it in the summer to eat on I think. We have to make the stones level so the chairs and table won't be all over the place and so people won't trip. It's a tricky job but interesting and I get to use a chisel sometimes. I've never used a chisel before this! Ha-ha okay, all that being said, I worked for like 4 hours today on the stone garden patio and I don't really want to see it again for a while :P
Moving on to my next topic. I think time and distance are good indicators as to whether love is true. It definitely gives you perspective on the difference between infatuation and love. I thought I was kind of in love with Florian but now that I don't see him, I don't think much about him at all. I mean he was a nice enough, decent, good looking guy and he seemed pretty kool, but I don't think it was love. Maybe there was the potential for that to develop, but it so was not there yet. I jumped the gun on that one. That being said, with distance and time, I am thinking a lot about one of my roommies. It's only been a week really since I've left Melbourne, but it feels like it's been ages. One, it feels like ages because I'm on a bloody farm doing hard work, but two, I miss him heaps!! So two months is sure going to be a long time. Time is my friend though I realize and we'll see what happens. :)
Aside from teaching, I feed a calf named George whose Mummy died and I feed the chickens and baby chicks everyday, twice a day. I definitely need to start taking pictures but I left my wire to connect my camera to my computer at my place back in Melbourne like a dummy. So there is no rush on the pictures because I won't be able to post them till I get back in Melbs anyways.
The other guy I am living in the cottage with is named Dave. He is 28 and from Cork. That's the same place where my friend Steve, who I went to visit in Ireland, is from. Dave is pretty chill and we are actually building a patio together. That's right, I am building a patio. How you ask? Well we collect rocks from the fields (which used to be glaciers, the rocks I mean), we load them into the back of the truck, and then we dig and fit the stones together like a jigsaw puzzle to make the patio. I will take pictures of this as well. Who knew I could make a freaking patio? I've never really done anything like that before in my life. It's a hell of a job BUT it's kool to actually make something. I always wonder how people build houses and buildings, like how you actually start, and while this is by no means a building, it's at least building something from scratch and therefore pretty awesome. The family is going to use it in the summer to eat on I think. We have to make the stones level so the chairs and table won't be all over the place and so people won't trip. It's a tricky job but interesting and I get to use a chisel sometimes. I've never used a chisel before this! Ha-ha okay, all that being said, I worked for like 4 hours today on the stone garden patio and I don't really want to see it again for a while :P
Moving on to my next topic. I think time and distance are good indicators as to whether love is true. It definitely gives you perspective on the difference between infatuation and love. I thought I was kind of in love with Florian but now that I don't see him, I don't think much about him at all. I mean he was a nice enough, decent, good looking guy and he seemed pretty kool, but I don't think it was love. Maybe there was the potential for that to develop, but it so was not there yet. I jumped the gun on that one. That being said, with distance and time, I am thinking a lot about one of my roommies. It's only been a week really since I've left Melbourne, but it feels like it's been ages. One, it feels like ages because I'm on a bloody farm doing hard work, but two, I miss him heaps!! So two months is sure going to be a long time. Time is my friend though I realize and we'll see what happens. :)
Sunday, October 16, 2011
William Shakespeare, Sonnet 116
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be
taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and
cheeks,
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Admit impediments; love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O, no, it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be
taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and
cheeks,
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me proved,
I never writ, nor no man ever loved.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Holy Castrating Calves Batman!
Mindy On the Farm, Day 2
Forget easing into it slowly, let's just get right in there.
Today I stood in various paddocks surrounded by cows. Cows are really big in case you didn't know. Maybe not as big as bulls (let's hope I don't have to go near them) but they are still freaking big and their moos are loud. Coming from the city, you kind of think "yeah, cows go moo" but it's not so much "moo" as it is MMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
So I watched cows and calves being round up and corralled. Technically I helped because I was in the truck helping to heard them and I got in and out opening gates and closing them. No one else seemed to have a problem with it, but it is pretty freaking scary standing in the middle of a bunch of cows.
Little did I know what was coming up.
