INDIGNATION

FOTO www.ciberdroide.com/wordpress/los-coletazos-del-11-m/

The first article in my life was written eight years ago, it was called INDIGNATION. I could have never imagine that I would repeat the same headline for the same topic.

Yesterday was the anniversary of 11-M Madrid, and 11- M Japan. But now I have to talk about Madrid.

I am in Brisbane, Australia, and yesterday I watched the News and no one talked about the heaviest tragedy in the History of Spain which happened in 2004.

In Madrid, Al Qaeda put ten bombs which were detonated on a Thursday morning in four trains and the terrorists without a qualm. Two hundred people were killed without any motives and I find it outrageous that in The NQ

Moreover, when I talked with one of my Australian friends he didn't know anything about this dramatic event... and one of his answers was: “I didn’t know about it but in Bali we have people which are murdered every year”.

I thought he must have been joking because two hundred people dead when they were going to work, to school, or wherever...  it is something worthy of knowing. Anyway, for sure, no murder can be compared.

The truth is I cant understand how a crazy killer group one day could “decide to kill people”, the same group who killed two thousand people in New York a few years before. They are the only guilty here, besides the ignorance.

I´m really sorry for generalization, I will always be proud to be Spanish because we are considerate and we have a lot of culture. And even though our Journalism can some times be considered biased  but it tries to tell what is happening in the World.

Thus, I remember that day because all of us went in those trains, I remember that day because all of us have to know this awful event, I remember that day because it was a historic day and it cannot be forgotten.

 

These words, from Australia, are for them.

Fed up looking for job?

A tired Kangaroo

I remember one day when I was in English class in the School, and the teacher asked us where we would like to go. I started my drafting like this: I want to go to New York. My drafting was really bad.

My teacher crossed out my name and she gave my piece of paper in another class. And she said: Now kids, you need to put in a paper where you would like to go; but first you need to read this paper because this is a good example how you must not do it.

I don’t know why I feel the necessity to tell you this, but I think it is necessary.

Maybe because if I tell you what I have done to look for a job you should remember the sentence: This is a good example how you must not do it... or maybe yes... because you think your luck will be better than mine.

Obviously, firstly, you need to choose your job in Australia. My job here is anything. So if you want to do a resume (curriculum vitae) you need to have experience in your sector. My Journalism Degree doesn´t matter here. I tell you more, last week I received an email from McDonalds and they said they have got someone more qualified than me, that means he was better than me for work. Thanks God, in that moment I had another job because my self-steem could have been heavily damaged. However, I called my friend Fonso and we laughed a lot with this... in McDonalds, Journalism is not enough, maybe an Engineering would be appropiate.. but this could be another post!

Back to my topic… what happens if you don’t have experience??  Nothing! Because you can invent it. I don’t have to do it because fortunately I have real experience but you need to trust me, IF YOU DON’T HAVE ANY EXPERIENCE YOU SHOULD INVENT IT.

Important skills here:

Barman, you should try at home how you can make cocktails, if you need help you can watch a lot of videos in the website youtube. Anyway, you need to pass the course RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol). You can book this course in Internet because is cheaper. I didn’t know and I paid a lot for it.

Cook, if you are good chef, you need to tell them! The same if you are a good assistant cook. Besides, I think if your nationality is Italian you should go to Pizzerias, maybe is a stupid idea… but it works, the same thing is if you are Asian... try to go to Asian restaurants. You don’t lose anything to try it! I found a job in a Spanish bar…I´m Spanish... where are you from?

Cleaning, you need to know how you can do beds, in my last hotel the manager said “we work for the top of the bed”. It´s a good idea because the bed will be perfect. The truth is they didn’t pay me because in Australia sometimes your trail is free… I think if you do this in Spain (to have people working for free… maybe your local will be burn). Anyway, we can go on.

Waiter/ waitress, you need to speak English but sometimes it´s more important to smile to customers and to be polite!

Sales Assistant, you can say you worked in a shop in your country. I did it, but my problem here is the timetable. I have School in the mornings and here the stores close very early!! So, before to give them your curriculum, try to pay attention in the timetable!

Well, now you have written your resume and you need to give them.

You should go to the restaurant (or wherever) and you need to say "Hi! Whats going on? (typical Australian sentence). My name is X and I´m looking for a job… Is your manager here? I would like to talk with him!"

The truth is in Byron Bay I found two jobs because I always came back to all the places I visited and I never lost my smile and my hope. Now in Brisbane I work in a Spanish bar, and I´m really happy there.

But you should trust me, to find a job is not easy because you are an immigrant here and sometimes they exploit your situation… but if you have hope and patient… you can!

Good luck with your hunting!

Sometimes things happen

 I told you, sometimes I´m a loser…Do you remember? This story is one of them.

Now I live in Brisbane in a beautiful house with an Australian man. He is really nice and sometimes he thinks I am really a crazy girl. But it´s not my fault! Sometimes things happen. For example three days ago I went to the Supermarket to buy some food and I saw an offer. “99 cts MELON p/each” OMG! Really? Only 99 cents! It´s perfect!

The truth is I never eat fruit because I prefer to spend my money in another things, like drinking Diet Coke, anyway I saw the offer I thought: why not? And I bought it.

I arrived home and I was thinking what I could eat and I remembered the melon. I took a fork, a knife and a plate and I was ready to start to eat when my flatmate asked me: “Are you going to eat it raw?” I answered him: how I can cook it? Are you crazy?.

