merry christmas!

jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock...

its christmas eve night here in brisbane, austrlia and a balmy 75 degrees

plans are to spend the night at some friends' house tonight so we can all get up early tomorrow morning to exchange small gifts and cook a biiiiiig breakie! (my contribution is my mom's delish french toast that i love :) later that day, we are going to a christmas dinner at emma's family friend's house - with a great pool to cool off in! hmmm spending christmas in a bathing suit, so funny!

thanks to the christmas cards and gifts i've received here in australia and via my mom at my greensboro address - i appreciate the sending of christmas love and spirit while im so far away from family and friends!

have a very merry christmas

'i'll be home for christmas, if only in my dreams'

christmas spirit

christmas feels very weird here in brisbane. its the day before christmas eve, and there is none of that sense of pandemonium that usually perpetrates around shopping malls, restaurants, and events. its weirdly calm here compared to the USA... the general christmas explosion that usually descends day after thanksgiving is absent here as well. there is a big christmas tree in one of the public squares accompanied by 'santa's mailbox' and a few scatterings of garland and lights around, but the massive window displays and decorated houses and santa with his reindeer are missing along with the crowds. the 90 degree weather doesnt help make it feel more christmas-y either! it just strikes me as very off because the two places that australia is most like (america and britian) are the most over the top about christmas.

i dont mind the down play this year, being away from friends and family make me not want to dwell too much on the holiday. i am working christmas eve and 'boxing day' (the 26th of december) but the Point is closed on christmas so i am going to a holiday bbq with some other travellers i know from work here.



on a very exciting note - CONGRATS to my sister and welcome to the newest addition to the family, Baby Grace. my beautiful niece Grace Rebekah Powell was born on 12/22/2009 at 5:12pm, weighing 7lbs, 5oz. I cant wait to meet her!!!!

brisie update

at the tail end of a couple of days off from work this week - theres nothing like working 40 hours to make you appreciate your free time more! so in my days off i got my library card (yay!), my tax file number, made some new friends, and went lawn bowling. lawn bowling is an australian sport/game/pastime thats sort of played like a combination of horseshoes, croquet, golf, and bowling. its done on these manicured courses that have old retired men sit around all day drinking beer and playing. but the game is becoming more popular with younger people too and when we went it was all 20 somethings. basically the idea of the game is that theres 1 small white ball, and you throw it down to the other end of the course, and then each team has balls that you roll trying to get your balls closest to the small white one. and youre barefoot the whole time (not quite sure why). we went as a girl from work's going-away, she is the girl i am replacing at work (primarily the opener).

tonight is south bank's Christmas Magnifique - the big christmas celebration a week early (again, cant seem to figure out why... maybe just to milk as much money from the holiday as possible?) with fireworks being shot over the lagoon tonight! everyone at work is on shift since so many people will be eating dinner in south bank before the fireworks. upside is that we have a fixed menu and hopefully everyone will be in a 'giving spirit' (aka tips!)
should be a fun atmosphere either way.

next week on my day off im looking to take a day trip to the gold coast!

my new flat

its official - i moved into my new flat yesterday! there was a bit of a snafu with the roommate situation and they have decided not to join me in the apartment, so i am instead renting just the one room and we are finding people to rent the other two rooms in the 2 bedroom unit. i am so excited to get a real nights sleep without 10 other people in the room, and it will be great to be so close to work (5 minute walk). even things like being able to leave my tooth brush in the bathroom and not carry it around every time i need to brush my teeth is a treat! its amazing what you appreciate after almost 3 months in a hostel :) the next order of business is to buy a couple of things for the kitchen so i can actually cook there and apply for my very own library card!
the brisbane city library is my favorite library i have ever been to (no offense to Perkins) - its super pop art-y, with bright colors, retro furnishings, and cool lighting that is crazy enough without being overwhelming. that plus the air-con (not standard everywhere in australia like it is in the states) will make it a staple for hanging out on my days off.

also on the agenda for future days off is a trip to the mountains just outside of Brisbane, moreton island/stradbook island and also trips to the gold coast, surfers paradise, etc for a little beach time (all accessible by the brisbane city train line)

cant wait!

aussie definition of the day
entree - appetizer/starter (not a 'main' like it is in the states - so confusing!)

no news is good news

nothing much new happening here in brisie!

i had my first two shifts at my job today and yesterday, they went really well, im loving it! also looking forward to getting my first paycheck in next week :)

the flat is still 95% definitely a go, scheduled move in is now thursday, just working out a couple of unforeseen glitches!

having absolutely sweltering weather (no complaints here, i'll take the hot summer weather of Oz over the winter of USA!) and enjoying myself on days off hanging out at the lagoon here.

Bris-job

more good news! i got a really great job in brisbane!! i am going to be waitressing at a really great restaurant in South Bank called The Point. really fantastic GM and people, excellent food and atmosphere, good pay and hours, and nearby my new flat! i had a 2 hour trial yesterday and got the job, i start for real tomorrow. im really happy to be getting so many house (30+) from one place, thats pretty rare for here and saves a lot of trouble trying to juggle two jobs with changing schedules!

