1. Tattoo's are in fashion here, along with plastic surgery
2. Cantaloupe is called rockmelon, peppers are capsicums, ketchup is tomato sauce
3. a 'cheap' case of beer is $40 - MGD, Toohey's Extra Dy, XXXX Gold
4. Max's House Music channel is awesome
5. I am the only girl in the bar who isn't wearing high heels....I also don't own any YET..
6. An Ozzie burger is topped with a beet..and its actually not bad at all
7. Australia Day is Jan 26th.... we are looking forward to this... and will be spending it either at Airlie Beach or Hervey Bay..apparently, free festivals, lots of BBQ foods, entertainment & fireworks will follow
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
The Surfer's Family and my new potential job
I got offered a job in Surfers Paradise at a cafe called Max Brenner. Its a gourmet chocolate cafe that creates all kinds of amazing dishes all made of chocolate. My wonderful friend used to work here and knew the manager and put in a good word which is probably why I got the job in the first place.
http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/
Its a pretty interesting place. The whole damn place smells like rich chocolate and absolutely everything they sell is covered in the stuff, which in turn ends up all over me. Who would have thought I would be working at a place like this considering I don't even like chocolate but for the next couple weeks before we leave I guess I can handle it.
Things have been going really well for us over here recently. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. It has been 30 degrees without a cloud in the sky the past week or so. Jody works in the evening and I haven't been getting very many hours so we have been waking up every morning and sitting on the beach all day with big smiles on our face. I have been spending a large majority of my time playing in the waves. They have been so big lately that all you can do is dive under them or you will get thrown on your head but man is it fun. Jody comes out with me occasionally but she has yet to find a bathing suit that will allow her to do so. Every wave that comes ends up giving everyone a quick show, which is great for me but she doesn't really like it ha ha. But we both have a nice bronze tan and I am an expert body surfer, although I have swallowed an unhealthy amount of salt water to get so good.
We have met a lot of people that are all waiters and waitresses so they all enjoy doing the same thing we do. Work in the evening and spend the day on the beach. Its been a great time because we know exactly which area of the beach we will be and by 230 or 3 we all go to a surf club right on the beach and have some beers and lunch. We call it the "plan"......ha ha ha very original eh? A large majority of them are Italian so their knowledge of english varies. Some are very good, some not so much but they are all extremely nice people who are there to learn english so Jody and I are now english teachers. So every day we find ourselves at XXXX club (usually about 10 of us) drinking jugs upon jugs of beer, laughing, chatting and eating after a really tough day of swimming and relaxing on the beach. We joke that its the Surfers family because everyone gets along so well and we see each other every day at the same places sharing beers and laughs. Life is tough for us now. We are members of this club so we get cheaper drinks and food and sometimes free drinks as well...love it!!!! We just showed one of our friends off to go farming so that was a little sad but it was a great occasion for all 16 or so of us to share some afternoon beers. We laugh because we come to australia and not one of our circle of friends is australian. There are a lot of Italians, a couple kiwi's, french, brazilians and us canadians.
Now for the great news!!! Our plan was to do some last bit of traveling before we leave the gold coast region before going down south to pick fruit. This is until I got a call for an interview. All the time we have been here I have been checking jobs down in Melbourne and Sydney and applying in hopes I can land something. 2 days ago I decided after a billion declines that I would try Perth as well since I have heard so many good things about that area. Sure enough yesterday I got a call asking me to do an interview for a sample preparer. I thought about it and realized that Perth is so far away and the timing didn't seem to work out in my favour and would seriously interfere with our picking idea. Then I realized that we came here for experience in our field so I should try and call them and ask a million questions to see if it could work out. Sure enough a whole lot of things seemed to align perfectly and there is a really good chance I could land this job and it would be AWESOME for both myself and Jody. I would be making really good money, work only 4 days on and 4 days off (gives plenty of time for touring around and seeing the gorgeous area), a very good chance Jody could find work there, they know that I can only work there for 6 months and are very happy with that, after a little bit of time preparing samples I would find myself in the lab doing exactly what I wanted to be doing, and its a short distance from the main city of Perth 100 meters from a subway station. So what Im trying to say is that Babcias prayers seem to have worked and have given me this great opportunity. I still have to interview but the one I was talking to told me that I am over qualified and it shouldn't be a problem as long as Im not a complete idiot...... My other issue was they are looking for someone to start soon but with our sailing trip to the great barrier reef I was afraid it would get in the way of me flying down for this interview but sure enough, (Babcias prayer I think), the manager person had to leave on a last minute conference and won't be back until the day we finish our trip. So now Jods and I get to talk about it and do a lot of research and with a little bit of flirting and good luck this will work out.
I cannot be happier right now!! I was excited about picking fruit but I can't turn away this opportunity. Plus I heard Perth is an amazing place.
