Byron Bay

Byron Bay

Small town with little hippy atmosphere…ou yes, me I like it very much and we chose the hostel, only one with acces to the beach. Of course it was back backers place, yet much nicer, because no bar and parties where over after 10.30! Nice hammocks outside to lie down and just chill out, or bikes to borrow and take a ride surrounding areas. So that’s what we pretty much did, enjoying the beach, scenery and the days. Evening sometimes socializing, having amazing nights at the beach one night with eh fire and jamming…aahh I tell you, not felt so relaxed for a veeeeery looooong time! Even when it was getting cold and started raining we wanted to stay.

Nimbin

Then we had a trip to Nimbin, which is a community “hippy” village. The ones who want to know more can read about it here http://www.nimbinweb.com.au/nimbin/index.htm or actually one and a half trip, because first time with that beautiful rainbow buss we only got half way because there was a really bad car accident and someone died and those road over there, well it takes a while to get there and then before they could clear up the place would have taken hours. We waited a while though, maybe two hour but no change so we had to head back. I and Mari were so sad because the experience with that bus was great and our bus driver even better, great guy! The other trip few days later with other tour because it was low season and they didn’t get enough people to go so we had to go with another one and I tell you it was SOOO CRAZY, first of all the music was so loud and it was shit most of the time and the driver was driving like a maniac. I was not sure if we would get there alive but we did. Nevertheless Nimbin was disappointment because it was place to create for tourists what was there to see and everything was VERY expensive, though they must get their living somehow as well. However it was definitely a visit worth going!

Moments

I’m sitting at the beach, enjoying the scenery, watching people, surfers and listening to the sea. Slowly sun starts to go down and the colors are amazing changing all the time, every night it’s different, beautiful and I never get bored at looking at the sunset. This moment is perfect, so many perfect moments in my life. I feel good and I feel free despite of the sadness that sometimes is trying to come into my life. I’ll blow it away with a wind. Life is here, now and this moment. I let the feelings come and go. I love the sound of the sea and the smell, salty, fresh smell! My life is amazing, I’m such a lucky person to be here and see this.

I’m sitting in a hammock, writing my diary and listening a cute French guy playing guitar, I love listening when someone is playing guitar, sun is shining and another cute French guy (surfers both) is cutting the grass just wearing his shorts…ahh what a perfect moment and they’re perfect in this moment even if they appear arrogant most of the time, but in this moment they are just perfect. Yes, yes I’m clapping for you, you’re very good, please continue playing and let me enjoy my moment. Thank you and I continue writing.

More

Byron Bay is a really good place for surfing as well, yet for me water was way too cold, I didn’t even feel like swimming, so I said to myself, I’ll be back here when it’s warmer! Mari did try though, it was her birthday present. Nick surfs and he was teaching Mari a bit and I enjoyed watching them and other surfers, from grandpa’s to little kids. What and excellent sport and I was hoping to be there myself but when I saw Nick and Mari with their blue lips, I thought no no, you have time. The last memory from Bali was too good, though I did burn my ass the first day there…so…

While being in Byron I felt I don’t wont to go to South because it will get colder there and when a friend from Sweden or actually a Polish friend Tomasz who studied with me in Sweden contacted through Facebook that he lives in Brisbane and if I wanted to come over my decision was made, first Tomasz and then my cousin Hanna. So we split up with Mari to meet up in Melbourne after couple of weeks. I had great time with Tomasz in Brisbane, playing beach volley, going to the beach while he was having surfing lesson, went to see a football game, cooking and just chatting together and getting to know each other’s better than we ever had in Sweden. He is a very nice and special guy, many thanks to him inviting me to come there. Hopefully we’ll meet again in Europe!

Brisbane

Backpackers                                                                    25^th of June

I flew to Brisbane, which more than two thousand kilometers to the North from Melbourne. Finally I exposed myself to the famous backpackers’ hostels where majority of young backpackers who travel Australia stay. Since I arrived late I just took the train from airport to the city center and walked into a first hostel that I saw…well I remember not to do that next time!  So much fun J yeah! I told myself I can do this with the right attitude…and I will, but…

First night I was really trying to have a conversation with people, but well I guess I’m just a BIT different, even though people in my room didn’t even go out and party but still…I feel it’s just bullshit that they talk all the time or maybe I just don’t know what is a proper way to chitchat with new people. I mean people talking about how handy it is to have iPhones, especially in a train that takes forever so you can just chat in the Facebook with your friends all the time!!!??? I mean seriously!? Yes I do check my email and Facebook but sit on a train with all the scenery around you, would be amazing enough for me to keep myself occupied even in the train. I enjoy the fact that I don’t need to sit in front of the computer all the time or use the phone. Of course it’s handy to check out things from the internet  but I mean really I don’t need iPhone to show me where I’m in the city, that’s their map these days!!! Traveling has changed so much from the times I went traveling overseas the first time. Travelling for them seems to be what they’ve done and what they’re gonna do, like travelling was also achieving something and some of them have schedules almost for every day for two months, because you need to cover everything, which means all the great parties, all the exiting things that you can do in OZ!