Once the cows were rounded up, they were moved into umm the place where they do stuff do them. Vaccines, marking, I guess branding, and of course, castrating. I saw it all except for the branding, which has either already happened or is to come. I helped move cows along and write out the tags and get the instruments ready. I actually felt like a nurse or doctor helping the surgeon. Except for in this case the surgeon was trying to convince me that I could castrate one of the steers myself. Yea... well I'm adventurous and wanting all kinds of experiences in life but I'm not ready to castrate cows. In fact, watching the whole process, I didn't know whether to throw up, cry, or run away. I did not of those things and I just busied myself in whatever tasks I could so I wouldn't have to think about it. But those moos weren't just moos anymore, they were screams of terror. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound, at least not to everyone here, but to me, oh my goodness, way to get traumatized. So marking calves is basically taking two chunks out of their ears (two because there are 3 farms and this farm does two while another does only one, and the other does 3, poor 3 farm cows...) which they likened to ear piercing but I figure maybe if they took chunks out of our ears when they did it then ya, but it's way worse. So they corral them one at a time into this last gate/fence/place where they become locked in, vaccinated, have their right ear get two chunks taken out, and a number tag put in (government regulation), and then if they are unlucky enough to be male, yet not chosen to be a bull, they get castrated. I didn't know what the castration process was but it's basically an elastic that is put around their testicles until they shrivel up and eventually fall off. I guess that is better than them being straight up cut off like I was imagining was happening. But ya, still not a fun process. The worst was the ears though (maybe not for them but for me) because I could see them bleeding and I knew the calves didn't know what the hell was going on, only that it hurt. Anyways, the whole thing just made me feel bad. And I didn't know what to do. I mean it's only going to be like that one other half day but I didn't know what my participation said about me, or about my opinion of farm-life or if it made any different what I thought or not because it was going to happen regardless. If everyday was like that, I would be fruit picking, that is for sure.
Warning, monologue to be or not to be vegetarian debate ahead
So this whole farm-life is making me think harder about being a vegetarian. I've been trying to be one for quite a while, but only half-ass trying. And now I don't know. This farm treats the animals well (in spite of everything I just went through), they have soo much room to roam and be free and frolic, if cows frolic... It gives farmers a way of life, and they cows have a good life as well before they are sent to the slaughter. Well at least from my perspective they have it alright, I don't know how cows really feel about it. I don't know how smart cows even are, they seem pretty stupid to me but I've only spent one day with them and that's judging a little quickly. Then again, does intelligence matter, should I feel less bad about eating things that are stupid? They are still alive after all and maybe the more stupid they are, the more compassion I should have for them. I don't know. I'm a little mixed up. After today though, I don't know if I can eat beef. Like physically, I don't know if I would be able to put it in my mouth, now that I know better what the whole process is about. When I was a kid, I never liked eating meat much anyways, so maybe no one should have made me and then I would have grown up vegetarian. Now, however, there is some meat I like very much, maybe even as a kid I did but ya, I wonder if I can give it up. I would feel better about myself if I was strong enough to be a vegetarian. I can use the whole borderline anaemic line as to why I shouldn't bother or why it's important for me to eat meat sometimes, which might be true, but it feels a lot like a cop out these days. Gah! Can I give it up? I think this experience might be just the thing I needed to become a full fledged vegetarian. We'll see. I know I couldn't kill an animal, maybe unless I had no other choice, so it feels hypocritical to eat them. If I can't do it myself, how is it okay to let someone else do it and eat it ignorantly? That's what I'm thinking atm, I'm open to other opinions. And sorry, I'm kind of using this space to think, probably doesn't make for the best read.
Anyways, who would have thought I'd be a farmer for 2-3 months? I wonder what experience I will have next. I kind of like having all these different experiences and different jobs. Keeps life interesting... Granted I might not be enjoying the day to day here or the castrating stuff, it's still an interesting experience to look back on one day. The lady who runs the farm here with her husband, has never met someone who has never been on a farm before. This way of life is soooo different than anything I've ever known.
