New blog

So it's been a while since I posted something here. Well things have been somewhat hectic. If you'd like to keep up with how things are going I'd like to send you to my new blog http://seenfromherside.blogspot.nl/ and my boyfriend's blog http://seenfromhisside.blogspot.nl/. We hope to see you there ;)

No Job, Two Jobs

Today is one of my two days off this week because I am now working full time at a Pawn Shop. After all the trouble I went through to apply for anything in hospitality and literally calling every single cafe in Brisbane that I could find a number for I got hired for retail. Not that I'm complaining. I'm very happy I finally got a job and it's a very interesting job at that. You're never selling the same thing over and over again. Everything is pre-owned and our customers are very interesting... Of course since we buy just about anything, we end up with the weirdest things. Just the other day I sold one of those plasma balls. Anyway before I got this job I also got hired in a casual position at Suncorp Stadium. Where I'm still working whenever they need me and I'm available, attending the corporate boxes. So after being jobless for 3 months I finally found not one but two! 

My awesome name badge :)

 Since being here in Australia I've seen many, many (bad) puns. And it is my belief that Australians simply love bad puns so here are a couple of pictures of funny things I've found around Australia.

Found in a second-hand store... >_>

In Melbourne

In Brisbane

Bow Thai, get it? 

A picture of the cat I took care of while I was in Alice Sptings

This was at an airport so very bad pun indeed

In Perth on a menu

Olives you too

The Hair Cut, I see what you did there...

Just lick it.

In a shopping centre in Brisbane

A cup found at my new job

Well I guess that'll be all for now.


Love from Saskia :3

Job, No Job.

It has been a while since my last blogpost. Not that life has been incredibly busy, I've just been acclimatizing and more importantly I was searching for a job. Applying for anything that I was even remotely qualified for, I got one interview at a sales company and got hired. The job basically entailed knocking on people's doors and trying to get them to change energy companies. I was excited when I started and decided to give the job two weeks chance of success. The hours were long (about 9 until 7) and we worked 6 days a week. We even walked around outside in the pouring rain for a few days. The job was even commission based so there was no guarantee of getting any money by the end of the week. It wasn't worth it so I decided to hand in my resignation and try my luck in another field; hospitality. To increase my chance of getting a job I have decided to get a couple of certificates (RSA, RCG and Barista). This week will be dedicated to getting those and next week the job applications start again. Wish me luck!

I came here for new experiences so of course I have been doing all sorts of things, with my boyfriend driving me around and taking me places. We drove for an hour in the pouring rain just to see a (closed) giant pineapple... Totally worth it!

I mean look at it!

We also went to a place called Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Which was a great day filled with cute animals and I even got to hug a koala! 

This is a really old koala sitting in the retirement home for koalas

Yes, I got to feed Lorikeets!

All in all I can't complain about my time in Brisbane so far. I've definitely been having fun and experiencing new things. On the 16th my boyfriend and I will go to Alice Springs for 13 days to look after a cat and a house while the owners are not there. I'm very much looking forward to that.


Love from Saskia :3

City Girl

Happy New Year everyone! Everyone should long be over their hangovers by now. This year's Christmas and New Years were definitely ones to be remembered. After spending my time in Canberra in bed I spent Christmas with a good friend of mine and his family. We were staying in a place called Brogers Creek. Which is only abut 2.30 hours away from Sydney but is somehow in the middle of nowhere. It was odd not to have any cell phone reception or internet. On the second day we were there my friend pointed out a kookaburra sitting on the fence. I immediately grabbed my camera and set out to take a picture of it. Since my eyes were on the kookaburra and my eyes were not focused on the ground I didn't see the big snake slithering near my legs. I suddenly saw something moving from the corner of my eye. I instantly froze and slowly walked away. Once I thought I had gone far enough for it not to be able to bite me I zoomed in with my camera, took a picture and ran back to the house. 

Luckily I had been told what I should do in case I came across a snake and fortunately for me this was a black snake. Black snakes and brown snakes are both poisonous but black snakes aren't aggressive whereas a brown snake would've come after me. This was actually already the second snake I had seen and I finished my stay having seen no less than 5 snakes.

We went for a bush walk and I got a leech on my shoe. But the effort was definitely worth it because the place was absolutely beautiful. 

I had heard that the best place to be in Australia with New Years is Sydney. So we took the train up to Sydney and spent two nights in a house there. Compared to my New Years in Amsterdam, Sydney seemed a lot more organized. There were fences everywhere around the main fireworks area where you could only enter if you had special tickets. (Normally public places). There were alcohol-free areas and areas where alcohol was allowed to be consumed. Finally we just decided to sit on a patch of grass where you had a slight view of the opera house and would be able to see the fireworks. There were fireworks at 9 o'clock for the families. And fireworks at midnight for everyone else. We stayed for both.

So now after my bush adventures and New Years in the big city I'm finally back in Brisbane where I'll be staying for a while.

Love from Saskia :3

Destinations So Far

Luckily I have finally recovered from my bad cold and my great aunt has been able to drive me around and show me a little bit of Canberra.

The War Memorial

The Parliament House

One of the things I went to see in Canberra was the National Museum. There was a rotating theatre which played a video about the history of Australia. There were a couple things rather confusing about the video. First the room kept rotating every time a video ended, second the video's were not informative at all and last it felt as if someone was trying to brainwash us. Now it was a rather interesting experience, however, it was not an experience that I would like to repeat or recommend to anyone else. The museum is lovely but if you're ever there I would skip the intro video.

Some of you have been asking me about where I've been and where I'm going. So I decided to make things a bit easier with a little illustration of my trip so far. I hope this makes things a little more clear.

So now I'm in Canberra and I'm going to Sydney tomorrow :)

Love from Saskia :3

First Month

It has been exactly a month since I left for the land down under and I believe I might be starting to adjust. After being in Melbourne for about 3 weeks, a few days in Brisbane to see Spicks and Specks (an Australian game show with Adam Hills), I have now arrived in Canberra. Unfortunately the day before I was supposed to leave Melbourne I started feeling ill and I have not quite recovered. Exploring Canberra will have to wait a little while long until this cold or flu or whatever it is has past. I can say though that my great aunt here in Canberra has been taking very good care of me and has woken me with a nice cup of tea every morning.

In my other blog I talked about a young Australian man who had been my pen-pal for a significant amount of time. We met and really hit it off and we have decided to try and make something out of it. Apparently my taste in men is rather exotic but in my defense getting an Australian boyfriend is the best way to really get a taste of Australian culture.

Canberra will be my home until just before christmas. On the 24th I will be heading to Sydney and after New Years I will be heading back to Brisbane to stay there for a while.

And before I forget I saw kangaroos today for the first time!! 

Love from Saskia :3

My Expectations

So far, Australia has been amazing. But when it comes to my expectations of the land down under, let's just say I was completely wrong. For example: 

What I thought Australia would look like immediately after leaving the city, 

What it was actually like.

What animal I thought I'd see,

What I actually saw.

What I thought Australian nature would look like,

What it actually looked like.

Despite the difference in expectations I am not at all disappointed. I have been pleasantly surprised by Australia and I look forward to discovering other beauties it has to offer.


Love from Saskia :3