I feel then you actually miss the whole journey and for me I value more the journey that the destination or maybe I just learned very different way of traveling when I was in that “hippy school” in Denmark. I’m not saying that their way is wrong and all travellers here are like that, but sadly many of them. On the other hand if they really enjoy what they’re doing go for it…but I why to fly across the world to get drunk every night because you can do that at home as well! one of the guys was telling how he has been drinking/smoking 5 months in a row every night but he had to stop because he was throwing up all the time!!!???   Then the bloody nightclub downstairs playing music so loud and their stupid competitions or whatever people screaming so loud after every 5 min…so you can imagine how much I ended up sleeping and yes, I had my earplugs, yet I was   able to hear everything. Next morning I woke up my phone ringing, it was Mari telling me could stay at Gaynor’s’ place and I was sooo happy!

In the end it was not that bad as it may sound after my complaining, I just do not have anything in common with these people, which is a lie, because we are all here to experience Australia, there is just so many ways to do it and for sure that way is not my way!

To my disappointment it’s not that warm here either. Yes I was able to wear skirt with a top during the day, but wait when the Sun sets I’m yearning for woolly jacket. People keep telling me that this is the coldest winter for ages in OZ and of course when I’m here and at the same time it’s the warmest summer in Finland and in Europe…how ironic is that!

Wonderful Gaynor                                                                30th Juli

So the next days after that nice experience at the backpackers place, although I did not sleep there the second night there, but that’s another story. Nevertheless I can say that once again I was reminded that do not trust strangers, they may seem nice, harmless and friendly, but you should not trust them, when they are men!

So after being awake and afraid most of the night, finally 7 pm got back to the hostel, took shower, backed my stuff and headed my way by train to Gaynor’s. There she was a lovely lady with white hair and big glasses, looking like a mama. Such a sweet lady, looking after us, cooking for us and taking us to places. We went for bush walk with the ladies and met the dog group on the way. It makes a big difference to be able to stay in Australian home and see their life. Even more, I liked to live in the suburbs than in the city. But the birds, I tell you, no sleep without earblogs…they start early in the morning. Though during the day it’s AMAZING to see all those birds, that we only see in the cage at home, and not even there most of them. But here they are everywhere. Gaynor’s neighbor is feeding them so there are hundreds of birds coming around 4.30 and the noise…

In Brisbane we’re going around the city, visiting parks, doing little shopping (a woolly jacket!!!) and trying to plan what we would do while Mari is in OZ. Then I went to meet my third cousin, who I hadn’t seen for a more than 13 y, I guess…anyways a very long time. But that’s another story.

Coincidence

Saturday morning we headed to the Botanical garden in the Mount Gootha in Brisbane. So many amazing plants and amazing little creatures, like spiders. After spending couple for hours in the garden we went to see the aboriginal art trail in the mount Gootha and the water falls. However we didn’t find the waterfall or we did but there was no water, yet while walking in one of the paths we randomly chose (IT’S A HUGE place) just discussing about the unexplainable things that happened in my life…suddenly there is too people walking towards us and they look familiar and I seem to know them!? I freeze and I can’t believe my eyes, it’s my dad’s second cousin with his girlfriend, I recognized them because his mother, who I visited on my Easter Holiday in Autti, showed me lots of recent photos of them. So this man stops and asks if we are lost and I say hei in Finish and he is surprised as well and asks if it’s Sari, because I had phoned him the day before to go and see them and Hanna. Unbelievable that we happen to meet up there, I mean how many people living in Brisbane and I had no idea that they live close to mount Gootha. Sometimes there just happen things that are meant to be…

After the we met in the park over the weekend, we arranged meeting at their place and Hanna came over. It was interesting to see them and get to know them as well, because it’s so long time ago when I last time saw them and of course I only knew Hanna, not her parents. But when you come from the same place it’s amazing how familiar people are with each other’s, even if you don’t really know them, yet we share same relatives and a place where Autti where I also spend most of my free time when I was a child and a teenager. For some reason I was thinking that they are somehow different because they’ve lived in OZ almost 30 years, but I guess after all we are shaped by our culture we’re we grew up and some things just remain. However Hanna is very much Aussie girl, but there is some Finnish in her as well! Anyways it was lovely to see them and I’m sure I’ll go and visit Hanna later on.

