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Published: March 11th 2007
A Real Life Wallaby!
Hanging out in the vinyard. Very cool. Hopefully I see a Kangaroo next!Aaahh the return to civilization! Cushioned by a nice stop-over in the Singapore airport (that's a holiday destination in itself). Free foot massages, movie lounges, it was great.
The flight to Brisbane, however, proved not so relaxing. We were late to depart because they were searching for an engineer to fix the in-flight entertainment (whom they didn't find), so we had no movies to watch (boo hoo), and I had a screaming baby behind me - nice. Luckily I met some nice Limeys who were sitting next to me, on their way to Auckland. So we made our own entertainment by drinking free in-flight booze and playing rummy. Red wine with breakfast was a first for me, so needless to say I didn't sleep a wink.
I arrived into Fort Knox (I mean Brisbane, Australia) at 7am, to find the most strict immigration and customs of any border I've crossed. You even have to get your shoes inspected for mud (well I did anyway). So a few hours after this nonsence, I was greeted in the arrivals by my good friend John. It was so exciting to have someone waiting at the airport for me for once! I slept
Hooray I'm Employed Again!
John and I celebrating my return to the real world! the entire day away, but it was much needed.
So what have I done since arriving, well to confirm a few stereo-types here we go:
1. The spiders are massive, like cats with 8 legs.
2. City workers sport the Aussie uniform of khaki shorts, khaki ranger shirt, ankle socks and wide brimmed hats.
3. I saw my first Wallaby on a wine-tasting tour (Aussie wine rocks).
4. I saw the Southern Cross (but miss the big-dipper).
5. I saw my first Possum.
That's all I can confirm at this point. Other than that Brisbane seems like a tame version of Vancouver. Its very clean, warm, there's a river running through it, its beautiful.
I spent the better part of the week at the internet cafe searching for work, and low and behold, have found a job as of Friday afternoon, as a receptionist (officially, "The Director of First Impressions" - heehee) for an Engineering firm for the next 3 months. The pay is reasonable, so I can't complain.
Friday night I celebrated way too much and spent most of Saturday paying for it! John did manage to drag me to the mall to get some office
The Gold Coast
Wow, so beautiful. I can see why the Australians are known internationally as beach snobs! Their beaches make up for the spiders and snakes 10 fold! clothes so I don't look like a stinky backpacker on my first day of work! Today We went out to the infamous Gold Coast and Surfers Paradise. Its an amazing white sandy beach, stretching on for kilometers with the city busseling right in the background. The beach was a haze of zinc, Billabong and surfboards. The water was absolutely amazing and the crazy waves were so much fun. I'm hooked. Hard to believe its almost autumn here and it was 34 degrees today!
So that's me and that's Australia so far. I will keep you posted as my Aussie life unfolds.
G'day Mate!
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suzanne
non-member comment
Surfing!
Hey Sexy! You are going to go surfing, right?? Buy a surfboard with your first paycheck!! Congrats on the job...you work fast! It's snowing here like crazy! love zan