http://www.thepointrb.com/09/Pages/TPR_TRT09.html

brisbane gets better :)

so the days in brisbane NOT spent in the ER have been lovely! since ive already done the whole sightseeing/falling in love with the city thing, ive been spending my time job and flat (apartment) hunting, which, its happened, has made me discover even more incredibly lovely areas of Brisie. i love this city :)

and GOOD NEWS - i found a flat this evening! its a 3 bedroom for 4 of us (me, a canadian girl and two english guys that ive met on my travels down the east coast) so we're still deciding if we're going to rotate each week who sleeps on the couch or if we'll stagger rent so whoever sleeps on the couch is happy with the low price they get :) ohhhhh backpacking. being one room short is the only downside. the upsides are many and include very cheap rent ($100/week each - trust me, crazy cheap for Brisbane - hostels are almost $200/week each to share a room with 6 strangers), GREAT location in a super fun and safe area called South Bank, where there are tons of great boutiques and restaurants (will start job searching there tomorrow) and also where the big Christmas festival takes place. The big lagoon is there as well and from our place its about a 5-10 min walk to the botanical gardens, a 5-10 min walk to the lagoon, 2 minutes to the train station, and maybe a 20 min walk to city center. its right on the river so we can also use the public transportation ferries (called City Cat) to get around!!!!
i am so excited to be able to UNPACK and have my own room and a nice kitchen and bathroom that i can actually leave my stuff in instead of transporting every time. also one of the guys (matt) who will be living there is a vegetarian also so if we do roomie dinners i wont be the odd man out for once!

on the job front, ive already turned down a couple of work for accommodation jobs (you end up making very little), and a couple of sales/marketing jobs that were commission instead of wage based. im really hoping for another restaurant gig so will be spending tomorrow searching my new neighborhood passing out CVs (resumes)!

heathwise, stomach is still iffy (basically i havent had any appetite for 3 days, not normal or healthy) but hoping that it will all clear up on its own in the next few days! and im not in any pain and seem to be operating incredibly normally for not eatting much of anything so wont worry about it too much for the moment

rough start in brisbane

it was a less than awesome start to my stay here in brisbane this afternoon - on the bus ride here from noosa i got really bad stomach pains and thought it might be appendicitis, so went straight from the bus to a nearby clinic, who also thought it was probably appendicitis so sent me to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment. turns out that it isnt appendicitis (they're 99% sure - they couldnt actually SEE my appendix on the ultrasound machine so options are im either a mutant born without one, it suddenly evaporated out of my system, its not where its supposed to be, or -most likely- it was hiding from the doctors, which apparently happens sometimes). however they couldnt tell what the problem was, only were able to rule out the major issues that would need further hospitalization.
good news is that im now out of the hospital and not in any pain!
bad news is that even though australian medical care isnt nearly as expensive as american ERs, im still going to have to now deal with the bill and trying to get my travel insurance company to reimburse me :(

hoping tomorrow (and 2 interviews i have lined up) will be a better kick off to my brisbane life!

aussie word of the day
ambo: ambulance

noosa

can you believe its almost December?? absolutely crazy! after the past 4 weeks of travelling it will be nice to settle down for a bit in brisbane. for now, im enjoying a couple days of r&r in ritzy noosa. noosa has a laid back elegance to it, encouraged by the residents who are all mostly rich retirees. noosa has some great surf beaches, the long winding noosa river flowing through it, the most roundabouts of any town in australia (over 100!), and trendy Hastings Street which is a upscale Mediterranean style shopping block with great boutiques, cafes, and restaurants.

aussie spelling of the day:
tyre = tire (as in, the wheels on a car)

weird.

fraiser island

just got back from a pretty intense 3 days camping on fraiser island. fraiser is the world's largest sand island (weirdly enough, covered in reforests and fresh water lakes) and with no paved roads, everyone takes 4WD vehicles to drive on the beach and sand tracks through the inland. the hostels in rainbow beach (one of the two launching points for fraiser) sets up people into 2 groups of 11 people each to go into 2 4WD vehicles equipped with camping gear, food for 3 days, and not much else. we had a bit of tough luck on the first day with our vehicles but managed alright! saw some absolutely beautiful lakes on fraiser (the most stunning being lake mckenzie - wow) and had a blast bouncing around in the 4WD. only downside was that in my vehicle was a group of germans who (though fluent in english) spent the whole time speaking german to each other, and a group from holland who though also fluent in english spent the whole time speaking dutch to each other. really interesting dynamic there and gives some food for thought on international etiquette. i personally think its rude to do so but maybe im being culturally insensitive (shocking for an american, huh?) to expect people to speak english all the time. i can imagine people would miss speaking their native tongue, but it does give the people around them a really bad feeling of being excluded. thoughts?

updates

so here is the 3 towns and adventures over the last week:

1) stopped at a town called rockhampton (the beef capital of Australia, fyi) which is the launching point for the great keppel island. and no, i still have yet to find out what a keppel is or why they are so great. had an extremely relaxing 2 nights/3 days staying at Emu's, a really great hostel in the middle of no where that gave me the luxury of being picked up from the bus stop and driven to the hostel, and also a ride to and from the ferry station (to get me to the island), and a ride back to the bus station at the end of the 3 days (basically backpacker 5-stars) it was also mostly empty, which meant i got a whole dorm room to myself! and the beds were so ridiculously comfortable... none of this foam mattress stuff i had gotten used to. absolute heaven for catching up on rest! had a lovely time on the island as well, rented a kayak and kayaked around the island snorkeling in the beautiful water.

2) went with the oz experience bus on a mandatory overnight stop at the kroombit cattle station, a real imitation outback experience. we were greeted by cowboys shouting 'yee-haw,' given bandannas and cowboy hats, fed a 'bush' dinner, learned to crack a cattle whip, rode the mechanical bull, learned to lasso a goat and participated in a goat rodeo. fun had by all, especially the guy who insisted i could eat goat for dinner because "goats are vegetarians too"

3) made it to rainbow beach, launching point for famous fraiser island! Fraiser is the worlds largest sand island and home to one of the top 10 beaches in the world at lake mckenzie. we will be there for 3 days 2 nights, 4x4ing and camping - i cant wait! Frasier Island is where the film 'the beach' was filmed (i didnt see it, just what ive heard).
i will be incommunicado for the next few days so i will go ahead and wish everyone a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!


