Tales of a Yank

In an effort to revive this blog, I have decided to participate in Where In The World Wednesdays, the brainchild of the lovely Classy in Philadelphia.

This Yank has travelled far and wide, and although my time in Australia is coming to a close (for now … more on that later), I thought this would be a good way to celebrate my travels.

To kick-off this new Wednesday tradition, what better place to start than where my whole Aussie adventure began: Santorini, Greece.

A trip to the Greek Islands was exactly what the doctor ordered after my whirlwind trip around Southwest Europe. Lounging along Perissa Beach with my girlfriend sipping a Mythos and munching on a Greek Salad was how I spent most of my days, but on this particular day we decided to be a bit adventurous and rent quad bikes. We scoped out red sand beaches and our many wrong turns led us to the most breath-taking views. Santorini was my favourite Greek Island and I highly recommend taking a holiday to relax there… or to enjoy the typically cheap 3 Euro cocktails, either one.

Stay tuned for next Wednesday’s locale!

“When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.

Then take half the clothes and twice the money.” – Susan Heller

Living on a Working Holiday visa, I am always thinking about my next move as nothing is set in stone. Ideally, I would love to stay in Melbourne for a few years, but the odds have been stacked against me. Finding sponsorship is a difficult task, especially in an already competitive field like public relations. I essentially scrapped that plan a few months ago and opted to enjoy the flexibility that temping had to offer.

Temping has allowed me to escape on holidays to Indonesia and to take impromptu trips up to Brisbane. It has allowed me a sense of routine when needed, but also the ability to decline a day of work when I’d rather hit up the beach in St. Kilda. It has been a great way to help me enjoy my time in Australia by supplying a semi-regular income.

After being away from Philly for nearly a year and a half, the idea of settling somewhere is very appealing. That being said, I feel like I still have a year left in me to be unsettled and to find that city that I’d like to call home. The ultimate goal of my traipsing about the globe is to find somewhere that I fall into step – a city where I share the rhythm. Some days, I feel this way about Melbourne. Living as an expat is an experience that I wouldn’t trade for anything, but I would like to find a place that I could actually warrant laying down roots, without fear of deportation.

My one hope for the New Year is that I find a place I can tolerate calling home – a place that I’m allowed to stay.

What are you hoping for in the New Year?

Well, it’s official: I’ve booked my ticket back to the USA two days before my visa expires. Typical “leave it to the last minute even though you plan for ages” fashion. Less than two months until I’m back to Winter, but hopefully I won’t find myself in the middle of a blizzard!

This past week, aside from mailing out holiday cards and booking flights, I spent some time recovering from my latest excursion. At the start of the month I headed over to Indonesia with Nicole. I have to admit, I did not arrive with excitement. After being told that my connecting flight from Perth decided to “leave early” – which I’m pretty sure isn’t possible – and having to purchase another ticket to Bali on the spot, I just wanted to go to bed and start my trip over again. Luckily come morning my mood had somewhat improved.

We trekked to experience our first full body massage… and what an experience it was. Needless to say I think I’ll stick to the kind I normally get in the future! Aside from a day trip to canoe in a crater lake and check out an active volcano, we spent our time devoting mornings to the beach and the afternoons to the pool. No complaints from this girl! Bali was a nice trip, but I honestly couldn’t see myself heading back unless I was living in Australia. Even then, I think I’d try out Phuket next. I may be spoiled with beach holidays, but there was nothing there that would draw me back year after year.

On my way back to Melbourne I was due to spend a few more days in Perth to catch up with some friends. That should have been no problem as I arrived at the airport with heaps of time to spare and with all of my travel documents in tact. Because I am so special, my airline decided to cancel my reservation because I did not board my original flight to Bali… because they “left early”… leaving me to scream and shout about not buying a second ticket when I already had a valid one. Five minutes before boarding and two hours of waiting for the main office in Jakarta to open thanks to time zones, I was allowed on said plane. I have never been so happy to leave a holiday in my life! I nearly kissed the ground once I walked out of the airport and saw my friend.