I will keep you all updated (whoever actually reads this) on how this whole thing goes and maybe in 2 weeks we will be on the other side of the country.
http://www.maxbrenner.com.au/
Its a pretty interesting place. The whole damn place smells like rich chocolate and absolutely everything they sell is covered in the stuff, which in turn ends up all over me. Who would have thought I would be working at a place like this considering I don't even like chocolate but for the next couple weeks before we leave I guess I can handle it.
Things have been going really well for us over here recently. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. It has been 30 degrees without a cloud in the sky the past week or so. Jody works in the evening and I haven't been getting very many hours so we have been waking up every morning and sitting on the beach all day with big smiles on our face. I have been spending a large majority of my time playing in the waves. They have been so big lately that all you can do is dive under them or you will get thrown on your head but man is it fun. Jody comes out with me occasionally but she has yet to find a bathing suit that will allow her to do so. Every wave that comes ends up giving everyone a quick show, which is great for me but she doesn't really like it ha ha. But we both have a nice bronze tan and I am an expert body surfer, although I have swallowed an unhealthy amount of salt water to get so good.
We have met a lot of people that are all waiters and waitresses so they all enjoy doing the same thing we do. Work in the evening and spend the day on the beach. Its been a great time because we know exactly which area of the beach we will be and by 230 or 3 we all go to a surf club right on the beach and have some beers and lunch. We call it the "plan"......ha ha ha very original eh? A large majority of them are Italian so their knowledge of english varies. Some are very good, some not so much but they are all extremely nice people who are there to learn english so Jody and I are now english teachers. So every day we find ourselves at XXXX club (usually about 10 of us) drinking jugs upon jugs of beer, laughing, chatting and eating after a really tough day of swimming and relaxing on the beach. We joke that its the Surfers family because everyone gets along so well and we see each other every day at the same places sharing beers and laughs. Life is tough for us now. We are members of this club so we get cheaper drinks and food and sometimes free drinks as well...love it!!!! We just showed one of our friends off to go farming so that was a little sad but it was a great occasion for all 16 or so of us to share some afternoon beers. We laugh because we come to australia and not one of our circle of friends is australian. There are a lot of Italians, a couple kiwi's, french, brazilians and us canadians.
Now for the great news!!! Our plan was to do some last bit of traveling before we leave the gold coast region before going down south to pick fruit. This is until I got a call for an interview. All the time we have been here I have been checking jobs down in Melbourne and Sydney and applying in hopes I can land something. 2 days ago I decided after a billion declines that I would try Perth as well since I have heard so many good things about that area. Sure enough yesterday I got a call asking me to do an interview for a sample preparer. I thought about it and realized that Perth is so far away and the timing didn't seem to work out in my favour and would seriously interfere with our picking idea. Then I realized that we came here for experience in our field so I should try and call them and ask a million questions to see if it could work out. Sure enough a whole lot of things seemed to align perfectly and there is a really good chance I could land this job and it would be AWESOME for both myself and Jody. I would be making really good money, work only 4 days on and 4 days off (gives plenty of time for touring around and seeing the gorgeous area), a very good chance Jody could find work there, they know that I can only work there for 6 months and are very happy with that, after a little bit of time preparing samples I would find myself in the lab doing exactly what I wanted to be doing, and its a short distance from the main city of Perth 100 meters from a subway station. So what Im trying to say is that Babcias prayers seem to have worked and have given me this great opportunity. I still have to interview but the one I was talking to told me that I am over qualified and it shouldn't be a problem as long as Im not a complete idiot...... My other issue was they are looking for someone to start soon but with our sailing trip to the great barrier reef I was afraid it would get in the way of me flying down for this interview but sure enough, (Babcias prayer I think), the manager person had to leave on a last minute conference and won't be back until the day we finish our trip. So now Jods and I get to talk about it and do a lot of research and with a little bit of flirting and good luck this will work out.
I cannot be happier right now!! I was excited about picking fruit but I can't turn away this opportunity. Plus I heard Perth is an amazing place.
I will keep you all updated (whoever actually reads this) on how this whole thing goes and maybe in 2 weeks we will be on the other side of the country.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!
Merry Christmas Everyone!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful snowy holiday with family & friends!!
Christmas for us was different... we woke up around 730 am and started to make a feast of a breakfast so we would have a good base for drinking all day! We hit the beach around 10:30am, however, due to some bad weather we had a few days prior, there was no swimming aloud in the ocean, as the waves were about 10ft high and there was a really rough undertow. We got right to it, and popped some champagne and had bubbles & O.J on the beach together in our santa hats!
Afterwards we made our way back to our hotel pool area, had a nice cold one & got our food to meet up with some friends for a lunch barbie at another hotel about 2 blocks away. Most of the other people that we were partying with there were Italian, and a few Asian's joined in also. It was pretty fun, we just sat around the barbecue area sharing lots of different meats & drinks! We got the invite from a buddy that works at Nicolini's with me, so it was nice to be able to share it with others, and keep our minds off all the family and friends we were missing back home.