(ps, meant to mention before that the whitsunday islands is where matthew mcconehey and kate hudson flimed 'fools gold'!)

limited access

hi everyone - i have limited phone and internet access at the moment, will write in as soon as i can!

saling adventures

made it to a library for a bit of free internet!

whitsundays were amazing... the launch point is airlie beach, which i stayed at for one day before and two days after my sailing trip. beautiful small beach town, no traffic lights, filled to the brim with backpackers on their way to and from sailing. you can tell which are about to head off and which just got back by the amount of tan (slash burn) on them! i was on a boat called the Pride of Airlie which was unique in that we all stayed on an island in dorms for the 2 nights, instead of on the boat. we were sailing for 3 days, the highlight of which was whitehaven beach - one of the top 10 beaches in the world, for good reason. did a bit of snorkeling as well which was nice (love the warm warm water here!) and hung out on the desk of the boat drowning ourselves in sunscreen (here called suncream) so to not get burnt from the very intense sun. overall had a lovely time, met some wonderful people and realized that my dream retirement (which i'm planning to begin around age 28) is sailing and living on a cute white and blue boat somewhere in the pacific ocean (i would say for certain the whitsunday islands but dont want to rule out the possibility for a somehow even more perfect place as everywhere i go seems to be even better than before)

now im in emu park, gateway to great keppel island for 2 nights to get a bit of r&r before heading south to the cattle station for a night (for a tourist 'outback experience') and then to fraiser island!!

sailing in the whitsunday islands

...just as amazing as it sounds. updates to come soon

magnetic island

yesterday i left cairns and arrived many hours later in magnetic island (or "Maggie" as the locals call it). i was not at all sad to leave cairns as the 6 days i was there it rained 5 of them. luckily the weather at maggie is perfect! i also went on my first 'Oz Experience' bus journey to get here! it is definitely nothing like the other bus services here (greyhound, premier, etc) and is excellent for backpackers travelling alone because the only people who ride with them are other backpackers and Oz Experience creates a very social atmosphere on the buses. the bus driver is also a pseudo tour guide and on the bus we play games and get to know each other. also we make random stops along the way to see cool things. this does mean it takes almost twice as long as greyhound to get anywhere, but it is the journey that matters anyhow, right? well, maybe not when the destination is places as exciting as sailing in the whitsunday islands... but still a great experience to have and a wonderful way to meet more people than i otherwise would.

maggie island is a very sleepy island without so much as a streetlight - great break for a couple of relaxing days before heading off to the whitsundays!

in a moment of missing family and friends back home.... congrats to jonah my pbj for 'more juice' and a great big hug to everyone there back in the USA. also hoping myla has a speedy recovery and thanks to peter for reading her and jerry my blog posts! lastly welcome back to nat and matt from your trip to isreal - so exciting to hear about it, glad you had such a great experience!

the great barrier reef: nemo and friends

"fish are friends, not food"
-Nemo

today i went diving at the great barrier reef! i had high expectations of the day and they were all surpassed... what an incredible experience! i had a total of 3 dives for the day - the first was the final dive needed for my open water diving certification. we had to review all the skills i had learned through the course. and i passed with flying colors!
the second dive we dove under the boat (when it was anchored) and fed some of the HUGE fish that were hanging out there. my new instructor Dirk also taught me new underwater tricks, like putting my head on the sand and spinning around and i taught him how to do an underwater backflip. very educational overall :)
the third dive was just a fun exploring dive in a different part of the reef. we played with nemo (clown fish) but my favorite part were the GIANT clams (almost the size of me) that would snap at your hand or fin if you brought it too near. my second favorite was the type of flowering coral that was common in the Little Mermaid, where when you touch the flowers they retreat into the coral (you have to see it to know what I'm talking about!). another love was the beautiful iridescent fish that seemed to change colors as they moved. less fun was the sea slugs that would shoot out what looked like silly string when we picked them up. the coral and reef life alone (even without the fish) was stunningly beautiful, so many shapes and colors it was overwhelming

overall an absolutely amazing day!!

brisbane/cairns!

i made it to Cairns and the infamous Great Barrier Reef! along the way i spent a day in brisbane, my new favorite australian city! i am very excited to be settling down there for a few months after my novemeber of traveling down the east coast. it was great to see chris (my friend from duke in "Uni" at the University of Queensland masters program) and the city in a whirlwind 24 hours. in brisbane i went to queens street (pedestrian promenade with lots of shops and cafes and gathering areas), had a picnic lunch in the city botanical gardens, took the CityCat ferry up and down the brisbane river, went to the city library (the coolest library ive ever been in), the south bank area (with a gorgeous board walk covered in swirling, flowering arches), the streets beach (a faux beach made on the brisbane river), and the queensland cultural center with the spectacular Gallery of Modern Art, and also the state library, museum, and art gallery. the people in brisbane were all wonderfully friendly and helpful and the city reminded me somewhat of chicago... except with much, Much better weather :)

for now im in Cairns and excited to take my final dive to complete my certification in the great barrier reef! cairns isnt too much in itself, but is a wonderful launching point for not only the reef but also cape tribulation and the daintree rainforest, both great day trips from cairns. im here for 5 days and on friday will be heading to Magnetic Island via Townsville!

dive school

its official - i can scuba dive! monday-today i was in a dive course to get my open water certification (which means you can legally go on dives up to 18 meters without an instructor)! monday and tuesday were classroom and pool days, learning about the equipment and skills. i didnt do so well in the pool, had a tough time with taking off my mask underwater, but i got it eventually! the instructor was really great and helped me one on one and after class to make sure i got it down. wednesday and today were ocean dive days - the real thing! it was sooo very cool, byron has a great dive site with a great reef and amazing marine life... turtles and beautiful fish and SHARKS (not the man eating kind). we only got 3 of our 4 required dives in because of the weather, so they are giving me a referral to their sister program in Cairns so i will get my last dive in at the Great Barrier Reef next week to become fully certified!

