Things you find at the ocean: sting rays, jellyfish, and creepy old men.

Well, if anyone was worried about me never coming home, I have officially been made an offer! His name's John, he's Australian, owns a boat, and took my roommate Carolin and I out for a few civilized nights of sailing, salsa dancing, and dinner at the Perth Yacht Club. (Just for reference purposes, I'm a couple weeks late in writing this- this was while I was in Fremantle.) He's also old... I'm not sure how old, but we met his dad, who is about ninety, if that tells you anything. But he tried to buy me AND my dad tickets to come back to Australia. Nice guy, totally harmless and a complete character... but I don't care- that's still weird.

He picked us up from the train station in this awesome old school bug. Matthieu, who knew him, sat in the front. Carolin and I sat in the back and scrambled to buckle our nonexistent seat belts, exchanging swift nervous glances as the little car hurtled up the street, and finally abandoning all pretense as the bug sailed over a speed bump and part of the roof flew off. John, for his part, continued his stories, calmly sipping his beer (yeah, they do that here) as he maneuvered through traffic, only stopping to curse vehemently at the ineptitude of other drivers.

Despite the ride there, the hours spent sailing were extremely peaceful. I steered the boat and learned to adjust the sails while he and Carolin (who's an avid sailor back home) went over all the ins and outs of sailing.

By this time it was well into the second week of March and I was leaving to travel up the west coast soon. I still hadn't been south of Fremantle, so I rented a car and drove down to Margaret River with Chiara, who was staying in the same hostel as me. Gas is so expensive here, so every hostel has a notice board where people post lift offers or requests and thankfully Chiara, who is nice and very normal, answered mine! They do it by the liter, but we worked it out one time to be 3-4 times as much as back home.

That was a packed trip- we caught a surf competition and stopped at the wineries. This is what Margaret River is famous for- there's a long road lined with wineries and vineyards on either side, one right after the other. I think there are about ninety in the area, which produce about 20% of Australia's premium wines.

I had to.

My favorite part of the trip was further south at Hamelin Bay. There's not much there and it was pretty empty, except for the sting rays that swim along the shore! They're huge and super friendly... you can't really see it here, but it's that black blob right there.

Up close :)

I think the only other blog worthy thing I did before I left was cliff jumping! We went to Little Creatures, which is this awesome brewery in Fremantle, and rented bikes (for FREE! I love free), which we rode over a couple towns and down to the cliffs.

These cliffs!

Cool kid that I am, I did my depth, death, and rock research before we left, which all passed, but nowhere did anyone mention jellyfish! Apparently because they're really common and are the harmless ones that you can't even feel, but I don't care. Let me tell you, it's scary enough to watch the water rushing towards you without noticing last minute that you're about to land on a jellyfish.

Feelin' Oh So Freo :)

I should have left Perth days earlier! I made my way down the coast to Fremantle- aka Freo, and I LOVE it! Perth sits inland on the banks of the Swan River...

The view of Perth from the water- the best way to see the city is definitely by boat.

but follow the river for twenty minutes to the shores of the Indian Ocean, and you will reach the port of Fremantle! I've been trying to put my finger on WHAT it is that I love so much about this city! Many people consider it the second capital of the state of Western Australia... it has the vitality of a big city, but the ease and unspoiled simplicity of a fishing village.

At one time, Freo was the major gateway into the country for travelers from the west. In the late 1800's it became a prominent working harbor. This height in Fremantle's history is evident in the Victorian architecture that makes up the city center.

It's just so pretty- I love the clean lines of the buildings that sweep towards the horizon, like lines to a vanishing point in a renaissance painting...

and the play of neutral colors and simple geometrical shapes that balance the ornate designs decorating the buildings.

Combine this with wide clean streets, crisp sunlight, a refreshing sea breeze, and the sounds of seagulls and soft waves, and I challenge you to try strolling down the street without smiling.

Although many people love the strips of boutique shops and quaint cafes, famous around the globe for their cappuccinos, in my opinion, the best part of Freo is the harbor- I have fallen in love with ships and the ocean. When I hear the waves breaking on the shore and smell the salt in the air, an impenetrable calm settles over me, so thick it seems to slow time and temporarily muffle the clamor of the rest of world.

My favorites are the old fishing vessels. I find the rusted metal and tangled nets beautiful... and I love the adventurous names printed on the hulls of the ships, clearly visible despite peeling paint; they speak of a time where the world was bigger and yet to be fully discovered.