Forget easing into it slowly, let's just get right in there.
Today I stood in various paddocks surrounded by cows. Cows are really big in case you didn't know. Maybe not as big as bulls (let's hope I don't have to go near them) but they are still freaking big and their moos are loud. Coming from the city, you kind of think "yeah, cows go moo" but it's not so much "moo" as it is MMMMMMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
So I watched cows and calves being round up and corralled. Technically I helped because I was in the truck helping to heard them and I got in and out opening gates and closing them. No one else seemed to have a problem with it, but it is pretty freaking scary standing in the middle of a bunch of cows.
Little did I know what was coming up.
Once the cows were rounded up, they were moved into umm the place where they do stuff do them. Vaccines, marking, I guess branding, and of course, castrating. I saw it all except for the branding, which has either already happened or is to come. I helped move cows along and write out the tags and get the instruments ready. I actually felt like a nurse or doctor helping the surgeon. Except for in this case the surgeon was trying to convince me that I could castrate one of the steers myself. Yea... well I'm adventurous and wanting all kinds of experiences in life but I'm not ready to castrate cows. In fact, watching the whole process, I didn't know whether to throw up, cry, or run away. I did not of those things and I just busied myself in whatever tasks I could so I wouldn't have to think about it. But those moos weren't just moos anymore, they were screams of terror. It's not as bad as I'm making it sound, at least not to everyone here, but to me, oh my goodness, way to get traumatized. So marking calves is basically taking two chunks out of their ears (two because there are 3 farms and this farm does two while another does only one, and the other does 3, poor 3 farm cows...) which they likened to ear piercing but I figure maybe if they took chunks out of our ears when they did it then ya, but it's way worse. So they corral them one at a time into this last gate/fence/place where they become locked in, vaccinated, have their right ear get two chunks taken out, and a number tag put in (government regulation), and then if they are unlucky enough to be male, yet not chosen to be a bull, they get castrated. I didn't know what the castration process was but it's basically an elastic that is put around their testicles until they shrivel up and eventually fall off. I guess that is better than them being straight up cut off like I was imagining was happening. But ya, still not a fun process. The worst was the ears though (maybe not for them but for me) because I could see them bleeding and I knew the calves didn't know what the hell was going on, only that it hurt. Anyways, the whole thing just made me feel bad. And I didn't know what to do. I mean it's only going to be like that one other half day but I didn't know what my participation said about me, or about my opinion of farm-life or if it made any different what I thought or not because it was going to happen regardless. If everyday was like that, I would be fruit picking, that is for sure.
Warning, monologue to be or not to be vegetarian debate ahead
So this whole farm-life is making me think harder about being a vegetarian. I've been trying to be one for quite a while, but only half-ass trying. And now I don't know. This farm treats the animals well (in spite of everything I just went through), they have soo much room to roam and be free and frolic, if cows frolic... It gives farmers a way of life, and they cows have a good life as well before they are sent to the slaughter. Well at least from my perspective they have it alright, I don't know how cows really feel about it. I don't know how smart cows even are, they seem pretty stupid to me but I've only spent one day with them and that's judging a little quickly. Then again, does intelligence matter, should I feel less bad about eating things that are stupid? They are still alive after all and maybe the more stupid they are, the more compassion I should have for them. I don't know. I'm a little mixed up. After today though, I don't know if I can eat beef. Like physically, I don't know if I would be able to put it in my mouth, now that I know better what the whole process is about. When I was a kid, I never liked eating meat much anyways, so maybe no one should have made me and then I would have grown up vegetarian. Now, however, there is some meat I like very much, maybe even as a kid I did but ya, I wonder if I can give it up. I would feel better about myself if I was strong enough to be a vegetarian. I can use the whole borderline anaemic line as to why I shouldn't bother or why it's important for me to eat meat sometimes, which might be true, but it feels a lot like a cop out these days. Gah! Can I give it up? I think this experience might be just the thing I needed to become a full fledged vegetarian. We'll see. I know I couldn't kill an animal, maybe unless I had no other choice, so it feels hypocritical to eat them. If I can't do it myself, how is it okay to let someone else do it and eat it ignorantly? That's what I'm thinking atm, I'm open to other opinions. And sorry, I'm kind of using this space to think, probably doesn't make for the best read.
