Brainstorming the Next Adventure

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I have woken up late today. I have no urge to do anything today, my last in Vanuatu. My plans are eat, change money and watch the sunset. I just want to be at home. I'm tired of being on the road. I'm saddened that I have finished my Australian adventure, but girl or no girl I'm not sure I'd want to go back in February, which has been a recent idea of mine. Reasons for this include the reversed seasons, the necessary job and housing search, and the simple fact that Australia is still very far away.

If I do go back to Australia I think that I would like to live and work in Sydney this time. I also do like the idea of England, moving to London, and working there for a while instead. I definitely want to live in one of the world's great cities. I guess I won't know for sure until I get home and who knows if I can get another work permit.

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I am now thinking that I would like to work in Sydney for four months, perhaps this time I'd be better prepared to handle any adversity. But I am afraid that it is all "pie in the sky" thinking because the odds are stocked against me getting another work permit on such short notice. Oh well, to bad they didn't give me the year visa. That would have been good. Thinking about going back to Sydney is kind of exciting. I now feel a little unfulfilled about Australia and I am beginning to think that four months in Sydney might to the trick. Then I could leave feeling like I have completed my mission. I guess I've got to hope for a miracle to have it all work out.

But, also London is a nice consolation prize. I love London and as I've said before if London was in the US I could see myself living there. I think the thing to do is to see if Sydney is feasible. If it isn't I guess I'll go to London to work with my uncle. If it were feasible than I'd have to weigh the pros and cons. I would see just what job I'd be doing in London and where I'd be London. And I would also see if I could work in my cousin's friend's pub like he had said. If I could work there I would probably go back to Bartending School to polish up my skills. It is all very exciting and we shall see what happens.

I think Sydney would be good in comparison with Brisbane because I feel it has more power of place. Sydney seems to have a bit of a soul to it and moves at a quicker pace. Also, I think it might feel like more a real Australian experience than living on a college campus. I really had a good time last time I was in Sydney and if I made friends in a hostel or in a shared flat, I think it could be really good. Thinking about it is making my head hurt. I would say there was a 20%!c(MISSING)hance of getting a work permit so I know I shouldn't get my hopes up, but you'll never know unless you give a shot. The impossible sometimes comes true.

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Vanuatu has been really great. I leave the islands on an Air Vanuatu flight tomorrow. I really got into island time on Santo. The people there are really open and friendly, less so in Vila. I enjoyed riding in the back of transport trucks as we zoomed back and forth along the dirt roads surrounded by towering palm trees. There were fewer beaches than I had pictured. String bands are also big here. I am listening to one right now on the radio as I prepare to have one last sleep here in the South Pacific.




Note: My Vanuatu trip entries come directly unabridged from the journal I carried around with me on my first post-university adventure to the southern hemisphere. They are a bit on the rough side.


added april 25, 2006

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Photos

Air Vanuatu
I left the next day bound for New Zealand via Brisbane Airport.

Goodbye Vanuatu
I was still in Vanuatu, but I was already plotting my next adventure.