Make it Work

Finding work as a backpacker isn’t always easy. No one wants to invest time or energy on someone who will likely move on before the next season. As such, I’ve come to expect rejection once the “working holiday visa” words reluctantly come out of my mouth. Sure, it’s insulting to be denied constantly from jobs you couldn’t pay me to do back home, but at least I’ve developed some pretty thick skin and become quite “industrious” as my mom says. 🙂

My life as a traveling temp-tress has been interesting to say the least. Never in my life did I think I would be thrilled to score a job that required me to wake up at 5 am daily, or one that requires me to report to someone a decade younger than me.

Over the past 10 months, I’ve performed the following roles to supplement my time in Australia:

From the vault – waitress/model for the Bondi cafe

• Cafe waitress
• Buying Assistant at David Jones (most legit job thus far)
• One day stint as a street charity salesman
• Gelato scooper and barista
• Rugby game attendant, reporting to a 16 year old
• Technical Team Member at a mail warehouse (data entry at 6 am)
• Fashion eyelash, hair mascara and hair gem trade show salesman
• Scarf salesman at markets around Sydney
• Corporate receptionist temp, ear piece and all
• Pier check in agent for international cruises leaving the Sydney harbor
• Cider promo girl
• Music festival beverage seller (upcoming)

I’m currently working a slew of odd end jobs to add to my diverse Australian work history. Until recently, from 6 am till around noon everyday I was working on developing my carpel tunnel at a data entry job in southeast Sydney. This brain softening job, which consisted of me mostly hitting the enter key over and over and over again, slowly grew on me. Perhaps the high pay contributed to my Stockholm Syndrome of enjoying the steady monotony.

When I’m not willingly tapping my brain into submission, you can find me moonlighting as a receptionist, a cider sampler and a saleslady, selling glamour products at trade shows and wool scarves in 80 degree heat at markets.

Who wants some fashion lashes?

A wool scarf to match your colorful new lashes?

Or do you prefer hard cider?

I’ve also started helping out casually with international cruise ships as a ground pier check in agent. My responsibilities include helping with disembarkment in the early mornings (sorting luggage), followed by an afternoon of scanning passports and sending vacationers on their voyages. This is probably my favorite rando job I’ve had in a while, as I get to work with my friends in a sweet flight attendant-esque uniform while daydreaming about travel.

With a month and half of time left on my visa, there’s still time for me to add yet another branch of skills to my repertoire. Stay tuned for future backpacker “business” memories.

Eight Months in Oz

Last photo in the U.S. before boarding my plane to Australia 🙂

Eight months ago today, I was anxiously on my way across the world to Australia. I had no idea what to expect, who I would meet or what I’d accomplish on this adventure.

So far, Oz has proved to be the dream world I never knew existed. My first five months of visiting Melbourne and then living by Bondi Beach while working in Sydney were fantastic – I met some amazing friends, saved a lot of money and embraced the life of a Sydneysider. (Update: the unsinkable café I slaved for in Bondi has indeed sunk.)

Holiday from My Working Holiday

My life as a transient traveler only got better after a brief visit to California for my brother’s sweet wedding and my Chevy cruise down the Cali coast with my best friend.

Once back in Oz in August, my smorgasbord of Aussie exploration commenced– touching the Top End, the Red Center, the Great Barrier Reef and everything gold down the East Coast.

The past three months have truly been some of the best of my life – I had an outrageously fun time meeting tons of new friends and doing things I never thought I’d do (scuba diving next to one of the seven wonders of the world, sleeping in a swag in a crocodile infested national park, watching the sunrise over one of the most impressive rock formations in the world, sailing on a yacht to a beach more beautiful than I could’ve imagined, surfing – I could reminisce all day, sigh).

And just like that, my Australian bucket list is complete. I’ve seen and done more than I expected, and I still have four months left on my visa!

Home Sweet Sydney

Arriving back in Sydney a week and a half ago felt like coming home, but strangely enough, I suddenly feel as lost as when I first landed eight months ago. I’m desperately looking for decent work and seeking room share refuge from the hostel life. And just like my first time around in Sydney, I’m frustratingly not finding either quickly enough.

Sure, I realize my “stressful” life is still pretty awesome, but living out of a suitcase in rooms with nine others loses its luster quickly and grates on your patience. And, you know times are tough when you’re getting up at 5 a.m. to enter data to survive, while spending your free time refreshing GumTree to apply for jobs like a teeth promo girl (yup).

Talk to anyone who’s “immigrated” to Australia for a year – it’s one challenging holiday. Just when you think you’ve eaten the last depressing packet of noodles your body can physical stomach, something great pops up, restoring your love for all that is Oz.

Right now, I’m waiting for that a-ha moment to bring me back to life (along with the beautiful summer weather to shine on Sydney – shedding my warm clothes on my way down the coast wasn’t wise).

Until my Australian guardian angel steps in, I’m trying to stay focused on what I can control – staying positive, social and well rested after a full on few months.

Happy Aus-iversary!

No Scoop for You

While awaiting the international delivery of my Macbook, I was fortunate to become employed and start earning money within days of arriving in Townsville. My latest temporary job financing my travels around Australia? It’s the ice cream scooping stint I never had in high school – I worked at a cute coffee shop and gelateria overlooking the ocean on The Strand.