Happy Halloween!

halloween is one of my favorite holidays, and even though it isnt very widely celebrated in australia, i still managed to find a few friends and places that were celebrating it, american style! i got a 2 day gig doing face painting at one of the restaurant/bars here that even turned itself into a fairly decent haunted house! i am dressing up this evening as an Australian flag - cant wait!

on the schedule for next week is great fun - i am getting my open water dive certification! it is a 4 day process that involves 2 days of classroom lessons and trials in the pool, and 2 days doing a total of 4 dives around byron bay! i am so excited, i think this is going to be a really amazing experience. once i am certified i can dive on my own (will still need to rent equipment) anywhere in the world for the rest of my life! the only exceptions is wreck dives - for that i will need to do an additional quick half day course for deep dive experience. i really want to dive the shipwreck Yongala off of magnetic island (in between cairns and the whitsundays) so will be looking into that soon.

the dive course is monday-thursday, and then on friday i head to brisbane for a day (hanging out with chris, my friend from duke who is currently studying in brisbane), and then off to cairns!

hippeville

yesterday i moved into my new hostel - the arts factory. its definitely unlike any other hostels ive been too! its a byron bay institution, was started in the 70s by hippies as a place for artists and in the 80s became an venue for rock n roll. its set on 5 acres of subtropical rainforest a few blocks from the center of town, with a pool, sauna, beach volleyball court, recording studio, and hammocks sprinkled around the complex. the accommodations ranges from campsites to tee-pees to 'the surf shack' dorm - im staying in the all female 'lakeside cottage' which has our own little kitchen and bathroom and wrap around porch which faces out to the lake. neighbors include iguanas, bush turkeys, and possums which hang out on the porch and have breakfast with us occasionally. the arts factory is a little old and run down but makes up for it in atmosphere - there's always the sound of drumming or someone playing guitar in the background and everyone staying there is really nice.

very cool!

musical chairs

last night i entered a musicals chair competition and won a free bus pass with Oz Experience from Cairns to Brisbane/Byron Bay! amazing because i was just about to book my transportation today! Oz Experience is a little different from the Greyhound or Premier bus (which are just plain simple transportation). Oz Experience is kinda half tour, half bus - only backpackers travel with them and they promote a fun, social atmosphere in addition to providing historical commentary on the journey. its also less flexible than standard transportation, there arnt buses from each stop every day, let alone several times a day - you have to work your schedule around their schedule. there are also a few mandatory overnight stops i wasnt planning on. however, since my plans are so flexible as they are, i figure this could be a really fun addition to my trip down the east coast! the additions i put into my travels are 2 nights in townsville, which is the launching point for this really cool dive sight of a sunken ship that has turned into an artificial reef. also added on is a mandatory overnight in the 'outback' (not far from the coast in actuality) which includes staying at a ranch, eating a 'bush dinner' by the fire, and helping round up the sheep in the evening. should be a very cool experience! and all for free because of my previously undiscovered talent in playing musical chairs :)

as for the next decision - where and when to get my dive certification...

today in byron bay...

...nothing happened! same as yesterday and the day before that - its a glorious thing! if its sunny, i go to the beach. if it cools off, i go hiking. if its rainy (like today), i read and bum around town. as wonderful of a holiday (vacation) as it is, i can see how it might get a tad boring after awhile - i think my 3 weeks here is going to be perfect!

a few fun facts for you though:
on friday i learned how to play cricket! i ran into a melbourne footie team (footie = Australian rules football) who were here on their end of season holiday and they were playing cricket on the beach. cricket is a cool game similar to baseball - the 'bowler' throws a ball and the hitter tries to hit it. if they miss 3 times theyre out, or if they hit it and someone in the outfield catches it, theyre out. the other nuances of the game may have been lost on me but still exciting to learn a new aussie sport!

yesterday i hiked up to the most eastern point of australia - nothing much there but a sign and miles upon miles of clear blue water, but a great hike - byron bay is unique in that the rain forest comes right up to the coast. the coastal hiking trails here remind me so much of cinque terra (italy) with cliff side walks looking down to the beach on one side, and dense forest on the other.

halloween is approaching, and as my second favorite holiday im wondering how to celebrate it in a country that doesnt traditionally recognize it. i think i may have to fashion some sort of makeshift costume and buy a bag of my favorite aussie candy (Starburst gummies) at the very least! any ideas?

aussie word of the day
lollies = candy (all sorts, not just hard candies)

