Wow! So, it's been a while since i've last posted. That partly has to do with the fact that I hadn't changed spots, I stayed in Byron Bay for the last six or seven weeks! Being there felt right, and I just couldn't leave.
Which brings me to this: I have news, my lovelies. The reason I stayed in Byron so long is because I decided that three months in Australia is just obscenely too short, so after a short stint back home, I'm returning to Oz on a (up to) 12month working visa! Traveling without working is expensive stuff and only viable for a few months MAX, so this time I'm going to be working as I go, which is actually extremely common amongst backpackers in Australia, and not that hard to do. Basically, I feel that I have learnt so much from my experience so far, and It's not the moment to cut that experience short. Staying for longer will be the best thing I can do for myself right now, and although I'm nervous as all hell, I am also really excited.
My plan at the moment is to return to oz and spend a few months back at the arts factory working a REAL job, then when the weather gets a bit nicer I will start doing some trips up the coast. I hope this time around to make it out to more places in oz; ayers rock and the outback, western australia, and maybe I will also spend a few months in Melbourne, the city I loved soo much (my substitute montreal, but with a better climate...)
My last few weeks at the arts factory were pretty great. I continued to do my nightime bus shifts. The last one by far had the be the best, with the drunk guy who could barely walk or talk or recognize his surroundings, but he tried to kiss me and get my phone number anyways. I had to forcibly remove him from the bus!!
Life at the arts factory had started to get more settled in those last few weeks, with fewer drinking binge nights; what there were seemed to be relegated to weekends, almost like normal people. ... scary .... It brought up a whole new set of thoughts and feeling about travelling. I wondered if staying at the AF so long was a sign that I was regressing back into those oh-so-comfortable-&-familiar stable-life patterns. But then I reminded myself that I worked 12hours a week and was living in a tent. ... ... Being able to make REAL friends for a change was really nice, and I know I will really value some of those friendships for a long time, if not forever. However, at moments being around so many people in such a social environment also made me feel more lonely; funny how being surrounded by people can highlight any feelings of distance and alienation you feel in a new/temporary/transient environment.
So, for the moment, and I do stress moment, I'm back in Montreal! Planning the next period of my life. Trying to shelve some aspects of my life of the past before heading out again. Thinking alot about my travel experiences in this new at-home-northern-hemisphere-urban-living light. Sorting out the feelings I have about leaving people behind everywhere I go, and about the people I am leaving behind. Trying to let go of past experiences and move on to new ones. trying to not travel for travel's sake, but travel cause I actually want to, where & when I want to. Packing up my life, literally! Trying to find a way to pack up stuff I'll need for a year - backpack? suitcase? Searching high and lo to find plane tickets galore! Asia? hmm... Dealing with living in my teen-years bedroom in my parent's house. (yay.) And sleeping in till noon, staying up till 3am. (LOVE being jetlagged. Oh yah.)
And since I'm so bored, you might soon be subjected to a post or two about the moderately neurotic post-travel-pre-travel debates raging in my mind.
hugs& kisses to all, I miss you Arts Factory lovelies!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment