On reaching Advent, the roasting hot month before Christmas in Australia, I felt the need to not be in a hostel for the holiday season, to somehow soften the blow of not being home. Failing in all my attempts at finding paid employment in the city, I jumped at an ad on gumtree of an almost wwoof-like opportunity: free bed and board in return for helping a lady redecorate her house as a surprise for her husband, how festive. There was me and two other British girls, who were a welcome breath of fresh air after the stagnating backpackers of my last hostel. It turned out to be pretty fun – we painted everything: the shed, the kitchen, furniture, our clothes, and made a decent job of it too, as in the heat of Oz, there’s
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