East Coast Travel

you cant be in byron bay for 5 minutes without someone asking you if youre on your way up (the coast) and hearing about all the amazing adventures to be had... diving in Cairns, sailing in the Whitsundays, 4x4 and camping on Frasier Island. so i finally got my butt off the beach and made my plans! i decided to fly up to Cairns and then travel back down so i can end up in byron bay again (and closer to new zealand, my next adventure stop)

nov 6 - take bus up to brisbane, hang out with chris (duke friend studying in brisbane)
nov 7 - fly to cairns (take day trip up to the Daintree National Forest... try out tree surfing!)
nov 13 - take bus from cairns to airlie beach (the jumping off point for whitsundays sailing)
nov 17 - take bus from airlie beach to yappoon (the jumping off point for great keppel island - still off the radar for most backpackers)
nov 21 - take bus from yeppoon to the town of 1770 (a surfers mecca and seriously, any town with a name thats a date has to be awesome)
nov 23 - take bus from 1770 to rainbow beach/hervey bay (jumping off point for frasier island)
nov 27 - take bus from rainbow beach/hervey bay to noosa (similar town to byron bay)
nov 29 - take bus from noosa back to bribane!

so far nothing is booked after the whitsundays, but figured this might be what i end up doing. i will be buying a hop on, hop off bus ticket that will take me all the way down the coast and back to where i started! at this point i will likely want (and need) to settle someplace for a couple months and get a job. it will also be nice to be settled for christmas so i have friends to hang out with to slightly distract me from missing christmas with my family and the birth of baby jane.

Byron Bay Cont...

had another great day in byron! this morning i hiked up to the lighthouse (also the most easternly point in australia) and then went to the beach for the rest of the day. i could stay here forever! though, it does seem like its not the type of place where you can settle down... its a tourist town through and through. also there is SO much i want to do up the east coast (fraiser island 4x4ing, whitsundays sailing, great barrier reef diving) that i should do in the next 2-3 months before the rainy season ('the wet') begins. also on another good note, last night i won a trivia competition and won a free sailing trip in the whitsundays! its tough to even consider leaving this heaven but theres so much waiting for me as well! -rough life, i know :)

Byron Bay~

i made it to Paradise! its confirmed - byron bay IS what everyone says it is. a bohemian beach heaven (more boho than hippie, i would say) thats beautiful and relaxed and carefree. basically everything that i have been looking for! its a small town, with weather worn houses and quirky shops and cafes and palm trees everywhere you look. the beach is stunning (and ive only seen the main beach - cleverly named 'main beach') and it is definitely, positively, 100% a beach town. from the music to the food to the people, beach town through and through. im so happy im here! the only problem encountered so far is that the library requires your first born in order to get a membership/free internet, so will be reporting from internet cafes while im here (if i can manage to tear myself away from the beach!)

mom - no worries i just picked up a super size bottle of spf 30 :)
beasta - happy belated birthday!

aussie word of the day
knackered: tired/worn out

Flashpacking

in my month in Oz i have come across the term 'flashpackers' more times than i can count and never knew exactly what it meant... finally today i decided to look it up and discovered the following definition from wikipedia. very interesting, i thought i would share!

"Flashpacking
Flashpacking is a neologism used to refer to an affluent backpacker. Whereas backpacking is traditionally associated with budget travel and destinations that are relatively cheap, flashpacking has an association of more disposable income while traveling and has been defined simply as backpacking with a bigger budget.[11]
A simple definition of the term Flashpacker can be thought of as backpacking with flash, or style. One school of thought defines the flashpacker as a rapidly growing segment of travelers who adhere to a modest accommodation and meal budget, while spending freely, even excessively, for activities at their chosen destination. Another school of thought defines flashpacking as an incongruous mix of 'slumming it' and luxury; of adventurous travel with those on a budget by day and sedate dining and comfortable accommodation by night.[12] Flashpackers have been further defined as tech-savvy adventurers who often prefer to travel with a cell phone, digital camera, iPod and a laptop,[13] although none of these is required in order to be a flashpacker. As with other forms of travel, the term flashpacker is mainly one of self-identification. The origin of the term itself is obscure.
The term also reflects a growing demographic of travelers who are forsaking traditional organized travel, venturing to destinations once the reserve of more adventurous backpackers, and the increasing number of individuals who leave well paid jobs or take 'career breaks', using the time to travel independently, but with greater comfort and many of the gadgets they are accustomed to at home. As a result, hostels are evolving and offering more up-market accommodation to those still traveling on a budget[14] in order to obtain their business. The hostels have realized a need to evolve in order to meet the changing demands of travelers.[15]"
-Wikipedia

next step

its official - next wednesday i am flying out to byron bay!! place ticket it bought, hostel booked, and notice given at my job. byron bay is the essence of what i came to australia for - small little surfing beach town, beautiful weather, semi-hippie vibe about the town... what convinced me to go (besides the absolutely gloooowing lonely planet description - see below) is the fact that everyone ive talked to the past week hasnt been able to stop talking/raving about it.

"OK, you’ve made it to the promised land. God’s own earth, Byron is the region’s most celebrated haunt, a gorgeous town where the high green moguls of the northern rivers hinterland meet the coast in spectacular fashion. The aesthetics spin the mind, but it’s the town’s escapism that has become the honey to roving bees. Deflated swarms of them bumble in to get drunk on the trademark New Age, laid-back, organic-fusion lifestyle. They stay for a weekend, a week or for good (often in that order) to tune in, tune out, tone up and tan up."
-Lonely Planet

Go Blue Devils!

On a note entirely unrelated to Australia....

Duke won a football game yesterday against NC State 49-28!

Wooooo go Devils!