Anyways, who would have thought I'd be a farmer for 2-3 months? I wonder what experience I will have next. I kind of like having all these different experiences and different jobs. Keeps life interesting... Granted I might not be enjoying the day to day here or the castrating stuff, it's still an interesting experience to look back on one day. The lady who runs the farm here with her husband, has never met someone who has never been on a farm before. This way of life is soooo different than anything I've ever known.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Little Mindy on the Prairie
I am calling Jo-Ann tomorrow and most likely going to the farm by train some time this week, I'm thinking Wednesday. My friend Hanna will come here and pay my rent for two months. I am only going to be gone for about two months :) I think it will be well worth it in order to be able to stay for another year if I should so choose.
Also, I do get paid for the farm work! Mind you not much, but still something. And seeing as how my food and accommodations are covered, I can save the little I make for rent when I get back or going to visit Gail on the Sunshine Coast for Christmas.
I'm looking forward to the experience! I am also a little sad to leave my roommates, but really I'm sure two months will go by in a blink. And it will be nice to work with Jo-Ann's son and to learn how to garden :)
Also, I do get paid for the farm work! Mind you not much, but still something. And seeing as how my food and accommodations are covered, I can save the little I make for rent when I get back or going to visit Gail on the Sunshine Coast for Christmas.
I'm looking forward to the experience! I am also a little sad to leave my roommates, but really I'm sure two months will go by in a blink. And it will be nice to work with Jo-Ann's son and to learn how to garden :)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Second Year Working Holiday Visa
In order to extend my working holiday visa for one more year, I need to do three months (88 days to be exact) of farm work. I'm pretty sure I do want to get the extension so I've been keeping my ears open about 2nd year farming experiences. Most people I've talked to have said that fruit and/or veggie picking is really hard work. Some people quit after a day or two, other people stick it out and say it was an amazing experience. I guess it depends on the farm,the work, and on the people you pick with.
My friend Hanna, from Back of Chapel Hostel, went to work on a farm to do some gardening work. She didn't go for the second year holiday visa, just for the experience and for a free place to stay and meals provided. We've kept in touch and she's having a great time living on the farm with a family. This family has two sons (one 8 and one 16) and she is working with one other person. She has her own cottage to stay in as well and she's having a blast, says the family is really nice. So I told her that I am interested.
And she said: "Really? You know you will have to get dirty, right?" I said: "Hahah! That's not a problem."
I kind of expected to get a little dirty doing farm or gardening work. Part of the experience, right? People must think I am a little princess-y or something. If they only saw me as a kid. I was dirty all the time. Loved playing in the park and in the sand.
Anyways, so Hanna told Jo-Ann (the lady who runs the farm) about me and when Jo-Ann heard I was a teacher she became super interested. She wants me to go and teach her son for two hours every morning and then do a little work in the garden in the afternoon. For me this is great. The best of both worlds really. I will get the experience working on a farm AND I will get the experience teaching an 8 year old boy. He is apparently very bright, got 100% on his compulsory Australian math exam and Joann thinks that the school doesn't cater enough to his specific needs. He goes to a school in a one room schoolhouse with one teacher for the whole school. Does Little House on the Prairie come to mind here for anyone else? LoL!
So yea, basically I would go sometime in October by train or bus to the farm, teach and work in the garden everyday. She said that she wants me to have a good time as well and it would not be very difficult work. Also she said it's much much easier than going to pick fruit. I'm very interested. We spoke on the phone and she sounded so nice. Hanna also tells me how wonderful she is. So why not?
