Don’t make permanent decisions on temporary ideas.

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We checked into Beaches hostel in Airlie Beach and was put into a room with a weird Swedish couple that whispered when they spoke (when they spoke, as in, hardly ever), and two guys from Finland. Lene and I wanted to celebrate our spontaneous move to Airlie so bought a box of goon. (For those of you who aren't aware, 'goon' is a cheap, low quality wine made from waste, literally. Ingredients include: fish eggs and milk and is designed to get you smashed on a low budget. Oh, and it tastes like cat's piss). Nonetheless, we drank on the beach, with the two Finnish guys tagging along (but not drinking as they were driving to Brisbane the following day). So drank, and got drunk. We decided we wanted to go swimming, but the sea smelt like fish, so the Lagoon was an appropriate place. Lene and I ran in (dancing and singing, as usual), but we were approached by the security guard telling us the Lagoon was out of bounds at night. I got out, but Lene was in her own little world, singing at the top of her voice unaware of the devastating news. I laughed, but when he threatened to call the police, I decided it was time to take her home.
The next morning, for some stupid, and I mean really stupid reason, we took a lift with the Finnish guys. Yes, that's right, we were on our way to Brisbane....

Now, I don't know what came over us really, because Airlie was so nice, and we didn't even attempt to look for work. The two guys told us that Brisbane was full of job opportunities, so we took their word for it.
The journey was a long 13 hours, of pure silence. Silence, apart from the occasional giggle from Lene or me, laughing at the awkward silence. They didn't speak. The youngest was called Konsta (or Konstant, Lene and I heard differently), and he was one of those annoying people that asked questions all the time. "What are you doing? Why are you doing that? What's in your hand? Really? Do you like it?". By the end, I wanted to punch him in the face. Every time we laughed he would turn his head and say, "what are you laughing at". Oh, and the air con was broken, and to top it off, it was leaking water on the floor, which meant we couldn't put out feet on the floor the whole journey. The funniest moment in the car came when Lene began to sing the German version of Pippi Longstocking, and after a few moments the Finnish guys joined in with the Finnish version. It was surreal really. A very odd combination of people and a very odd song to be singing together.

We (they) drove through the night, which meant we arrived in Brisbane in the early hours, 2am. Not a good time to be checking into a hostel. We decided to park up and sleep in the car. They drove us down a little alley way and we slept there. The two guys pushed their seats right back leaving Lene and I squished and extremely uncomfortable. It was not the best of sleeps. One of the guys got out, blew up a blow up bed and slept outside the car. We created a very amusing picture for the early morning passers by on their way to work.

We checked into a hostel and our room was full of Italians. I was about to go to bed the first night, and one Italian invited me over to his bed. He was rolling a joint and wanted me to smoke it with him. So I did. Me, and a group of Italians stood smoking. We came back inside ready to go to bed, but he started to roll another. He nodded to me, to which I followed him out of the room, again, dragging Lene with me this time. Now anyone that knows Lene knows that it doesn't take a lot to effect her, alcohol or drugs. When we came back in to go to bed she had the giggles and I told her she wasn't allowed back in the room in that state. She was literally on the floor laughing. I fell asleep right after the point where Lene said to Konsta, "you ask so many questions, it's annoying".

My Mum's family is very confusing, but somehow we manage to have family in Brisbane, that I'd never actually met before. They called and asked me if I wanted to join them for dinner at theirs. I'm not going to lie, I was nervous. It was so nice though, I loved it. My first proper, healthy meal and it was nice to be close to family, even if I didn't know them that well.

The next day, we booked a bus back to Airlie Beach. I know what you're thinking, but I called my Dad and he agreed it was a good idea, so it was a good idea okay! A 19 hour bus journey later, we arrived in Airlie, for the second time.

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