After Brisbane we headed our way to the South, we bought bus tickets, which would take us all the way to Melbourne and you can stop where ever you want, but you have 45 days. So our first stop was the famous Gold Coast, Surfer’s Paradise.Well what can I say, once again not my place, too shiny, American style Hollywood life…No thanks not for me. However we went out and had FUN and an American guy Nick joined us, a nice guy who lived in Hawaii the last two years, so then it was me, Mari and Nick heading to Byron Bay.

Melbourne

Feeling great                                                                   19th of June

As a result of sleeping well, reading, meditating I realized once more, I’m the person responsible of my own feelings, whether I’m happy, sad and so on. I chose to be happy and enjoy life, because there is reason for everything, sometimes you have fall to be able to see the beauty, but not this time. There are things in life that make me feel sad, depressed but it’s part of life and accepting those feelings I can deal with it and still feel happy and good at the same time. Though I have to say I’ve been feeling great since I arrived, eventually I was able to sleep well for few days and just relax.

PS. Read Anthony de Mello, Awareness (Havahtuminen)

First Impression of Australia and Melbourne               22nd  of June

I had a lovely welcoming to Melbourne by Alice, who is a friend of a friend. I stayed at her parents’ apartment right in the city, so more than perfect place to be and start my holiday.  Alice kept me company the first night, then her mam stayed there for two nights and rest of the time I was on my own. They are such lovely people.  On Friday went to a house party at Alice’s house and on Saturday movie /football (world cup) night, actually soccer as they say it in here.  By so far Australians seems to be very friendly, helpful and easy going. Even in the city when you stop somewhere with a map, someone will come and ask if you need any help.

Pretty much every day I’ve been taking long walks around the city and just enjoyed observing people and the life in the famous Melbourne. It reminds me of Europe by the architecture and the mixture of people. I find it fascinating when you walk in a city, you see people from all over the world, they have their little china town, the Lygon street ~ little Italia and a lot more that I didn’t even explore. I enjoy the markets, little cafeterias, the parks, the Asian people working in little crockery shops, seven eleven etc. mostly students especially in the evenings, many of them from India or Pakistan. And the wildlife even in the city! I was so fascinated the first day I went for a walk and saw these little opossums in the park. I just sat down to observe them for ages until I started to feel cold, so that I had to move on.

At the beginning I felt confused because of the weather. When I left Finland summer just started and I arrived to Melbourne in winter, which is more like our autumn in Finland, chilly mornings, sunny afternoons, rain, colorful trees, but still fairly green for me. Yet too cold, I need sun and warm weather, so I decided to head to the North to Brisbane to meet up with Mari and come down here later explore more of Melbourne when it’s bit warmer. However I feel good about the city, coming back and writing my thesis here.

Life in Down Under

When you least expect something to happen it happens…this was the way my journey to Australia began making it even more interesting and challenging.

Two weeks before my journey to OZ I received an email and suddenly I was in a point zero again, except the fact that I still wanted to go and explore Australia even if I was on my own. It’s been my dream to go there since I met my Australian cousins when I was a child. So decided to go thinking that there must be something else waiting for me, great adventure at least! Thanks to my friends who were helping out I was able to organize place to stay in Melbourne before going. I was still feeling bit shit and didn’t feel like staying in a backpackers place.

Finally when my flight was called I walked to the plain I just couldn’t stop smiling, the feeling I have inside me when I’m going to a new place is something that I can’t even explain, another exciting adventure ahead! I felt happy and excited, a whole new continent to explore.

I have to say I’m extremely lucky person because I have so many good friends and my family who were helping me out in this crabby situation. THANK YOU everyone for your help and support, it meant a world to me!

