Welcome to Broome!!

Well, I am now living and working in Broome, Western Australia!! The home of bright red dirt, some intense sand flies and where every single day is 33*C (91*F) with a 5% chance of rain. If looking at Broome on a map doesn't convince you that it is out in the middle of nowhere, or the fact that it was an 11 hour trip to get here... let me tell you, it's in the middle of nowhere. But a very beautiful nowhere.

I am living at the Kimberley Klub hostel, where I will most likely stay for the duration of my time here, because it is easy to meet people at a hostel, and moving out doesn't seem to be a cheaper option. But it's very chill here. There is a nice pool that I use regularly, and a tv room where I have become part of the Master Chef fan club (really, I just always happen to be eating dinner around that time). Living in a small town, and going back to the slow-paced lifestyle has also brought out the desire to start painting again (yay!), so I have my chair in the sitting room that I frequent quite often as well. How do I know those are the most important aspects to tell you about my living situation? As one of my favorites, my roommate Charlie, said to me yesterday evening "Where have you been?! I couldn't find you! You weren't sunbathing by the pool... I checked the tv room, and you weren't in your chair painting... I panicked."

So where was I? At work. I am now working as a receptionist at the 4* resort the Mangrove Hotel. A beautifully renovated hotel with a back lawn/restaurant that has an amazing view out over Roebuck Bay. A view that I cannot see from behind the front desk haha. But I at least get to admire it during my breaks. A solid 2 weeks into the job now, I have mostly gotten over the new job anxiety, and am finally starting to settle in and feel more confident at work. My coworkers are fans of sarcasm, and keep a chocolate stash, so naturally, I like them. Sandra is the front office manager and my direct boss, she is hilarious and awesome, her and her husband picked me up from the airport when I first arrived in Broome, and they drive me to work in the mornings when I have opening shifts. They are very mom and dad-like. Janine is also very parental, she is the accounts manager, and may be one of my favorites. At the front desk, I work side by side with Karla and Shontell, who are my age. It is a nice little family atmosphere at work.

Knowing that there is not a whole lot to see and do in Broome, and that I will be here for awhile, I haven't been in any hurry to go out and explore. When I first arrived, I was able to witness my first "staircase to the moon" a natural phenomena that happens once a month here, where the reflection of the moon-rise in the water over Roebuck Bay looks like steps leading up to the moon. I didn't have a place to set my camera, so it's not the greatest photo, but I will have at least 2 more chances to see this while I am here :)

As of a few days ago, I have a bike! (Thanks to Shontell for giving me hers!) So I have a form of transportation! And a quicker way to get my groceries home, than walking in the heat. With my new bike, I made the 20min ride over to the other side of town, to Cable Beach, the 5km stretch of GORGEOUS white beach and bright blue water.

 

My pink bike ;)

Cable Beach is the ultimate place for the most beautiful sunsets!! I have yet to be there for one, but I am tortured every night at work as I stand behind the front desk, with a direct view out the window of the sun setting behind the trees, and seeing the STUNNING colors in the sky! I can't wait to make it out there to see one up close!

The GOR and the Grampians!

So remember when I mentioned that I narrowly escaped a terrible job by getting a phone call and having to literally run back home? Well, prepare to be jealous ;)

So THE number one thing to do when visiting Melbourne, is to drive the 4+hours along the picturesque coastline known as the Great Ocean Road. A trip that most people rent a car for and spend about 5 days to take their time to do. It is a MUST-do. So when you have been in Melbourne for a month and a half, still haven't done it, and all of your friends have already been, you start to wonder if you will ever get the chance...

While in St Kilda, one of my other tight knit families was referred to by everyone as "the French guys." Of which I became an honorary member of. The group actually consisted of 2 French guys, 1 French girl, a German guy and myself... but who's picky about the details... But after spending a significant time with this group, I was surprised and thoroughly excited when it came about that they too hadn't driven the GOR yet. So discussions began... most of which I kept myself out of, because although they often start out speaking in English, it usually ended in French. Not to mention, they can be pretty terrible at planning and organizing... which is apparent in how this trip came about.

With the weekend available, discussions about the trip started on Friday evening... and went nowhere. Discussions commenced again Saturday morning, and noting that we now only had 2 full days, it wasn't realistic to try and see it all, so again, nothing was decided. Assuming that was it, I removed myself from the conversation, and went off to my horrible waste-of-time job interview. A situation that I was saved from by the frantic calls from Sophiane to come back to the hostel RIGHT THEN, because we were going to the GOR!! (at now 3pm... haha). By the time I got back, I threw my backpack in the back of the car, along with the 4 pizzas the boys had bought, the BUCKET of pasta they had made, and the other bits and pieces they had gathered together. With five of us squished into a tiny car, we were off to conquer the GOR!... In 1 day and a few hours haha.

Sophiane, me, Jimy, Lynn, and Jan (Yan)

Making it to the start of the Great Ocean Road, we managed to stop at a few places before the sun went down.

With the sun now set, we had a few more hours to drive to get to our planned destination of the 12 Apostles (the most famous part of the GOR), where we decided we would sleep in the car and wake up to for sunrise. We stopped in a few towns along the way, and stopped on the side of the road multiple times just to gaze at the stars, and to have a little dance (really though). One of our stops had a dirt road just off the main road, and we kept daring each other to walk down it a ways because it was THAT dark and THAT creepy. The stars were definitely the highlight though. 