Afterwards, we came back to our apartment, enjoyed the nice sunset, and attempted to make our own Christmas dinner...although it was nothing like being back home with the Gorski seafood dinner, or my grandparents delicious turkey & meatballs!
I think it really started to hit us afterwards, on how much we were missing home at this point...Christmas just wasn't the same here...and we sat down and watched 'Christmas Vacation' and I would be lying if I said- we wished we were home at that point.
After Christmas Day, I have been working 7 days a week..so its been kinda shitty... but I only have less than a month to go...so ill shad up.
Now, moving along to the Gorski seafood dinner, Dec 28th. Brads family gets together every year in London for an amazing night filled with great company, wicked amounts of seafood, shots of vodka, polish singing & an all around grand ole' time!...Brad's cousin Mark & his brother Nick kept sending us pictures of what they were eating, updating us, and pretty much making us the two most jealous people in the world!! (Nice job guys!) Originally, our plan was to hit up the Co-op at the Spit and buy some fresh seafood right off the boats, but again, due to bad weather around Christmas, the boats were not actually going out because it was too dangerous, so we bought the next best thing fresh from the deli in the supermarket.
I had to work, so Brad made an amazing seafood dinner for when I got off work!
He made a sweet and hot salsa type mixture with tomatoes, onions and peppers...and then sautéed shrimp in it...man it was good...along with garlic butter shrimp, a fresh marinated piece of salmon & of course, one of our FAV'S- BACON WRAPPED SCALLOPS! Clearly, it was not the same as being back in London with the Gorski and Gleba family..but we had to make due with what we had...and don't worry guys, after dinner we did shots of vodka too- in honour of you guys!
Hope everyone had a wonderful snowy holiday with family & friends!!
Christmas for us was different... we woke up around 730 am and started to make a feast of a breakfast so we would have a good base for drinking all day! We hit the beach around 10:30am, however, due to some bad weather we had a few days prior, there was no swimming aloud in the ocean, as the waves were about 10ft high and there was a really rough undertow. We got right to it, and popped some champagne and had bubbles & O.J on the beach together in our santa hats!
Afterwards, we came back to our apartment, enjoyed the nice sunset, and attempted to make our own Christmas dinner...although it was nothing like being back home with the Gorski seafood dinner, or my grandparents delicious turkey & meatballs!
I think it really started to hit us afterwards, on how much we were missing home at this point...Christmas just wasn't the same here...and we sat down and watched 'Christmas Vacation' and I would be lying if I said- we wished we were home at that point.
After Christmas Day, I have been working 7 days a week..so its been kinda shitty... but I only have less than a month to go...so ill shad up.
Now, moving along to the Gorski seafood dinner, Dec 28th. Brads family gets together every year in London for an amazing night filled with great company, wicked amounts of seafood, shots of vodka, polish singing & an all around grand ole' time!...Brad's cousin Mark & his brother Nick kept sending us pictures of what they were eating, updating us, and pretty much making us the two most jealous people in the world!! (Nice job guys!) Originally, our plan was to hit up the Co-op at the Spit and buy some fresh seafood right off the boats, but again, due to bad weather around Christmas, the boats were not actually going out because it was too dangerous, so we bought the next best thing fresh from the deli in the supermarket.
I had to work, so Brad made an amazing seafood dinner for when I got off work!
He made a sweet and hot salsa type mixture with tomatoes, onions and peppers...and then sautéed shrimp in it...man it was good...along with garlic butter shrimp, a fresh marinated piece of salmon & of course, one of our FAV'S- BACON WRAPPED SCALLOPS! Clearly, it was not the same as being back in London with the Gorski and Gleba family..but we had to make due with what we had...and don't worry guys, after dinner we did shots of vodka too- in honour of you guys!
New Years Eve!
I worked until about...10:30 or so, but luckily Brad didn't have to wait for me..and our friend that we got together with for Christmas day, his girlfriend was also here to visit, so Brad and Frederica came to the restaurant and since its BYO - they brought 2 bottles of wine and drank them there while they waited for the bartender and myself to finish. ...
We made it home shortly after 11 had some appetizer snacks, pounded a few Canadian Clubs & Canada Dry (yeaaa thats right...we found some here..so we knew we had to splurge for NYE) and then had to bolt out to the beach to catch the fireworks in time..
The fireworks started a bit right before we got there in time..so we dashed through the people and streets (it was like Canada Day in Ottawa) The fireworks were pretty good. We didn't have the best of view..especially not for myself as I am so damn short lol..but it was beautiful, colourful and right over the ocean!
Needless to say, the night was a success, ended with a dirty ole kabob- and we both woke up in our clothes, t.v blasting on the music channel and I was wearing a santa hat! So, I think that sums up the night!
The morning mind you, was not as fun...but we got through it.
So on that note, Happy New Year Everyone! We are looking forward to the year to come- best wishes to you all in 2012!
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