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.
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