The poor man looked at me and I know now he was thinking “this girl is really weird”. So I was walking to the living room and he said: really? Are you going to eat Pumpkin without cooking? And I was shocked. Pump-kin?? And I saw the tag and I read: pumpkin $1´05…

Thanks to Fonso for the picture

Sometimes things happen. Advice today: Don’t buy fruit… or take care with tags!! 
However there is a second possibility, Fonso said “Tip2: Learn how to read!”

From Byron Bay to Brisbane

Picture from my friend Vanessa

Everything started two years ago, I was in class and someone arrived to the teacher ´s table and he started to speak about his experience in Australia. I don’t know if the idea was good because he looked very handsome or because you could learn English in a paradise, but the idea was born.

So when I finished University two years later, my father told me: “Sara, you need to do two more things, one of them is learning English and the other is getting a driver´s license”.  So, I came in Australia to try to get the first of them and to live the most interesting experience in my life which I never imagined.

Light House, Byron Bay

I arrived four months ago, although I did not really want to come to Byron Bay. My family, my friends, my love and all my life was in Spain and suddenly I was alone and I needed to learn how to live with unknown people in an Australian house, completely different to the European house.

And my troubles started here: My first house wasn’t really good, it was with a couple in a Home stay and they didn’t let me to use the Kitchen. The second house wasn’t better because it was too far from my school and to the city town and the landlady was a really serious person.  In the end, I found a third home where I stayed for three months.

At the first moment, I was looking for another while I lived there, because it was a hippie and Australian house, with a crazy landlady. But that´s not really true at all, because she became my big sister, like another flatmate who is like my little sister, my friend and my mate.

On the other hand, my second problem was to find a job, a really good job. One day I was going to give my resumes and I stopped in a Chinese Restaurant. It looked like a good idea, and I met the boss, and he gave me the job as a cook! He was really good and I was really glad until he started to fall in love with me….I was twenty three years and he was forty years old… so one day he asked me if I wanted to stay with him and I answered him no. I was fired.

I did not want to call my family in Spain to tell them what happened as I did not want to worry them… so I chose to shut up my mouth and to start to look for another job. But the job didn’t arrive and I had to tell them what had happened in the Chinese restaurant, and they sent me money.

View from our Hotel

After that, Christmas Holiday arrived. I was pretty anxious because my mum came to Australia to keep me company and to see my crazy and lovely house. She made me happy and she gave me a lot of presents from her and from my family. My mother and I we went to the Gold Coast, we lived in Byron Bay where we enjoyed the beach with authentic sunny days, and we visited Brisbane where we slept in a wonderful Hotel...and it was there where I started to feel love for this city.

I didn’t know how much I missed living in a city. I still remember when I arrived to Byron and someone called me “city girl”. He was right, I am really a city girl at heart. When my mum and I arrived again in Byron after the amazing days in Brisbane one idea appeared in my head… I wanted to go to Brisbane to find a big opportunity, a good job.

But.. do you Know? One day in Byron I was sad and one of my friends asked me if I wanted to go with her to give resumes… and we did it. But when she found a job and two male friends of mine got jobs too suddenly the idea to go to Brisbane went back into my head. And just at that moment, when I made the decision to go to Brisbane, my mobile started to sound. “Hi, do you want to work in my thai restaurant?” The best Christmas present! A job!. My answer was “Yes! I want”

And they gave me the job. The best job which I have had in my life because I learned English while I served and talked with customers and my work mates and I enjoyed it a lot there. However Byron started to go quiet… and I made a decision. It wasn’t really easy but I did it… I wanna go to Brisbane.

Brisbane Story Bridge

So I am here now. Lights, colours, high buildings, stunning views… and places crowded. Music, crazy birds round my new house in the morning, a lot of cars, horns beeping, pedestrians, I with my bike, Brisbane Eye, the river, beautiful Bridges… and peace. Peace, peace in solitude of the crowd.

Byron Bay

Now I´m sitting on my Balcony and I´m glad to stay in Brisbane but I can say I will miss Byron Bay because I just have great memories about it: Stunning beaches, wonderful parties, awesome people, handsome surfers, huge waves, whales into the sea, changeable weather with sunny and cloudy days, hot dogs at three a.m, going to Woolworths, cakes from my landlady, Australian movies, spiders bigger than my hand, BBQs in Clark Beach, Sunrise in the most easterly point of the Australia mainland, my first Wallaby (small kangaroo), my first dragon, my first shark, getting lost in the Jungle, Skype with Spain and Corea… and lovely and unforgettable moments with my friends and with good people. These are a few of my favourite things.

At the end … I have just one question in my head… Will I be alone in Brisbane? I don´t think so… because again I am in the city and I´ m ready to start again!

WELCOME TO MY SECOND ADVENTURE

G´day mate!

Hi everybody!

I´m Sara, I´m Spanish and I finished my Journalism Degree last June. Why you need to read this blog? I don’t know the answer but if you want to enjoy and to learn a lot of things about Australia I´m sure this is one of your best options.

Now I´m learning English here because it is the only thing I could do when I finished my Degree! So I´m in Kangarooland to learn English, and learning hoe the life far from home feels in another world where the culture is completely different.

I can honestly say these months have been, by far, the most interesting and exciting experience of my life. I will give you some insight of this " New World".

You don’t know me but you will do. Sometimes I´m a loser, sometimes I´m a winer, but at the end I´m very funny girl and I try to laugh at my own bad luck. I have a lot of stories to tell. My point of view will be humour and reality.

Do you want to follow me and to learn keys to live here? Are you ready? Here we go!