Only thing is that I am paying $715/month rent here and I need to find someone to come and stay in my room and cover my rent while I go. I don't get paid to do this farming thing, just accommodations and food covered. Maybe a bit of pay but definite not enough to cover my rent. So I told this to Hanna and she said that she is looking for a room and wants to stay in Melbourne until December when she will go to Sydney. So maybe she will just stay here and I will go where she is. SWAP!
Things just work out really easily here. We'll see what happens. I will keep you posted. I'm sooo excited to work in a garden to tell you the truth. And to get to teach a kid one and one. Teachers never usually get that experience. To be honest I'm more nervous about that than the gardening though. I will have to design a program for the kid or something and I don't have much experience doing that. Hopefully I will be able to figure it all out.
Let me know what you think.
My friend Hanna, from Back of Chapel Hostel, went to work on a farm to do some gardening work. She didn't go for the second year holiday visa, just for the experience and for a free place to stay and meals provided. We've kept in touch and she's having a great time living on the farm with a family. This family has two sons (one 8 and one 16) and she is working with one other person. She has her own cottage to stay in as well and she's having a blast, says the family is really nice. So I told her that I am interested.
And she said: "Really? You know you will have to get dirty, right?" I said: "Hahah! That's not a problem."
I kind of expected to get a little dirty doing farm or gardening work. Part of the experience, right? People must think I am a little princess-y or something. If they only saw me as a kid. I was dirty all the time. Loved playing in the park and in the sand.
Anyways, so Hanna told Jo-Ann (the lady who runs the farm) about me and when Jo-Ann heard I was a teacher she became super interested. She wants me to go and teach her son for two hours every morning and then do a little work in the garden in the afternoon. For me this is great. The best of both worlds really. I will get the experience working on a farm AND I will get the experience teaching an 8 year old boy. He is apparently very bright, got 100% on his compulsory Australian math exam and Joann thinks that the school doesn't cater enough to his specific needs. He goes to a school in a one room schoolhouse with one teacher for the whole school. Does Little House on the Prairie come to mind here for anyone else? LoL!
So yea, basically I would go sometime in October by train or bus to the farm, teach and work in the garden everyday. She said that she wants me to have a good time as well and it would not be very difficult work. Also she said it's much much easier than going to pick fruit. I'm very interested. We spoke on the phone and she sounded so nice. Hanna also tells me how wonderful she is. So why not?
Only thing is that I am paying $715/month rent here and I need to find someone to come and stay in my room and cover my rent while I go. I don't get paid to do this farming thing, just accommodations and food covered. Maybe a bit of pay but definite not enough to cover my rent. So I told this to Hanna and she said that she is looking for a room and wants to stay in Melbourne until December when she will go to Sydney. So maybe she will just stay here and I will go where she is. SWAP!
Things just work out really easily here. We'll see what happens. I will keep you posted. I'm sooo excited to work in a garden to tell you the truth. And to get to teach a kid one and one. Teachers never usually get that experience. To be honest I'm more nervous about that than the gardening though. I will have to design a program for the kid or something and I don't have much experience doing that. Hopefully I will be able to figure it all out.
Let me know what you think.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Sydney
Sydney is a really beautiful city.
Getting to Sydney was a wonderful experience for the most part. We camped along the way, slept in the car, looked at the stars, cooked and made campfires. I cuddled with Florian and we woke up to the ocean right near us. We went for a refreshing, although pretty cold, morning dip and got back on the road. That's what the first few days were like.
We stopped at a nature park/zoo and got to be really up close with lots of different animals. I saw my first koala and mother kangaroo with a joey in the pouch. The scenery were drove by was breathtaking.
Then we got to Sydney and things got a lot less wonderful, at least for me. Don't get me wrong, Sydney is beautiful. Probably the nicest city I have ever seen. Having been to San Francisco and coming from Montreal, I think that is really saying something. A huge and free botanical garden right in the middle of the city makes such a difference. It is lovely, brings life to the city and breaks up the concrete monotony. People can stroll along, have picnics, learn all about different plants species or just soak in the amazing surroundings. I really, really loved the botanical gardens.