(Sorry Powell clan :)

Aussie words of the day

Stonkered : beaten, defeated

Skite : boast, brag

out of the hostel!

as of tomorrow i will be out of hostels for the moment and into a spare room of the family of one of the guys i work with! i have never lived with a family before (besides my own, of course) so it will definitely be an interesting and educational experience. on the upside, i will have my own room (yay!), will be very very close to work, and the mom of the house is a really wonderful almost-hippie flight attendant who i get along with very well. also great is that there is no sort of lease at all so as soon as i head out of melbourne i wont have any loose ends. i am looking forward to getting out of my bunk bed, dorm room, and sloppy kitchen for a few weeks, though the nice thing about staying at a business instead of a home is that the expectations are very clear and its never personal. should be an interesting (and good) change!

last night was my second full shift at work - since it was a tuesday night it was very slow and things went very smoothly, i think im starting to get the hang of things! i am realizing though how very odd the waitstaff dynamic becomes when people arnt working for tips nor keeping tips separate. for example, concrete sections of tables and customers you are responsible for suddenly becomes very blurry. if someone else 'helps' you out by taking their order or food out to them without telling you it puts you in the odd (to me) position of not knowing where your tables are at. conversely, if you help someone out by doing the same to theirs, its tough to know how much then you should be following up with their service.

in so many ways (professionally and personally) it is clear that the states (USA) are so much more fiercely independent (some say selfish, i prefer independent) than other countries, even the so americanized Australia. will a year be enough to de-independant me? we will see!


aussie word of the day
Chuck a sickie : take the day off sick from work when you're perfectly healthy

Melbourne continues...

first full shift at work last night! it was for sure the best first day of work ive ever had... its amazing how much a restaurant culture can change once people arnt working for tips anymore. people at hoo haa work just as hard, but as a team instead of individuals. at first i thought that it was just because i was new that everyone was helping me bring my food to tables and being looked out for - but then i realized everyone was doing that to everyone! very nice atmosphere to work and the management actually encourages everyone to hang out and goof off - at one point i got a piggy back ride around the restaurant by my supervisor in order to show me the cash registers. and the customers absolutely love it too! waitressing is tougher here than im used to (more intense clean up work after close) and pays less well (tips are very minimal) but its still a great job. i think i fit in well too - the GM took me aside after the dinner rush died down and told me that two of my three tables that night had gone up to him to tell him i was a great waitress (could be sympathy out of my first day but still glad to have the team thinking im doing well!) it will definitely take some getting used to getting home at 6am (work finished at 4am but then everyone hangs out for awhile waiting for the morning trains to start running again) but its a great first aussie job!

also today i checked out the melbourne aquarium and tonight im going to the final night of the Salvador Dali exhibit here

aussie word for the day
tip: as in, dont eat yellow snow - not 15-20% :)

first day of work

had a wonderful first day of work yesterday! just went in for a 2 hour training session and met a lot of the people (really nice!) and learned how to use the palm pilots they place orders with (GENIUS system).

checked into a new hostel today right near work and am now exploring the new area (prahan/windsor/chapel street district) and will go into the CBD (central business district) to go to the farmers market for some fresh produce a little later!

aussie words of the day
capsicum: red peppers
rocket: arugula

Grand ol day in Melbourne!

what a beautiful, fun day today in melbourne! first stopped off at a couple hostels to find a place to stay for the next week or so and decided (very smartly, i think) on back of chapel hostel, which is about 20 feet from the job i decided to take (the one at Hoo Haa as a waitress) so that when i get off work at 4am i dont have far to go. since public transport stops at 3am this will be very key in next stop!

next was a picnic in the botanical gardens and then exploring the yarra river district - what a surprise! it was absolutely beautiful and filled with interesting places and people. after that was watching the sunset over st kildas and finding the pint size penguins just as they were finishing marching around for the night. wonderful sunny day and cant wait for tomorrow- my first day of work!

aussie word of the day
chook: chicken

Melbourne: the rain finally stops!

today, after 4 days of non stop rain and cold, it finally stopped raining in Melbourne! the next couple days are supposed to be pretty nice, and with even more reason to celebrate - i got a job! actually, i got two jobs and another call for an interview! i have a bartending job up in Kew - a northern suburb of Melbourne (half hour tram ride from the city but an hour tram ride from where i am currently staying which is St Kilda - half an hour tram ride south of the city) at a sleepy place called the Hotel Kew and also a waitressing job in Windsor (a part of town in between the city center and St Kilida) at a very trendy very cool restaurant/bar that seems like it will get verrrry busy. the interview is to do promotions, i dont know a lot about what the work would be but figured it would be interesting to go check out at least!

next step is to figure out where im going to live for the next few weeks here in Melbourne and take the RSA (responsible service of alcohol), a federally mandated course for anyone working around alcohol.

melbourne day 2: job hunt

today i managed to survive the constant rain and cold to go job hunting! it was tougher than i expected it would be, most places said they werent hiring, but i did get one call back and have an interview set up for monday to be a bartender! also got my melbourne library card today to cash in on the free internet (only thing i wish i had done differently is to have brought an ipod touch or something to get online with - i will probably end up spending the same to get online for the next few months that it would have cost!)

next step, find a flat!

Aussie word of the day
flat: apartment

aussie travel

i discovered this morning that the 'she'll be apples' philosophy of life in australia also extends to airport security. i managed to get from sydney to melboure without any person or machine checking my id even once, with a half full water bottle and pepper spray in my purse. the advantage of this was that i also managed to get my 20kg backpack on board even though the limit was 10kg without paying extra :)

i guess the one amazing thing about austrlia is that no one wants to blow them up...and they dont want to blow anyone else up! its like switzerland but without the banks

Aussie word of the day
Oz: Australia

***and Sydney is nicknamed 'the emerald city'***

Melbourne - Day 1

made it to Melbourne safe and sound!

PS whoever it was that told me that Melbourne had crazy spastic weather - you were so right! in 15 minutes today it went from 45 and raining to 75 and sunny!