My weekend in Perth included cliff jumping at Blackies, beach time (because can you truly ever get enough), nights out in Freo, and a trip up to Lancelin for a day of motorbikes and 4×4 driving. It was nice to spend the weekend catching up with friends, relaxing on balconies overlookling the Swan River, and planning catch-ups all over the world.

And here I am, back in Melbourne. I’ll be starting back temping at the same company I had been working at come Monday. The familiarity will be nice, the raise definitely helps, and the fact that I’m three tram stops away from the beach certainly doesn’t hurt. Not a bad way to spend my last few weeks of Summer!

Next stop: Sydney for New Years!

I’m not going to make excuses for not blogging, but things have been unbelievably hectic since I arrived back from Perth. Aside from a few personal dramas, I’ve had my one-year blogoversary (which I neglected to acknowledge), I’ve been interviewed about Twitter in Melbourne’s local paper The Age, I’ve finished up my work at my latest temp job, have dressed up and attended three races at Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival, and am now preparing for the arrival of two friends from Uni for Thanksgiving and my upcoming trip to Bali with Nicole and return to Perth. Did I mention that Nicole and I are heading up to Sydney over New Years to catch up with Daisy? Needless to say, things have been a bit full-on.

Lately I’ve been a bit distracted with the undeniable close to my year here in Melbourne. I cannot express how badly I don’t want to leave, and having packed up a bit of my Winter wardrobe into suitcases has brought on a whole range of emotions that I wasn’t quite expecting. I understand that all countries have immigration rules and that people can’t just go galavanting wherever they want, but how unfair is it to have to leave a country where you actually feel you belong?

I will hopefully be returning to regular blogging updates sooner than later, thanks for sticking around.

I feel like I’ve been talking about my trip to Perth for ages! I did book it four months ago, but I can’t believe that it has come and gone in the blink of an eye.

Last summer when I met my first troupe of Aussies in London, I was introduced to Perth. I had honestly never heard of the city until I met my first Aussie friend (who I was visiting this past week), and I’ve always been interested to check out the second most isolated capital city in the world (Honolulu wins that title). In all honesty though, I wasn’t really aiming to hit many tourist-type attractions, more just have a relaxing weekend to catch up and re-group.

Although my flight was delayed thanks to the crazy dust storm up north, I was lucky to get out safely and not really miss any time. I was fortunate enough to stay with my friend, meet some more of his family that I hadn’t met in Melbourne, and just laze around with his best mates. It was not only the AFL Grand Final on Saturday, but Western Australia had a long weekend to celebrate the Queen’s birthday. Everyone was out, the sun was shining, and it was impossible not to have a good time.

Activities included a pub crawl along the coastline, including Hillary’s Boat Harbour and Cottlesloe Beach (Perth’s Bondi), a wander up the DNA staircase in Kings Park and around his neighbourhood Fremantle, and my first Grand Final in the comfort of a former Hawthorn Premiership winner and West Coast coach’s home overlooking the Freo Prision by the water.

We ended the weekend with candy from the Royal Perth Show (my first Bertie Beetle showbag experience, appartently I hadn’t lived before Sunday!) and a bite along the harbour at the Little Creatures Brewery.

I left Perth being dubbed a top bloke by his mates, with a desire to explore more of what WA has to offer (Margaret River, anyone?), and a keen interest to continue what has been nearly 14 months of travel.

Unfortunately, I also left without taking one single photo! I’m absolutely gutted, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re having too much fun to think about your camera. There’s always next trip out, which will hopefully happen before I leave Oz for good.

Although this weekend ultimately left me missing late-night catch-ups with my college friends, it also reminded me that no matter how much I travel and move around, the same people will be there when I get back. I am more anxious than ever to see what else is out there.

Time to plan my next adventure! Where to next?