Home Sweet Home....again

Home again. It has been a very interesting two weeks. If I thought Australia was hard to believe, I've now realized there is nothing more surreal than being away for a year, then suddenly coming home after only two weeks notice. It’s been a dream that I'm slowly waking up from. In some ways it seems like so much has changed, but in other ways it seems like I never left.

The months leading up to my homecoming were amazing. I lived in a beautiful neighborhood, had great friends and worked some very interesting jobs. In my last update I had just received a position as a foreign currency officer. They were very upfront about the fact that I would have to lie about certain things and asked if I was alright with that. It turns out I wasn’t, so I let the job go and decided from then on I would work in something I enjoyed, something I was passionate about something like… selling Accidental Death Insurance…. Okay, so it wasn’t my first choice, but Westpac bank (the oldest bank in Australia) was starting a campaign to sell this new insurance and they needed sales reps to do it. For two months I worked my butt off, doing the hardest job I’ve ever done! Lo and behold, it paid off. I ended up getting the Agent of the Month award and I won a trip for two to Queensland! On top of that, I decided to start a job on weekends and I began working in the "Church and Wellesley" area of Melbourne at a place called Jackie O’s . Our two chefs were lesbians and the four other waiters were gay......and then there was me. The place is owned by two older greek men who have to tolerate them because it's all their friends who are our major customer base. Everyday I would hear something like, "Oi, I vil never get used to a man buying another man flowers!*Huuk Pppt*! Every Sunday I served a huge table of drag queens. While at first they were quite scary up close, not to mention very bitchy, I soon got to know them. The head Queen had had hundreds of thousands of dollars in plastic surgery, but had the deepest voice a man could have, so she… or he… or it, would have to speak in falsetto. It was not only disturbing, it was almost impossible for me to keep a straight face while taking orders. At least the guys I worked with were a lot of fun. There was Clementine, which honestly, if you’re going to name your son Clementine, you should expect he will be gay. Then there was Mark, the head gay. 45 years old, grumpy, and very lonely, Brad, the bitchy gay and Phil, the baby gay. None of us had to work there because we all had serious jobs during the week - Designer, Microbiologist, Insurance, but we all worked there because we just loved it. It was this weird world we’d all enter into on weekends. I really miss it.

As all good things must come to an end, the realization that my visa was running out slowly dawned on me. I tried to ignore the fact that the time was coming to make a decision, but without knowing it, plans for my return were already in the works. A job opportunity at home was brought to my attention by one of my friends and after a lot of sleepless nights, I decided that even though it would bring me home two months earlier than I had expected, it was the right thing to do. My last two weeks there were an emotional rollercoaster. I had (another) going away party, even better than the last one, where we had a final big barbeque at our place with all our friends. Ian and I spent the last couple days on our own, renting a beautiful little Victorian cottage in wine country. We spent a day wine and cheese tasting, which I've always wanted to do. The whole experience was amazing and we will definitely be back.

My flight home lasted almost 50 hours with a 24 hour stopover in L.A. With nothing to do and nowhere to go I knew it was going to be a very long night….. or would it? Well, to make a long story short, I got to customs, but instead of getting interrogated by the customs officer, he asked me out. Yup, so I went from being homeless to riding down the coast in a customs officer’s BMW to a swanky seafood restaurant by the ocean. Now don’t get the wrong idea, he knew I had a boyfriend. He was recently knew to L.A. too and knew what it was like to not to know where to go or what to do. He was a perfect gentleman. He took me out and spoiled me, then drove me back to the airport and escorted me in passed all the line-ups of travelers being interrogated at the front doors. Oh the power you’re granted when walking with a man with a gun. Yeah, I wasn’t all that cool. As soon as he left me, I ran to the phone to call Ian to say, “Guess where I just was?...”

Well, I finally made it. As much as I’m missing Melbourne desperately, it’s been really good seeing people. I’m trying to soak it in while I can, as I’m only here for three months. Ian is heading over in December (yay!) and we’re very excited about that. He can’t wait to meet my friends and family and the feeling is mutual. After Christmas, we’re heading over to London and Germany, then to S.E. Asia for another few months before ending up back in Melbourne. After that, we don’t really have a plan, although for me to know what I’m doing for the next three months is pretty remarkable. I thought this year away would be it for me, but it’s just the beginning! I already cannot wait to see what the year ahead has in store for me!