Aussie word of the day
you reckon?: dont you think so? you agree? (an implied 'yes')

the blue mountains adventure/disaster (still deciding which title works better)

it was a cloudy, smoggy day here in sydney this morning (about 1/4 of the people walking around were wearing those hospital mask things), so i decided to venture out to the blue mountains, which are a 2 hour train ride out of sydney. i had heard just enough about them to know it was an enchanting place with great hiking trails and quaint villages... what unfortunately i did not research was the weather forecast or trails condition! i left sydney just before 10am in pleasant warm weather and got off in Kootoma at noon in near arctic conditions. after a quick stop in the trail outfitters to get a pair of thermal long johns, it was almost bearable, and i figured id warm up quickly once i got to the hiking trails! echo point and the start of the trails are about two miles from the train station through what is a really cute town center, so after a half hour walk, i arrive at the three sisters and echo point - beautiful views! (ill try to figure out how to get pictures on this blog sooner or later) unfortunately the trails were all flooded from too much rain so hiking was not an option. to solve both of the issues i hoped on the tourist trolley bus (with no tourists -they were probably smart enough to check the weather!) and cruised around the mountain in style, then headed back to sydney early. (only to find, to top the day off well, that the thermals must have something in/on them i'm allergic to, because my legs are covered in red splotches!)

so on that note - tomorrow morning i head off to Melbourne! (pronounced "mel-bon")

Aussie word of the day
Pom: a British person

the art of hostel cooking

one invaluable skill i have learned in my experiences backpacking is the art of hostel cooking. what can you eat for $5 a day thrown together in an old pan? michelle's tips and tricks below!

tip number 1: shop local, shop in season - farmers markets are the best and cheapest way to get produce for meals, trying to get fruits and veggies that arnt in season or native to the area means they wont be as fresh and shipping costs will drive up the price
tip number 2: remember that quantity does not always equal value - buying in bulk can make the cost per ounce/liter/etc less expensive, but since you wont be staying put for long enough to use it all, it ends up not being such a great deal after all!
tip number 3: buy in complete meals, daily - another way to reduce wasted food
tip number 4: look for store brands and weekly sales
tip number 5: learn a lot of recipes - once you get fresh, cheap ingredients using the previous tips, knowing a hundred different ways to put them together will keep meals from getting repetitive. the tough part is finding things that are easy to cook with just a pot/pan and without your usual arsenal of seasonings and condiments (just imagine trying to cook most of the things you usually make without butter or olive oil, salt or pepper, dried herbs or hot sauce)

sample day's meals
breakfast (brekkie): croissant from local bakery with scrambled eggs and oj
lunch: easy asian stir fry - mix contents of 1 pouch ramen noodles (plus seasoning, without the water) with bag of prechopped veggies (if you go to the store in the morning you can usually find day-old prebagged veggies for half price! same with breads from the bakery)
snack: fruit from farmers market
dinner: pasta - spaghetti and store brand pasta sauce topped with cheddar cheese (trust me, its sooooo good after a long day walking around!)

I need your numbers!

hi all,
for some reason, my phone will not let me access any of the contacts in my phone. i have really great international calling rates and have finally mastered the time difference, so if everyone would email me their phone numbers i would love to get them compiled the old fashion way... in a little notebook i carry around with me!


Aussie word of the day
singlet: tank top (the kind with thicker straps)

Sydney: Days 3 & 4

Sydney day 3 was my beach day! i started off with my first venture on the sydney public transportation system - one short bus ride later i was at coogee beach! coogee was really beatiful and in my exploring i saw a posting for an ammmmazing sounding place right near the water - fully furnished 2 bedroom well within my budget! i am going to go check the place out with a prospective flatmate (also here for a year on work & holiday visa from the states) on tuesday - will update then
from coogee i did the coast walk on to bronte, then tamarama, then finally bondi! it was an absolutely beautiful walk (though took a few hours!) and highly recommend doing it
in the evening, I attended my first Aussie barbie and met some new friends - everyone is so friendly here!

Sydney day 4: first checked out the Paddy's fruit and vegetable market right near me, then walked through chinatown on my way to the Darling Harbour fesitval Brazil. from there i crossed hyde park to get to the Sydney central library where i got my library card (no better way to feel like a local!), followed by a picnic in the royal botanical gardens, getting info on upcoming shows (and cheap seats) at the opera house, then exploring the market at the rocks (old historic district of sydney).

tomorrow i look into AU domestic travel and taking the RSA course so i can start applying for jobs!

Sydney: Day 2

day 2 was a little more exciting! i went on my hostel's city tour, so for the first time got to see the Sydney harbour, the bridge, the opera house (way, way more amazing in person than in photographs), the royal botanical gardens (very central park - i think i will be spending a lot of time there), hyde park, and everything in between! so i got a much better view of sydney and all of its glamour than i did yesterday just opening up bank accounts and registering for tax numbers! in the evening i met up with Will at his company's charity auction and trivia night - met some wonderful people and had a great time. i also met another friend on the hostel city tour who is doing the same thing as me - just got here, is spending a week at the Wake Up hostel, and is here for a year on the work & holiday visa and no idea what he is going to do for work/residence! makes me feel just a little less crazy for doing this :) we picked our tour guides brain and learned some good info - including that in order to get any food/beverage service job you need to take this federal 6 hour course, so i am going to look into that today. also on the agenda for today is to hit up bondi and do the walk from bondi to coogee (ive been hearing wonderful things about coogee) and then going to my first australian "barbie" (i was invited by a girl who i met last night). interestingly enough for all those worried about there being a lack of theme parties in Oz - apparently theme parties are the biggest rage here right now, and the barbie tonight is themed for the '80s' - i will do my best to throw something together with the few clothes i brought with me but would love to find a thrift store (or American Apparel) here!

aussie fact of the day
-Australia is the one country in which Starbucks has failed miserably. they opened up 130 stores here and only have about 20 left. makes me kind of proud of my new country (sorry D!)

