It began in June 2009, when I decided to uproot from Austin and begin a virtual free fall into...somewhere ELSE. I gave up my gorgeous studio apt on the eastside in Austin, opting for couch surfing which ended up being "housesitting" until I could save up enough money to do..something. ANYthing else. I was bored, lost,confused, and mostly just DONE with Austin for at least the 3rd time. I needed a change. A big one. I began researching....where have I always wanted to go? In my wildest imagination? my sites set on Australia. I'd met so many people from there I absolutely adored. And further more, it was as far away as I could get fromTexas besides Antarctica. That appealed to me as well. And so the plan began.
It all started to come together rather quickly really. I looked into visas and found a work and Holiday visa that allows you, if you're under the age of 31 ( I was just about to turn 30), decently educated and in good health, a 12 month visa to work part time temporary jobs and travel all over Australia. !?!@#$#@! Puuuuuurfect. In every way really. timing, opportunity,the whole lot. It was like kismet. And so I started saving. I ate beans and rice nearly 3 times a week, alternating that and tuna sandwiches, lots of eggs and anything else relatively cheap. I stayed home on the weekends and evenings reading books about Australia, traveling to and the history of...this is unlike any other trip I've taken. I've been preparing. And in 3 months from this day, I'll be flying off on a one way ticket to Melbourne for the first leg of a year long journey...to AUSTRALIA.
A brief run down of THE PLAN:
3 months Melbourne ~ Jan-March
3 months Sydney ~ April-June
3 months Brisbane ~ July-Sept
3 month "grace period"- stay anywhere longer or head to New Zealand or beyond...
I want to know what it's like to LIVE there, in these places. get a job, find a room to rent and really LIVE there, for 3 months each. Do some traveling around from my homebase in each town, but most of all, get to know my neighbors. Become an Aussie for a bit. go to a barbie. etc..
And so it's all booked. The visa. The flight. I leave Jan 05 2010 from LAX. In the meantime I've got to save as much money as I can, sell or get rid of most of my belongings, including my big Ford pick up truck, quit my job, and get my ass to Houston to see all my relatives before I leave with no idea when I'll return. 3 months...plenty of time. :)