Back to Oz

The Three Amigos

Infront of our House

Our Kitchen

James and Me

Ian's 30th

Ian and Me

Our Place













Byron Trip











Byron Flood


Aussie Soccer 4:00am
Smoke Rings
Our Backyard

Soccer Match 4:30am


And back to Aussie land we went…. Just when I’d finally gotten used to New Zealand currency. Going back to Australia felt strangely like going home. There was also the excitement of staying in one place for longer than a week, and actually having a bed of my own. Even little things like having a bathroom. Oh, the anticipation of running water was almost too much!

When we arrived in Melbourne they were experiencing a recording breaking heat wave for that time of year and it coincided perfectly the Commonwealth games that had just started. For the next week Polly, Ian, James (my new roommates) and I went back and forth between moving into our new place and enjoying all the events in the city. We’d go and see free events throughout the day and during the evenings enjoy amazing concerts and shows from all over the world. At the end of the week Polly headed back to England and James, Ian and I settled into our home. Settling in pretty much involved our friends coming over for drinks and barbeque every single night. What better way to settle into Australian life?

Over Easter weekend, since I wasn’t working yet and Ian just felt like taking off somewhere, we rented a car and drove the 24 hours to Byron Bay for the annual Blues and Roots Festival. It was incredible. Five days of concerts featuring acts such as Xavier Rudd, David Gray, Pete Murray, Martha Wainright and India Irie, on 4 different stages. The weather was +35 and the waves at the beach were huge! We had such a blast even though our accommodations fell through and we had to sleep in the car every night. The day we left, there were torrential down pours and the whole town got flooded! We barely made it out in time. The drive is a full 24 hours each way. And is probably one of the most stressful things I’ve done, especially with Ian insisting we stop at every dead kangaroo we passed on the side of the road to make sure it didn't have a live joie inside the pouch. With one, he actually tugged the little feet sticking out and felt the pouch to make sure he felt no movement. Gross. This is a serious outback man we're talking about here. Imagine the upset when after trying to save every kangaroo, an owl flew straight into our windshield and killed itself. Ian didn’t get over it for days.

Melbourne is an amazing city. Ever since I’ve been here there has always been something going on. First, the Melbourne Cup, Australian open, the Commonwealth Games, which I was incredibly lucky to be here for, then the Grand Prix, the Comedy Festival, the Film Festival, “footy” (Aussie rules football) and now they’ve made it into the world cup for soccer. Not only do I love the city we live in, but I love our area. We’re a fifteen minute jog down our street to the beach, surrounded by parks and cafes, and most importantly, two streets over from Ian’s parent’s house which means at least one free meal a week (yay!). We are very lucky. James is Italian and get this, his two cousins on one side are construction workers, so everything in our house gets fixed for free and his other cousin owns a pasta factory around the corner so we never go hungry. Ha! As for our neighbours, all I can say is that they’re interesting. On one side we have a lady who, to put it delicately, has something wrong with her. She comes out every morning when we leave the house, and yells (in a voice comparible to Kermit the Frog) “What’s the big idea?!” At night while we’re on the front porch she comes out with her huge spotlight, shines it in our faces and yells, “What’s the big idea?!” She won’t tell us her name so Ian started calling her “What’s The Big Idea”, and now it’s stuck. On the other side we have a crooked old woman who hobbles over once a week to whack her walker against our (glass) front door to comment on something we’re doing that she doesn’t approve of. For example, we have too many bottles in our recycling box, and she disapproves of our wooden venetian blinds. I kid you not. Across from us lives a very sentimental drug dealer who freaked James out by giving him a chocolate bunny for Easter. For three days James would spontaneously blurt out, “Why did he give me a chocolate bunny?!” So Ian and I ate it. He’s now moved on to making James chocolate cake. We also have a three legged cat that waits by our door every night for us to let it in and give it some attention. So as you can see, it is a motley crew that keeps us constantly entertained.