Sydney: Day 1

its the morning of day 2 in Syd - yesterday was a great first day! i activated my westpac bank account and got some of this monopoly money that they call australian dollars, and i got a prepaid aussie sim card with GREAT international rates to the usa! (email me if you want my digits - i can also receive texts/calls for free)

i also went grocery shopping - WOW things here are expensive! i tend to track prices by the cost of a 20oz bottle of coke (average cost AUD$3.50) but i know others track it based on price of a gallon of milk (almost AUD$6 for store brand) - either way you slice it, sydney is Expensive! of course, there are always deals to be found and i was able to find some good buys... regular bread is about AUD$4 for a loaf, but a pack of pitas only AUD$1, and store brand hummos only AUD$2 - Kraft american cheese is about AUD$7 but store brand cheddar block is only AUD$2. and weirdly, pepsi max is much cheaper than all other coke/pepsi products (1.5 liter for AUD$1), sandy will be happy to hear!

today i am taking a free city tour with my hostel - will report back!

aussie word of the day
shelia: girl

here!

finally, finally, i am here! Sydney, Australia! 30 hours from GSO to SYD - including one loooong 19 hour stretch from LAX to SYD (with an unexpected stop in Brisbane because of some fog issues). it was a wonderful flight though!! read the new dan brown book on my way from gso to dulles then lax, and slept about 8 hours of the 19 hour flight on from there! only misstep was the oversight of not requesting my special vegetarian meals... so far it seems that is the only mistake i have made, because this city is great! well... the parts i have seen, at least! the hostel i love - i just got checked in now and am about to start exploring, setting up my bank account, phone, etc....

this place is just a little topsy turvey... like alive in wonderland, PRE rabbit hole. something is definitely off, from driving on the left side of the road, to the "drink driving is against the law' sign posted on the shuttle bus's window. and i was wondering why we had to make an emergency stop in brisbane instead of landing straight away in Sydney - blamed on the FOG of all things - until i saw the airport/runway landing at SYD. the runway markers begin on the water and touch solid ground only a few feet from the massive expanse of ocean.


aussie word of the day
Arvo : afternoon

Leaving... on a jet plane

heading to the airport now... cant believe today is finally here! my cell will still be domestic and working at my layovers in DC and LA until 1:35am EST if anyone wants to say farewell!

my bags are packed, i'm ready to go...

i can hardly believe the day is almost here. it is so surreal to think that months ago i woke up and thought 'it would be really cool to go to Australia for a year' - and now here we are, 36 hours from take off, bag packed, passport in hand. and now for my sanity more than your interest, my checklist:

1. Visa - check. Work and Holiday visa subclass 462, valid Sept 15th, 2009 until Sept 14th, 2010

2. Flight - check. United 8007 GSO to Dulles, United 0947 Dulles to LAX, United 0839 LAX to SYD. total miles traveled = just over 10,000 miles.

brand new Dan Brown book preordered. Earplanes, Airborne, and neck pillow purchased.

3. Hostel - check. one week booked at Wake Up Australia

4. $$$ - check. Westpac bank account set up in Sydney, Australia and money wired. credit cards notified of travel plans. exchange rate still not in my favor but slowly gaining :)

http://www.google.com/finance?chdnp=1&chdd=1&chds=1&chdv=1&chvs=Linear&chdeh=0&chdet=1248416488833&chddm=187816&q=CURRENCY:AUDUSD&ntsp=0

5. Insurance - check. World Nomad's travelers insurance

6. Job - pending. resume changed into an Australian style CV, printed and packed.

7. Cell Phone - almost check. Vodafone SIM only plan with 6 month contract decided on, current cell phone unlocked by AT&T, now just need to walk in and purchase it!
Google Voice still pending official launch :(

8. Luggage - backpack packed full of 7 go-anywhere dresses, cardigan, leggings, sandals, and travel size toiletries. all hopefully Aussie casual chic! plus resumes and my camera, voltage converter/adapter, a towel and a couple bathing suits.

so it looks like i'm ready to go! cant wait!

3 weeks to go!

update: my backpack is packed (everything fits!!), australian bank account is applied for (westpac), health insurance is figured out, and the complex systems of australian cell phone plans are Beginning to be unraveled!

aussie word of the day:
barney - argument/trouble
(derivation = trouble - rubble - barney rubble - barney)

the blue centerlight

for those of you wondering where the name of my Australian blog came from, *the blue centerlight* is part of a quote from Kerouacs *On the Road* - one of my new favorites. this mostly autobiographical work was completed in only 3 weeks! it consists of a sort of rambling spontaneous confessional prose detailing out a road trip across the US and his relationships with some of the other beat authors and unconventional intellectuals of the day. so here it is, the quote that influenced me and this blog and my journey to Oz:

***but then they danced down the streets like dingledodies, and I shambled after as Ive been doing all my life after people that interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes Awwww!***

Michelles Australian Blog

hi all and welcome to my blog! here you will find updates and reflections on my journey that starts on August 15th in the gso airport and lands me in Sydney Australia two days later with a 1 year work/holiday visa, a backpack, one-week booked at the Wake Up Australia hostel, and not much else. where is it going to lead? well, you will just have to come back and find out, right mate? for now, see below for an australian dictionary word-of-the-day to get us started:

it'll be apples: it'll be all right