Reality in Australia

So I have been back from traveling for almost 2 weeks now, and you might wonder what I've been up to. Well to be honest, nothing exciting like the road trips, but still managing to squeeze fun into job searching and house hunting. So far, it has been waaaay harder than everyone here said it would be. We were supposed to be these novelties that any place would love to have. That is what some Australians told us when we began our journey. Well any feeling of "novelty" has definitely worn off. After handing out and applying for over 70 jobs and not a single confirmed job yet, is a little worrisome. I have had some leads, and still do. But I feel like I can't count them until I'm told that I'm hired or I see my name on the schedule.

My mom knew someone who knew someone who manages a restaurant in Melbourne called the Spaghetti Tree. Naturally, that was the first place I stepped in hoping that my connection follows through. Unfortunately, David (one of the managers) said that business is very slow at the moment because everyone is on holiday and down by the beach but he would keep my resume if something comes up. After dragging myself out there and forcing the positive thoughts to come back, I have been walking up and down streets looking for help wanted signs on windows. They are out there, but my visa has limited me and have not been qualified for some jobs because of it. After a few discouraging days, I randomly walked in a restaurant called The Trust and they said to come back in a few days for a trial. A trial? What's a trial? I guess they test you out before they officially hire you or tell you any pertinent information you might want to know such as wage, hours, perks etc. After a few days of trialing with the restaurant I find out on my own that they are also really slow and yes my name is on the schedule now, but more as a sub or when there is an event at the restaurant that they need extra staff for. I found out through a dutch guy who was bartending there that he gets paid under the table and roughly every week. He doesn't get much hours either. Fortunately, I had a trial last night at another restaurant called the Metropolitan that I had a connection with through the Spaghetti Tree. The trial went well I thought and Chase, the manager, said he would call me. But is this the "I'll call you" as in no I won't at all and you did terrible or is it really I will actually call you. I hope its the later option. He said they were looking to fill a 25-30 hours a week position which would be PERFECT! The guy who was training me had only worked there for 7 days and it seemed like he was there for longer. This restaurant seems very detail oriented which is good but its to the point where its obsessive. Everything is PERFECTLY in line and there are so many stupid and silly time-consuming things that it makes you wonder if customers will actually notice. Its not like its a 5 star restaurant, more like a wannabe but with average customers. Weird. But beggars can't be choosers and I hope I get the call from Chase. I also had an interview this week for a reception position at Morley's Real Estate. It went really well but their only concern was me only being here for a year and they are looking for someone even more long term. I made up some crap about 2 year visas but I'm not sure if he bought it. Considering its been over 48 hours and that's when he said he would call, I reckon I didn't get the job. Shucks! I'm trying to keep my spirits up and keep applying in hopes something for sure will come up.

The renting market is really competitive here. In the beginning the 5 of us, Hannah, Brennan, Rich, Simon and I were going to share a place. After about 5 minutes looking, we realized that was near to impossible so then we split up and Brennan, Hannah and I are going to try to find a place. After looking and viewing some places, we realized this is also very difficult. So no Brennan is on his own and its down to Hannah and I looking for a place, which today was the first day looking. We called and e-mailed about 10 places in hopes that one of these will work. Rentals here go really quickly and some people pay 3 months rent up front to secure the rental. Unfortunately we don't have that kind of money. Hopefully one of these house share places will take us in. It has come to the point where Hannah and I don't mind if we have to share a room, we've done it for 1.5 months now, what a few months more? And it might save us on rent by quite a bit.

Now after reading that, it sounds like Australia sucks. It doesn't! Melbourne is such a fun city with so many festivals, squares and places to check out. We have gone to this one bar a couple times called Nu Guernica which is this old cabin kind of feel. Pretty funky and awesome specials. We have also gone to few BYO (bring your own alcohol) restaurants in china town and tried out some small cafes that can be found in small lane ways. The city is always moving and people are always hustling. Its so different and so much fun to be a part of. I could sit down on a bench all day and just people watch for hours, that is if I had time or when I have a job. I have all of these chocolate places I want to try out and other small cafes and restaurants to experience....of course when I have a job and a somewhat of a steady income, if there is such a thing here. The international festival is going on and showing some free movies so I plan to see some. They also have rooftop cinemas and moonlight cinemas in the botanical gardens that I would like to venture out to. So many things to do here, so little time and money.

Cheers!