Once we got to the 12 Apostles at about 11pm (which arguably is more beautiful in the dark under the moon and starlight, than it is in the daytime), we second-guessed our decision to stay there for sunrise, and instead decided to drive another 3.5hours to the Grampians National Park, and see the sunrise from the top of the mountains. 

With the backseat fast asleep, it was my job as copilot to keep the driver awake, navigate us in the dark, and be the kangaroo spotter (because they were EVERYWHERE and they are HUGE!).

About 4am, we had made it to the base of where we wanted to be, without hitting any kangaroos, and it was finally time to park the car and sleep for 2 hours. Yes, sleeping in the car.... 5 of us. And it was freezing!

6am tired as hell, still cold, we raced to the top of the mountain to catch the sunrise.

Totally worth it.

After seeing the amazing sunrise from Boroka lookout, we also went to Mckenzie falls, the balconies, and Reid's point.

Driving back to the GOR, we decided to stop at the two most famous places, the 12 Apostles, and London Bridge.

As beautiful as everything was, I quite liked the discussion I had with Sophiane about sightseeing as we walked back to the car after seeing the 12 apostles with the other hundreds of tourists.... you can take photos of all the amazing places you go, the same photos that everyone else takes, but the real memories are from the people you are with, and the small, seemingly insignificant little happenings. Dancing on the side of the road, singing to the songs that have replayed 20 times, off-roading in the middle of the night to chase kangaroos, being SO unbearably tired but determined to make it to your destination, and the funny little conversations along the way.... Those are the things that you remember with a smile.

And then you go and sit in the middle of the parking lot shamelessly passing around the 2 forks that you have, eating a portion of the pasta that you got from the bucket in the trunk haha. 

I have NEVER in my life been so painfully tired as I was from this adventure... but oh the memories :)

St Kilda life... In photos :)

So I have quite a few photos to share, and am a bit overwhelmed with what to write about at this point, so let me just throw some photos at you, and try and tie it all into a cohesive story along the way.

This is St Kilda beach. The suburb of Melbourne where I spent the months of April and May.

These were my first three friends that I made. My roommates Richard, Dan, and Steve. We got along from the second I stepped in the door :)

It's hard to imagine, I know.

One of the things that St Kilda beach is known for are the little ferry penguins that swim back to shore every night to nest in the rocks on the pier. This was my first introduction to JUST how cold the weather really was down south.

The day after I had moved to St. Kilda, it was Dan's birthday, and even though I had an offer to go drive the Great Ocean Road with some other friends that day, I already had a hunch that my roommates were going to turn into good friends, and decided instead to go to my first AFL game with these guys and celebrate the birthday boy! Not sure which is better, watching a game that you don't understand... or being the only American in a group of ALL English, who are drunkenly singing and chanting as if they are at a futbol match.

Needless to say, I definitely made the right choice by hanging out with these guys :)

While in St Kilda, I stayed at Habitat HQ, which is by far the greatest hostel I have ever stayed at. Besides the fact that I loved my roommates, the place was immaculately clean, and everyone was so friendly and active. As I mentioned before, we played weekly soccer games, which was AWESOME, and a great way to make friends quickly. We also played pool quite often. And the hostel itself had something going on every night, including comedy night, really good live music, bingo, and pool tournaments.

Trivia nights were the most popular.

The hostel also threw monthly parties. This was from the highly successful pajama party.

May's hostel party was "back to school" theme. Definitely not as popular as the PJ party, but we had quite a turnover of people since that one, and the new people were a bit too shy. So what happens when the party isn't happening and the two most dancey people walk downstairs? The receptionists yell "Jen! Andreas! Go back upstairs and dress up right now!" Well, I NEVER say no to dressing up, so that was easy.... "Go do a little dance or something", not that you really have to tell me that, but "what will you give me if I do it?".... "chocolate"... DONE.

Always say yes to games. I may not do karaoke, but Andreas and I will do an impromptu dance to Fresh Prince of Bel-air instead!

And yes, I will volunteer to be mummified :)

Random: This is Quick and Jake, AKA earthQUAKE. Only THE greatest beer pong team EVER (actually Goon pong aka cheap wine pong). Not to brag or anything, but consistent double cups, islands, off the wall and behind the back shots. If that means nothing to you, just know that we were GOOD! As in, I wish someone could have video-taped that whole tournament, good! Just saying ;)

So how do you know when you have really settled in where you are and found a new home?

When you start referring to your roommates as your family, and you all lovingly call room 203 home, you cook family dinners, and have a house rule of anytime you step foot into Coles (the grocery store) you have to buy cookies to share with the family.

And when you start getting notices like this on your door. 

And you all just laugh about it.

When you start to remember everyone's work schedules and habits, and generally know when and where to find all of your friends. Everyone always offers to make everyone else tea. People start doing joint laundry loads, and "share" laundry detergent, and nobody ever sits alone. 

When you plan daily outings together, and go play together. And everyone knows that Jennifer is going to be upset if soccer happened without her or if a night out does not include dancing at some point :)

When you can stay out until 6am, and everyone walks out of the casino with money in their pockets and smiles on their faces.

When you find yourself doing stuff like this for people's birthdays.

When you go on late night drives because your friends are excited about their new car, and want to practice driving (because they only JUST got their license).

When it is perfectly acceptable to end a long day in a pizza coma on the floor listening to French and German music.

When you go on group night runs down the esplanade.

And when you realize on the bittersweet days of having to say goodbye, that you have given a piece of yourself to some amazing people and are genuinely making lifetime friends and family around the world!