The peaceful time warp that is Freo- the Victorian buildings, effortless beauty of the fishing harbor, and the unhurried pace- attracts travelers like flies to honey. I believe that people come to Australia for one of two things: escape and adventure... or to escape by having an adventure. That's why they like it here so much- life is wonderfully simple, and because Fremantle is still a major port, there is enough action in the city to keep you entertained. In fact, the Queen Mary 2 was docked in the marina the other day, just in time for the markets and festivals. It's HUGE!

I have a new appreciation for the crew of such ships because one of the jobs I've held since my arrival here has been a porter! The hours are long, usually 11-12 hours. I woke up at 4:30 to dress, eat, pack a lunch, and be down at the docks by 5:30, where we unloaded luggage from 7am-1pm and loaded luggage from 1pm-5pm.

Definitely my favorite job that I've held up to this point. It's long hours and repetitive work, but I like the physicality of it... I loved being down at the docks early in the morning and watching the ship pull in and the sun rise... meeting the happy people just returning from vacation (who were often in the mood to tip!) and the excited ones about to embark on their adventure... and who doesn't like neon orange??

At the beginning of this trip, I could barely lift my backpack without help. Since then it has become much easier. So I figured I could handle carrying baggage- they ALL have wheels!

Short-term work has been easy to come by here. I also worked at a motocross event, selling programs and light sabers, walking up and down stands and yelling like I was selling peanuts at a ball game. WORST. JOB. EVER. I was also one of those people that parents hate because when I wasn't patrolling the stands, I liked to station myself in the shadows of the buildings, slashing the toy through the air, so as to maximize the wimpy lights emitted by my plastic saber.

And finally, probably the most random job I will ever have- I cleaned monster trucks! I've never been that dirty in my life. If you ever go to a monster truck show, and notice how shiny the tires are around the rim out to the tread, just know that someone painted that on, just for your viewing pleasure.

Good Night, Sleep Tight, Don't Let The Bedbugs Bite!

I stayed in Perth for about a week and was sick for the better part of it. I think the backpacker diet caught up to me- basically a lot of carbs and sodium. So I spent a good amount of time in my room at Hotel (and I use that term very loosely) Bam'bu...

One word: EW. I'm no neat freak, but sharing a room with seven guys is just plain disgusting. It smelled absolutely awful and I definitely hopped out of bed on multiple mornings, only to land in a sticky glob of dried beer. Then there were the cockroaches, which are pretty standard around some of these older buildings. I can actually live with them now as long as they're not in my bed or bag. But the bedbugs!! I didn't know bedbugs were real until this trip! I've now been bit by a bedbug and a tuna. So dumb- I should have switched hostels, but I stuck around for the free internet :)

When I wasn't in my room, I spent my time at Cottlesloe Beach. It's so warm here that I couldn't do anything else. The sand is a blinding white and unbelievably fine. The beach looks so INNOCENT- children playing in the sand, keeping cool as the waves lap at their heels... however the undertow that day was incredible- so insidiously powerful it was frightening. Just your average Australian beach- striking beauty spiced with danger.

This (below) is The Shed- a big open-air bar right next door to my hostel. I LOVE this bar-relaxed and friendly, with good beer, cute bouncers, and great live music. However, I made the mistake of coming here by myself one night... not normally a big deal since I'm by myself a lot now... except that they were playing cheesy 80's and 90's classics... totally the kind of music I would dance to with Jasso, Jen, Brit, Deels... actually, every single one of my girls from back home. But I can't do it alone... or with randos at the bar. It was the first time I've been homesick since I left.

Since then, I hit a bit of a wall in my backpacking- I actually love being on my own and meeting new people (a lot more than I thought I would!) but it's very tiring to start all over every couple weeks. I had such a great group back in Melbourne- between Dave & co, the Canadians, Has, and the entire UK... it made the pangs of leaving and starting anew even more pronounced.

Thankfully, I met Nic on the plane. She is Dutch and I have no idea how to actually spell her real name. But she is a Perth vet and not only befriended me when I was at my worst, but led me to my hostel and helped me to meet these lovely people!

Irish Martin, Phillip, Lis, German Martin, Leo, and Dan (and Aimee, the photographer!)

We explored Perth together- it's a nice city... they claim the best in the world... I'd like to discover why but I'm starting to realize that I don't have the time to become one with every city I stop in. I've been officially backpacking around the country for about a month and a half now. My original plan was to move to Melbourne and actually LIVE there and travel around in my last month. I brought a lot of nice clothes, expecting to be city chic for three months, meeting the sophisticated and suave at happy hour after leaving my nice hospitality job, ending the day in my small but comfortable apartment...

What happened? After the first three weeks, I realized that I didn't fly 8,000 miles to do exactly what I'm going to do when I go back home. So, in the fashion capital of Australia, I went to Savers (like Salvation Army) and spent $30 on clothes I don't mind getting rid of (since everything gets destroyed in hostels... and the desert). I dropped all of my nice clothes off at Dave's, except for a pair of black slacks, a white button up, and an outfit to wear to the Sydney Opera House (whenever I get there), and headed west.