Darling Harbor in Sydney was equally captivating. So much life and energy there. We made it in time for the Latin festival. There was music and dancing all over the place. I was a little surprised how static the crowd was for the show however. There was music that I just couldn't help but start dancing to and when I looked around, I was one of the very few dancing. A few latinas were feeling the music but everyone else was standing still and looking to the stage. It was interesting because I've never been to a show in Montreal without the crowd going at least a little wild. I thought Australia was even more outgoing. So I'll have to observe this more, which means going to more shows :D hehe
I got to eat Paella and it was super yummy. I'm loving seafood these days by the way, I don't know what's up but yay!
So yes, the harbor was beautiful, the festival was awesome, and a restaurant I went to for dessert was absolutely delicious and had a great few. I'm really impressed with Sydney. I will have to begin exploring Melbourne and what it has to offer as well because I haven't seen much of it yet apart from the schools where I've been working.
This is a few of the harbor at night time.
But now for the shitty side of the trip. So traveling with two guys...Oye!
Maybe a trip with two guys where one is your boyfriend would be alright, or a trip where there is at least one other girl to keep the guys in line or on their best behavior out of amorous interest, but definitely not a trip with two guys looking to hook-up with practically anything. Or maybe even a trip with nice and decent guys (if that is not an oxymoron). I got to know more about the guy psyche than I ever wanted to know. Had to hear shitty pick-up lines being rehearsed. Had to hear how women are irrational and crazy. Had to hear that I should be able to go to the bathroom by the side of the road or sleep in a bloody parking lot. Had to eat fucking McDonald's like a million times. Had to make friends fast at Darling Harbor because the guys said they would be back and freaking left me there on my own for like 2+ hours. Not to mention how at the hostel, at the pub, and at the club we barely talked because I would interfere with them getting their mack on. I've never been so happy about being able to speak French in my life because I was able to make friends with a bunch of people from France at the hostel. (<3 to French people, especially with hot accents.) The hostel we only stayed at for one night because the rest of the time we slept in a car...
Man, I got sick on the way back home too. The needing to use the bathroom desperately kind of sick and what does the guy I'm coming home with do? He pulls off of the highway next to a bloody field in the daylight and says it's a perfect spot for him to go to the bathroom. Gets out of the car, pulls out his obviously superior male genitalia and goes for a piss. Tells me I can go to the bathroom there as well. Well let me tell you, I almost lost my shit.
"Does it look like I have a penis? Do you think I want to take a shit next to a field alongside the highway? What the hell is wrong with you?"
Seriously, I mean have a little decency, I'm sick from eating god damn McDonald's as my main diet, not to mention I've been trying not to eat meat and doing pretty freaking well before this road trip, so now my stomach is majorly messed up. And you want me to go alongside the road? Really?!? really???
And that's just one example. I also wasn't permitted to listen to the radio or put the heat on when I was cold. No no, the AC is a must. We can't open the windows because that wastes gas. I hate the god damn AC and I like the radio and I don't want to listen to your shit music for the 3rd time around. Ok to be fair, a lot of the music was alright. But no one wants to hear the same stuff over and over. And you know what? I'm paying for the trip just like you and who do you think you are? These are just all my thoughts and what was going through my head. So yea, that side of the trip much less glamorous but will probably make for some funny memories later.
Anyways, I'm either a sucker for punishment or wanting a renewal of faith in men because I am going for another road trip this weekend coming up with two other guys. Two of my roommates actually. They seem super nice, but now my saying is, you never know someone until you road trip with him (or her). :P Dylan invited me to his home in the country where he grew up and I'm really excited to see that. Brent is going to come as well I think. Feels like an authentic Australian experience. I'm looking forward to seeing where Dylan grew up, to meeting his family and his friends. Should be really fun! I was also invited to a Canadian Thanksgiving party by some really kool Canadian teachers that I met through work and I would love to attend but I don't want to pass up this country experience. I've celebrated Canadian thanksgiving all my life so I think it's OK to miss it once. So ya, here is to a WAAAAY better road trip, or at least WAAAY better company!
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