So you’re probably wondering what I’ve been doing for work. “WORK”. The word was very foreign for a while. Well, I was hired by the Australian Institute of Mathematics to do direct marketing of a children’s tutorial program. To make a long story short, I was promoted to supervisor within the first month, which was good financially, but not mentally. There were three of us supervisors, all under quite a bit of pressure. While I found it a good challenge at first, within a very short period of time the other supervisors and I became stressed and very unhappy. I pretty much decided one day that although the opportunity was excellent, I only have a short period of time left in Melbourne and I want to be enjoying it. I don’t know what I would have done without James and Ian. They always had a glass of wine waiting for me when I’d get home from work and when I got promoted they taped my certificate on the fridge like proud parents. We all look out for each other and take care of each other, so when they saw how unhappy I was they convinced me it wasn’t worth it. James was having issues with his job too and quit and Ian has been home studying for his exams, so for the past two weeks we’ve all been home watching Australian soaps, sitting on the back patio enjoying the sunshine and enjoying each others company. I start my new job next week as a foreign currency officer, so I have to get in all the soaps I can over the next few days. : ) The only downfall of Ian studying at home is that James and I are always his targets. Ian is finishing his remedial massage degree and every night someone is on the massage table in our kitchen, getting cracked, twisted, or stretched. This is remedial, not relaxation massage, so it HURTS! I don’t really know how much more either of us can take! Ian has started recruiting patients from everywhere. Lately, it’s been the sentimental drug-dealer frequenting our kitchen massage table. Apparently Ian has healed him and now he’s promised to make Ian a chocolate cake. How precious! Melbourne, although sunny most days, has gotten cold and we haven’t had our heating installed yet. In fact, it’s so cold we actually have to wear our hats and scarves inside and every morning Ian and I kill ourselves laughing as we blow smoke rings, just from talking in our freezing cold kitchen. Ah well, I lived in a tent for a month. At least I have running water now.

So life has calmed down, which is good. It’s impossible to go at the rate I was going for too long. We just had a huge 30th surprise party for Ian, which was probably the best night we’ve have since I’ve been back, although his birthday lasted every night for a week. I think I’ll make a point of doing the same for mine next year.

It’s plain to see I’m in the sports capital of the world. I just wish I actually knew something about sports…. As I mentioned, I am extremely lucky to be in Australia this year, not only for the Commonwealth Games, but also because Australia has made it into the World Cup for soccer for the first time in 32 years. I can’t begin to explain the excitement in the city right now. It doesn’t matter that the games start at 2:00am and finish at 5:00am on a week night. Everyone is up and watching. It is a VERY frightening place to be in a room or even worse, a pub, with a bunch of big, insane Aussie men when they’ve won a match. You never know what will get broken. Hopefully not myself, but there are no guarantees.

Anyway, although I’m loving my time here I’m also looking forward to heading home in a couple months. I probably won’t have much to tell until then, but then again, you never know….

In the meantime, I love hearing from you so please keep in touch!

P.s.I've included photos of my house, backyard, kitchen and roomates.....Incase you were interested. :)

New Zealand South Island Adventure

Hello All!

Well what can I say? I had no idea that as soon as I stopped traveling I’d be busier than ever. I forgot spare time is rare back in the real world.

So where to begin? I believe I ended off in Wellington where I met Polly and Neil. Two days later Polly and I took the ferry back to the south island where we met up with Neil and a smelly Dutch guy named Simon whom Neil had acquired while waiting for us. The four of us then set off in Neil’s super cool station wagon for another trip of a lifetime. Our first major stop was Abel Tasman National Park. I cannot really describe to you how incredibly beautiful it was. Even now I can say it was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. Polly, Simon and I decided to take a water taxi to the end of the park and spend the next two days camping and hiking back into civilization. We took nothing but one tiny tent, a small backpack and a sleeping bag each and left everything else we owned in Neil’s car. Meanwhile, Neil took the car and went on his own kayaking day trip, and agreed to meet up with us two days later. At that moment it occurred to me for the first time how easily we trust each other in the traveling world, far more than we’d trust someone at home after knowing them for only two days. But that’s what we did. For the next two days we hiked from dawn till dusk along the coast beside the brightest turquoise water and whitest sand, on the most beautiful paths though a breathtaking forest. The only bad thing about the hike is that it only lasted two days while we all wished it would last two weeks. What a way to begin the trip. I wasn’t sure how anything could compare. Fortunately Neil kept his word and was waiting for us at the end of the track two days later.