My bag of goodies, post-Savers.

Despite my current cravings for the Bay and everything familiar, I know they will pass. I've made three truly life changing decisions in the past four years... Going to Dominican, being single, and coming to Australia... and this one tops them all. Each choice has been a step towards asserting myself in this world... even in my own world. I'm forced to rely on my own judgement, have faith in myself, and to MAKE DECISIONS, and lo and behold the world hasn't come crashing down :)

Following the sun to Perth... (and how I spent my last 2 weeks in Melbourne)

I have officially arrived in Perth!! For some reason, I've been wanting to come here since day one. I don't really have a reason, just a feeling.

I have nothing to say about Perth yet since I've been blogging for the past 2 hours, except that there are a lot of Chinese restaurants nearby and that the first thing I did upon arriving at my new hostel is spray the mattress down with Lysol.

The past two weeks in Melbourne have been a blur. I was staying in St. Kilda, which is a beach neighborhood of Melbourne. Sean, Colin and I finally split up in Adelaide, so I've been traveling on my own. But it was only a baby-step to flying solo because I immediately met the most amazing group ever in my hostel room!

Yes, we were all in one room. And this picture doesn't include Craig, Tina, Pete, and a few other weird people... There was another American whose first and middle names were Molly Elizabeth too! But I am the far superior American Molly :)

This new hostel room was about the side of a long two car garage, with bunk beds and lockers lining either side of the painted brick walls, separated by a narrow walkway. There was crap everywhere and PEOPLE everywhere- it was not unusual to have 12-14 people in the room, with one bathroom to share between us... and I LOVED it. I booked a week initially and ended up staying for two.

At the Elephant & Wheelbarrow...

This is Emily and Pete. I'll be reuniting with Emily when I go to Sydney. The friendships you can make in a hostel are amazing.

I wasn't even there when they took this at the night market, but it's classic. From left to right, that's Lena of Germany, Darren of Norwich, Danny Boy the Scot, and Craig the Welshy.

As much as I miss driving, some of my favorite memories are of the walks homes... singing and dancing in the street... even the occasional soccer- excuse me, FOOTBALL lesson. I've been corrected so often- it's football, not soccer, and to-mah-to, not to-may-to :)

I took Geoff, Darren, Lena, and Ash to their first salsa lesson!

I was so surprised and happy when they agreed to go. I don't know why though- Lena was always down for anything, as were the guys, especially after I told them that women love men who can dance...

... any and all dancing :)

I also reunited with Dominican and Canada!

Coops and Dave dance too...

Pretty much sums up the nature of our relationship.

Malinda!! The only thing I liked about Canada after that hockey game...

And now, a quick tribute to quirky, beautiful Melbourne...

Degraves Street (above) and Centre Place (below), two of my favorite little alleys.

Chapel Street

Melbourne is known to have four seasons in a day. After a particularly stormy hour, the beach was littered with jellyfish.

I really came to St. Kilda at the perfect time. It was right before everyone found work and other places to live. What kind of work do backpackers get in a city? Pete works as a locksmith, Tina is waitressing at Taco Bills, which is like Chevys... Darren finally caved and accepted a position at McDonalds (which he is not happy about, but people get paid so much out here! doesn't seem like a bad gig)...

Geoff was a milkman for Aussie Farmers Direct... sort of. He also sold boxes of fruit...

Darren to the attractive prostitute on Grey St: "So what are you doing tonight?"

Prostitute: "I'm selling my box."

Darren: "Really?? You work for Aussie Farmers Direct, too?? Geoff! She's your colleague!"

Danny was fashionable in neon orange as an air conditioner installer...

and I was NOT a candy striper (although it might have been nice to be working in a hospital again).

But I found work at Misty's. Do you remember Misty's? The American diner that I had previously described as the epitome of what I did NOT want to do while I was here? Yeah...

about that...

Did I mention that we wore poodle skirts on the weekends?

I can make a mean milkshake now. And did you know that they call floats "spiders"?? I'm not ok with that.

I also made some bomb breaded sweet potato fries that day!

Talk about having to eat your words. Lesson learned. I actually had a great time, met some wonderful people, and it is something that I probably would never have done back home! Yay new experiences!

FYI: In Australia, to "root" means to have sex. So make sure you don't talk about rooting for a sports team (unless you REALLY like them, I suppose).. and if you work at an American diner and offer an Aussie a root beer, don't be surprised when he raises an eyebrow and asks if it comes with a room.