The view from the shop. I hate those umbrellas.

Basically, my responsibilities included preparing coffees and scooping cups and cones of gelato (and the occasional, dreaded fresh squeezed OJ). My right scooping arm got quite toned as I dished out delicious gelato, which I’ve learned has less fat and sugar than regular ice cream – good to know, as I couldn’t resist tasting each and every flavor (favorite: honeycomb; least favorite: three-way tie between Red Bull, bubblegum and rum and raisin).

Another one of my favorite flavors: Ferrero Rocher

I can now confidently say I know and can create all the different Australian coffee varieties – flat whites, lattes, cappuccinos, babycinos (tiny cups of marshmallows, froth and chocolate powder so kids can feel like yuppies), mochas, iced coffees (be warned, these are coffee over gelato, not ice, as you’d imagine), and long blacks (the closest to American drip coffee, and my allowed one coffee per shift choice).

This may be the easiest job I’ve ever had; yet, one I was constantly being corrected at. The amount of rules and procedures written in the communication diary we all had to read, sign and follow to the T daily rivals that of the nuclear industry. I was either not placing the sandbags on the freakishly heavy umbrellas outside correctly or I was arranging the gelato flavors incorrectly in the cabinets. I now understand the meaning of micromanagement.

Freshly made gelato

When I wasn’t serving happy, about-to-eat-tasty-treats customers, I was always cleaning. I understand it’s a new business they want to keep tidy, but some days I felt like Cinderella, being asked to scrub walls, floors and pasteurizers. At least my poor sweeping skills have improved. Clearly, the gelato sector is a lot more serious than I originally thought.

It was also a great way to interact with real Aussie locals – I’ll miss hearing customers say “ta” and “good on ya” rather than “thank you.”

Why am I writing in the past tense you ask? Well, my need to be polite and provide a full week’s notice that I’m leaving backfired, and my remaining shifts at the shop have been cut. Oh well, it’s been a short, but sweet job.

Time to travel on!!

My First Australian Rugby Game

Rugby, more commonly called “footy” here, is one part of Australian culture I haven’t embraced… until last weekend.

My hostel roommate, Isis, and I ready to serve

I was selected to join a hospitality team for an upcoming event after responding to a call for temp workers ad on GumTree. During my interview, the recruiter didn’t divulge too much information about what we’ll be doing or for what event, but I agreed anyways for the extra money. To my surprise, I learned I would be assisting with a rugby game out in the suburbs of Townsville. Sounded fun enough.

Luckily, the recruiter gave the backpackers without transportation a ride to the Dairy Farmers Stadium for our Saturday night of work. And thank goodness she did, because taking a bus out there would’ve been a long, confusing nightmare.

Upon arrival, we were all strictly looked over by an overzealous stadium manager for any uniform flaws. My Salvos (Salvation Army)-bought ensemble passed her power-tripped eye, only to be given a ridiculously over-sized faded staff polo to wear. Between this strangely stressful shirt ordeal, seeing the state of the stadium (similar in size to my high school’s football stadium), and meeting my 17-year-old supervisor, I knew it was going to be an interesting evening.

Dairy Farmers Stadium

My job was “liquor dispenser” meaning “drink order runner” for the corporate boxes. Now, when I think of corporate boxes, I think of posh, impressive lounges. These were basically normal outdoor stadium seats sectioned off into three ‘private’ rows. The only difference between the corporate boxes and the normal ticketed seats were the fact that these came with an “eskie” (Australian cooler) full of canned beer and “stubby coolers” (coozies) and an attendant to take extra food and drink orders.

One of the corporate boxes

Once I was thoroughly trained in my duties for the night (taking the orders from the attendant to the kitchen), I learned I was working the Rugby League (not Rugby Union or Aussie Rules) North Queensland Cowboys vs Brisbane Broncos game. Not only was this the finals (but not the Grand Finals) for the season, but this was also a big game due to the long standing rivalry between these two club Queensland teams. I also learned the Cowboys are the local Townsville team, so it was important I was cheering for the Cowboys.

Go Cowboys!

In between my jaunts to and from the kitchen in my falling apart second hand work shoes (ugh), I was basically getting paid to watch rugby, not bad! After seeing bits and pieces of the Cowboys beating the Broncos, I still couldn’t tell you the rules of the game. I do know each game is 80 minutes long and there’s a lot of huddling, kicking and passing of the oval ball. There’s also a lot of tackling between the players who don’t wear any protective safety gear! After hearing the constant thuds of bone colliding tackles, I have a new respect for the toughness of this sport.

Knowing how much Australians love their alcohol, I was surprised with how well behaved the crowds were. Maybe it wasn’t full on because I was working around the classier corporate folks, or maybe because the Cowboys won? Even after the game, all the Cowboys fans stood and clapped for the defeated Broncos – a humble show of sportsmanship I was not expecting.

Once the game was over, I learned another delightful duty of my job was to help clean up the corporate boxes, a gag-worthy endeavor. Needless to say, from this day forward, I will be a tidy event patron.

My experience as a stadium temp is one I never want to have again, but I did enjoy finally experiencing Australian rugby. Hopefully next time, I’ll be the one being served the Bundaberg and coke cans rather than picking them up off the sticky stadium floor.