Southwest Australia

Hi All,

Am currently living in Bunbury, WA and working with the Green Corps as a Team Leader! You can check it out here if you're interested in finding out the type of things they do: http://www.greencorps.gov.au/

After I left Perth, I spent a couple of days in Fremantle. It was nice enough there but I just wasn't really feeling the good vibes. The hostel I stayed at was full of backpackers who just worked a day or two, here and there in order to make money to buy alcohol and drugs. It was just a constant party every night... way too full-on for me! I do like my sleep :)

So I headed on down the coast to Bunbury. The main reason I stopped here was because I worked with a lovely girl in Sydney called Jo who is originally from here. She still has family and friends here and she put me in touch with them so I thought it would be nice to drop by for a couple of days and say hi. Obviously a couple of days has turned into 10 days and a full-time job for the next 3 months :)

Bunbury is great - it's tecnically considered to be a city but it's way more like a town. It's small and quiet but big enough that it has things to do. But best of all, I just get really good vibes here. As soon as I got off the train and sat on the bus into the town centre, I had a gut instinct that I'd like it here and want to stay. I'm also staying in the loveliest hostel. It's run by a great Kiwi couple who actually live in the hostel too. There are also quite a few people who are living here while working which is great for a couple of reasons: firstly, you get to actually make friends with people and not just see them for a day or two before they move on. Secondly, it means that there isn't a really full-on party vibe and you don't feel like you're getting sucked into a life of constant drinking and waking up at 2pm!

In terms of the job, the more I think about it, the more I realise how lucky I am to have landed it. It's a good one :)
I just got offered it yesterday and I'll be starting on Thursday. It's a three month contract with the Green Corps. I'll be working as a Team Leader which means that I'll be supervising a group of 8 young people between the ages of 17-20 while they do environmental work. As far as I'm aware, it could be anything from planting trees, weeding, fence-building, helping with animal conservation etc. So this means that I'll be working with a team of young Australian people, learning about the Australian environment and landscape, working outdoors and getting paid for it! Speaking about getting paid... the pay is great - it's more than I was earning in Sydney and as far as I'm aware I also don't get taxed as much as I did over there (but even I did, it's ok because I get almost all of it back when I leave here anyway - yay!) And to top it all off... I get every second Friday off and still get paid for it. SWEET! Ooo and I also get to drive a 12-seater bus :)

So, although the weather here is horrendous (rain, thunder storms, freezing cold) I'm doing well and feeling positive.

Lots of love,

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