The Dust Settles

Tomorrow marks the second week of being at Glen Helen. I'm not messing up as much at work, and I'm starting to understand the Aussie accent a little more. I've started to form routines, and I feel closer to being in stride with this place. Friendships are forming. I've been working overtime, and so has my liver.

The thing about settling down and feeling more comfortable is that I have more time to think. I'm not concerned as much with the culture shock anymore, and other thoughts have taken over. I've started thinking about how much I miss my home. I don't mean that in the physical sense, but rather in the life I had there. I didn't have much time to miss it before, but now I'm feeling it.

I'm making this sound much more sorrowful than it actually is. I'm having an absolute blast out here! I miss many things, but being here is worth it. I dread the day my visa runs out and I'm forced to leave this country.

Longing To Be Comfortable

Arlo and I are finally in Glen Helen. It will be our place of work, sleep, and all other ways of spending time for the next several months. Glen Helen Resort is located deep in the outback, a little less than two hours west of Alice Springs, Australia. It's basically smack dab in the middle of the country.

We've been here for a little over two days, and it has been endless amounts of learning. I've got a decent amount of experience waiting on tables and working the bar in America, but today was proof that I have much to learn in Australia. Slang and accent are two difficult obstacles when trying to understand people. Today, someone ordered "CC and dry" at the bar. I knew CC was Canadian Club, but I didn't know that Dry stands for dry ginger ale. Also, they call "jack and coke" "jacks and coke", which sounded to me like "jackson coke". It was a long seven hours of asking people to repeat themselves and asking my co-workers for help. Thankfully, they're all very friendly and patient! My deepest desire right now is just to feel comfortable, but it's really hard when I have a new place to live in, a new country with a new desert environment, and a new job with people I can barely understand. It's a lot of work, but I just have to keep reminding myself that it's worth it. Nothing good in life comes easy!

Aside from all of the verbal confusion, I love it here! We're right in the middle of a national park, and nature is everywhere. The Glen Helen Gorge and West McDonnell Ranges are literally right behind the resort, and look incredibly majestic at sunset. I'm going to upload some pictures this weekend so you can see!

I should be able to post more often now that I have the time. I'll be working quite a bit, but I literally have nowhere else to go expect the occasional trip to the town (every couple of weeks).

I'm very happy my bed is comfy! The room is in no way 5 stars, but the bed is at least a 4.

Time to sleep in it!

ChooChoo!

Ritz crackers dipped into a small vat of Nutella make for a wonderful train snack!

If only I had a small vat of Nutella instead of this half-empty 400g jar...



I guess I've got a lot of catching up to do with this blog! I thought I was going to have more time to write than I would have time on the internet, but it turns out I've had less than I've expected of both. Arlo and I spent about 10-12 hours a day exploring the city, and when we got back to the house, we chatted with our hosts until we all went to sleep. I managed to upload a bunch of pictures, but didn't have the chance to reflect on my days in Melbourne.

Right now, we're on board The Overland. It's a train that will spend the next 10 hours delivering us to the next leg of our journey, Adelaide. The view out my window right now is perfect. We're finally getting out of the city and suburbs, and into the picturesque, rolling countryside that everyone thinks of when Australia comes to mind. Many fields are filled with flocks of sheep and squared off by rows of trees. This pattern repeats and rolls over the horizon, where I assume there are more fields of sheep. I've seen a few cows and the occasional horse, but I'm sure there are more sheep packed into this country than Mexicans in a minivan.

JUST KIDDING! There are more...


No kangaroos yet.



Time has been flying by, and it's hard to keep track of the days. This is partially because I'm still a bit disoriented in this country, but also because I've been running around the city without a watch or something to keep time. I think that's probably the best way to explore, though. Time restrictions might make life easier sometimes, but they're not fun, especially when you don't need them.


Anyway, I think I'll buy a watch in Adelaide... hah

Lagged, Confused, and Excited

I'm sorry to say that I don't think I'll ever be coming back to America. It's not that I don't miss you all, or that this place is too awesome to ever leave (though it's close). The flight is just too long and terrible to endure. I may be able to make it back someday by hopping from country to country, taking little chunks at a time.

I'm half kidding.

My experience of Australia so far has been nothing short of incredible. Here are some things I noticed, and some comparisons with America/Americans...

• The people seem much nicer here. If you look confused, people will walk up to you and ask if they can help. They seem much happier than Americans. I'm sure part of that is due to the booming economy and minimum wage of about $15, but people here just don't sweat the little things.
• Prices are a little less than double what things cost in America. The Australian dollar is about six cents more than the American dollar. The only thing that's cheaper is milk. We bought 2 liters today for $2 (think a 2 liter bottle of soda). 
• The metric system is weird, and I think it's going to take me a while to get used to. 
• Cars drive on the other side of the road, like in England. Walking across the street is dangerous, as we're used to looking left and then right. Even walking is weird, because we're used to passing people on the right. 
• We're not in the same rhythm with this place yet. There are many similarities with America, but the vibe is totally different. 
• Pints are not 16oz, they're 20oz. And the other sizes you can order are schooner, pot, mid, and a few others. 
• Australian's aren't usually difficult to understand, but some of them tend to run their words together. Tonight we ordered some fried chicken, and neither of us could understand what the employee was asking us, even after he repeated himself 5 times. Finally, another employee told us he was asking if we wanted our food for here or to go. I guess I don't quite get the accent yet.
• They sell kangaroo meat in the grocery store.
• Thrift stores are called op shops (opportunity shops) or second hand shops. 
• Melbourne is locally pronounced Mel-bin, not Mel-born. 
• We're 10 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time in the US, so it's 12 mindnight right now for me while it's 10am for most of you. When I get to my workplace outside of Alice Springs, I think I will be 11 hours ahead instead of 10.

I've got more, but I need to figure some stuff out before tomorrow. We walked about 10 miles (or 16 kilometers!) today, and will likely do the same tomorrow.
This place is just so much fun!

This Is It

In Australia, my internet access will be a little spread out, so I won't always be able to update when I write things. This post, for example, was written before our first of three flights, but I'm in Australia right now! More on that later. But now you understand how things will pan out from here on.


A year's worth of meticulous planning, months of 60-hour work weeks, countless hours spent researching and writing emails, and several minutes of sorrowful goodbyes with family and friends have lead me to this.

The game of hurry up and wait.


I've been in the airport since 2pm now. It's 5pm. My plane leaves at 6:45pm. You do the math. I'm definitely not complaining, though. Everything has been smooth so far. Nice and boring. Lots of waiting. Normal airport stuff.


Arlo, Fia (Arlo's Mom), and I got into NYC at about 7am this morning. We had a lovely breakfast, and then walked around the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. It was rainy/misty, and it seemed we shared the whole garden with only a few others. It was so peaceful and relaxing... the perfect morning before a long, long flight.


Waiting...