From Abel Tasman we headed down to Murchison where on a whim I booked a white water rafting excursion for the next day. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and I picked a pretty good place to do it. Apparently the Buller River is the best river to white water raft in New Zealand and after a huge rain fall, as there had been the night before, I was told it was even better. By “better” they actually meant “bigger”. We battled grade 4 rapids and went over a 5 meter high waterfall! Let’s just say I almost lost my lunch as we approached the edge. Our guide actually said he’d never been over the falls when they were that big and that he never expected us to make it. Especially when a boat load of people flipped the day before resulting in a broken rib, a broken nose and a black eye…….yeeeeeaaah…..

Next, we stopped in Greymouth where it was cold and rainy. Since I had refused Suzanne’s offer of a sleeping mat and fleece (Worst mistake EVER!) I was relieved to learn I wasn’t the only one wanting to take refuge in a hostel. A very interesting hostel equipped with its very own goat who found its way onto the hood of Neil’s car every time he turned his back. Thinking of Neil screaming at that goat is probably one of the funniest memories I have. Priceless.

We spent the next day driving down to, then hiking up to Franz Josef Glacier. It was an amazing thing to see right in the middle of no where. An enormous ice flow that had just crashed its way through the forest. We were so impressed, we moved on to Fox Glacier the next day where Simon and I decided to try ice climbing while Neil and Polly opted for a day hike. Simon, another guy Phil, our guide and I started up the glacier at 8:00am. We grabbed our picks, threw on our crampons and did the most incredible 3 hour hike up the glacier. We teetered along ridges, jumped over enormous crevices, and crossed through pure natural springs which we were able to drink straight from. Once we reached the ice walls we climbed for the next 5 hours. They were the most fun and difficult climbs I’ve ever done in my life, where the only thing keeping you on an overhang is how hard you can throw your pick into the ice. I would do it again in a split second. Everyone kept pointing out to me how odd it was that I’m from Canada and had only done white water rafting, whale watching and ice climbing for the first time in New Zealand. True, odd. I fully intend to do them again once I get home though, but without a doubt these times will always be the most memorable. Climbing on the wall next to ours was the first woman ever to climb Everest without oxygen. Now that is crazy. That alone kept us from complaining about any discomfort we were experiencing. After the climb we spent another three hours making our way back down. Needless to say I could barely walk. My shoulders and wrists were about to snap off and my shins were two solid blocks of bruise. Still, one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. We were all on a high for the next three days.

The next day we headed down to Wanaka, this beautiful little town situated between snow capped mountains and glowing lakes. There really isn’t a whole lot in Wanaka yet everyone flocks there to…….I don’t know, actually. We stayed there longer than anywhere yet we didn’t really do anything except go to Puzzle World, a plethora of unsettling optical illusion all compacted into one building. Complete with its own hedge maze that took us two frustrating hours to finish, every room we entered in the building had us walking up walls, across ceilings and eventually staggering out on the verge of being sick. Good fun! We also treated ourselves to a movie at this tiny little theater where the seating consisted of swings, couches and cars, yes, inside the theater. Very cool.