A friend

I made a friend at the Uni today, during the lunch hour I was sitting outside on one of the benches, eating my lunch (apple and orange) and a guy came to sit next to me and started having a chat. We talked about Finland, weather and politics since it’s a time of the elections, which cannot be avoided…He argued very well to me to whom his going to vote and why and why the others are not so good. So I learned more about others politicians as well than just Rupiah Banda who you heard from the news most. However he said that the reality can be that they may not have any influence how ever they vote in the end, since the results can changed in the way “the people” want them to be….corruption corruption… what can you do I would think… despite of that at least student here seems to be active and search for information to form their opinion, in general they are interested in politics and want to believe in change in spite of everything. According to Jeff’s most students wish for someone young and new to be in the power so that there could be some kind of change. Personally I think that next president is either Rupiah Banda or the other older candidate Sata or what ever his name is, since they are the ones who are informed most in television and elsewhere. I’d rather choose Banda if the other one has already threatened that there will be problems coming if he is not elected, which is bizarre since Zambia is one of the peaceful nation in Africa considered the others, even though it has at least 73 different ethnic groups, who suffered most from the colonial division (the Berlin conference). A funny thing is that only the ones who have voted in 2006 elections are able to vote now. Anyways we can only wait and see what happens, but no matter who will be the president, we will most probably experience some kind of riots here in the end of this month when the election will happen.

Dog problem solved (hopefully)

Finally the dog (called Simba by the way) is starting to like me, yesterday he was so happy to see me, jumping against me, so that I actually had to tell him to go away. However I’m still considering if he was just showing off because others were there. However I feel comfortable going around here in the neigbourhood. I’ve been exploring the surrounding area a bit, had a chat with people on the way to Uni and back and learning some Nyanja. There is bunch of taxi drivers everyday sitting around near the road when I’m coming back from the Uni and they’re teaching me a new word everyday…Today I learnt to say that I’m coming from the school ( though I forgot it already, so I decided I better start writing down those words : ). Also I have been offered a marriage couple of times and apparently some men seems to love me (I don’t think it’ because I’m such a nice person) well they are not at all as bad as in India with staring at you and it seems to be more of a joke for some people, like these men by the road were asking if I will get a husband from here to go home with me, I manage quite easily to lie that I have a husband back home, who would not be happy if a brought another man with me to Finland, they were laughing. On the other hand many see me as a ticket to get away from here.

Last two days I’ve been attending two lectures, even though I’m not doing any of these courses as whole but I’ve realized I can learn a lot just by attending lectures, by listening interesting conversations they are having about, school, education and so on.

Yesterday when I was walking to Uni I couldn’t stop smiling, Sun makes such a big difference in me. I really enjoy the morning walks to Uni and back. This house is really an ideal location for me. It would be so annoying if I had to take a bus to school everyday, so it’s worth of paying what I have to pay. I’m also getting to know the family, they are all very nice! Location for home perfect!

Nice cold showers

Sun 5.10.08

How much have I missed the cold showers…they said that there is some hot water as well, don’t really understand what hot means for them, goodbye long, hot showers for 5 months J at least I’ll be saving the environment, which reminds me that I don’t know what to do with the garbage?? I have to ask otherwise I’ll soon have army of ants living here with me. I had a nice dinner last night with the family, I did wait for a girl to come and pick me up, since I simply couldn’t go out because of the dog, although this morning the dog made a friendly move towards me while I was sitting at the doorway, well I got into a panic and went inside…it will definitely take time for me to get friends with that big dog, other dogs are ok, they come say hello to me once in a while.

I took my nice malaria bill yesterday, not keeping the 8 days in between as the doctor suggested to me and well I woke up 5 am this morning, don’t feel so bad today than the other times so I guess I’m getting use to it, hope so. But I feel sooooo tired now. I guess I should also buy some real food from the shop, cannot live long with a cereal, yogurt, fruits and noodles, what I manage to buy for myself the night I arrived, couldn’t really think anything at that moment and the shop was so full of people that I just wanted to get out as soon as possible. Also I feel so lazy just to cook for myself; I would definitely make some nice food if I had someone to cook for. Luckily there will be two people arriving on Wednesday to fill up my empty house. Anyways I’ll prepare some nice noodles for me, so that I won’t pass out while heading towards shopping mall for the internet café in this heat. I need to buy water, by so far I have been boiling it, (after I couldn’t get it from the shop near by more than 3 bottles, Ross I did remember what you said, but it was payday this week here, so when we got to the shop on Thursday, there was hardly any water left) for sure more that 15 min each time, but the taste is not so good. Also I tried with water purifying tablets and dam the water tastes like swimming pool, imagine drinking that at least 2 liters per day…can’t do it, I should drink more, but I figured out that since I have not spend too much time in the heat, I may survive with less amount of water. Anyways I need to get out and I also try and buy a simcard, which actually sends the messages to Finland and not just charge money by saying that your message was not delivered!

~What you are is what you have been, and what you will be is what you do now. ~