Our time with smelly Simon came to an end and we dropped him off on the side of the highway. Hey, tough love. He was a slight hindrance to our trip (I won’t waste time going into detail) but all of a sudden our trip went from good to GREAT! We detoured back up to Omarama (which I’m still not sure how to pronounce) where Polly booked a flight on a glider. Well, she made quite an impression on the Canadian pilot because that night we ended up at a house party in Queenstown with him and all his Canadian and Kiwi pilot friends. We mentioned we were heading to Milford Sound in the next few days and lo and behold we just happened to be sitting with the Milford Sound Captain who then offered us a free flight both ways! What are the chances!?!?! I feel like I say that a lot, but that was unusual. Considering the fights are over $400 each way and it would save us two full day drives it was a tempting offer, but in the end we decided it didn’t make sense to leave Neil’s car with all our things in it just to say we got a free flight. Later that night we ended up in a bar with Neil up on stage rocking the house. It was an open mike night and since Neil is an actual singer/ guitarist in a band the band decided to keep him up on stage for the rest of the night. It was the craziest and probably the best night we had in New Zealand. The next day with heads pounding, Neil and I decided to go Jet Boating. It was insane! The boat skimmed the top of the water at 160km/h, coming within inches (literally) of sand banks, bushes and bridges and would fly into 360 degrees spins without any warning. Neil and I were holding onto each other for dear life, screaming our heads off like little girls. Far more embarrassing for him I’d say. After our death defying experience we spent the rest of the day relaxing in Queenstown before our looooooong drive to Milford Sound.

To Milford Sound we drove, singing at the top of our lungs, sharing stories, telling bad jokes…”So, this pirate walks into a bar…..”, having the time of our lives. We knew Milford would be beautiful but had no idea how beautiful until we actually got there. We took a cruise through the misty fjords between hundreds of waterfalls cascading down the cliffs surrounding us. It was very mystical. The next day we headed down to Doubtful Sound where we’d booked a day long kayaking trip. Three hours later, after two bus trips and a boat cruise we were in our kayaks on the water. It was the most beautiful day. The “Sounds” have the fourth highest rainfall in the world so the fact that we had a warm sunny day was rare. We spent the day kayaking through more beautiful fjords and waterfalls, escorted by seals and dolphins. Yet, another amazing day. It was actually getting to the point where we were becoming numb to our experiences. Day after day was just so incredible we were beyond overwhelmed.

With only a few days left on our trip we decided to make the most of the south coast. We drove along the scenic route visiting the most southernly point of NZ which ended up being a field with a whoooole lotta sheep. We visited an ancient petrified forest and went penguin hunting (not that we found any). We took a 45 minute hike without water, food, bug repellent, or proper footwear for that matter. After all, it was only supposed to be 45 minutes right? We entered the forest whistling, laughing, hopping over small ponds, all without a care in the world. We emerged 3 ½ hours later onto a deserted beach, cold and hungry, covered in mud up to our necks, very tired and very lost. Then it began to rain. We eventually found our way back, but there and then we vowed never to enter another forest for the remainder of the trip. We never broke our promise.

Onto Dunedin and more importantly THE CADBURY FACTORY!!!!!! Ahhhhhhh!!!! Oh glorious world of chocolate! Where have you been all my life? You’ve never seen three people so out of their minds happy than Polly, Neil and I walking into that factory. Just pictures us skipping along in slow motion, diving into mountains of chocolate bars, while the song “The Candyman Can” provided the soundtrack. Okay, so it wasn’t exactly like that, but that’s how it felt to us. For two hours it was pure gluttonous indulgence, but oh we paid the price later. It is still a fond, but nauseating memory. One I will cherish forever. : )

With heavy hearts we made our way back up to Christchurch where we had to face the reality that our trip was almost over. For four weeks we had been living in our own little bubble where we were happy just being the three of us. To throw three complete strangers into a car for a month, just hoping none of them are psycho…..or German, it’s amazing the fun and laughter never stopped. We had become so close we felt like family. It was tragic for all of us to have to leave each other. We made a brief stop in Akaroa, this pretty little French town, which also held the French pretentiousness. One day there was enough. Then we headed back into Christchurch and straight to Suzanne’s.

It was very weird being back in civilization. After a month in a tent, cooking over fires and doing everything else in the bushes, it was slightly overwhelming. We hated it. Our last few days together were a blur. Polly, Neil and I spent some time seeing museums and galleries and we all had a fantastic night out for Neil’s birthday. There was a cloud of melancholy hovering over us the whole time though. I had talked Polly into coming back to Melbourne with me but Neil had to stay and find work. At 4:00am Neil drove Polly and I to the airport, all of us in tears. It was by far the the best experience and the hardest chapter to end for all of us. But life does go on, and there are always more adventures ahead…….. sigh.....