A U S T R A L I A

Michael overlooking the beach atop a grassy hill in Cottesloe (beach town)

Well, it's long overdue. I'm well past my visit from New Zealand (but not over it, or maybe never will be). I'm now 'down unda' in Australia! I wont lie, it hasn't been the easiest of transitions, but it's trips like in the image you see above, and Michael, that get me through it. 

Im currently nestled into the Western corner pocket of Australia. They call it: Perth. I call it: Weird. It's a city, but a strange one. Cafe's are open typically Monday-Firday 8am-3pm. That's right, I said 3PM! Ridiculous. Maybe it's the Seattlelite in me, but i'm used to getting my coffee later in the evening. Of course I enjoy the morning cup, but what about after dinner? That's the best time! Since I mentioned "the morning cup," I would also quickly like to brush up on the Australian coffee industry. 

This is the land of cappuccino's, flat whites (which are the same thing as lattes), "lattes" (which is like a latte but with very little to no foam), long blacks (americanos), and short and long macs (doppio macchiatos and solo macchiatos). That's it! NO regular drip coffees! In fact- if you go to a cafe and ask for a regular drip or just a regular cup of coffee, they will look at you as if you're insane! You've been warned. 

This type of thing is and will always be driving me nuts. What am I supposed to do without it? Before I arrived here, I was on a straight black cup of coffee every morning kick. Now i'm sitting in the dark alone, whispering: "...coffee?..." 

I will admit, being in Australia has turned me into a cappuccino whore. They seem to perfect it every time. Included with beautiful latte art, and topped with chocolate! (Which is considered traditional). 

Other than the coffee fret, another little yet rather large hurtle i've come to, is not being able to find a job! It's insane! I am a barista- I have been for the past 6+ years of my life- ohhhhh, but i'm an "American" barista. Where Starbucks is known as the Iron Throne back in the states, here, it is looked at as more of a McDonalds. Pft. Coffee is a whole other world down here. They use old vintagey yet new machines such as the synesso and wega espresso machines. Everything is a manual doing, whereas I am more used to a more automatic doing. I DO like these machines. In fact, since it was/is so near impossible getting a job as a barista here, I chose to take a course at the Australian Barista Academy. $190.00, that class! But it was fun and educational. We talked about everything from the coffee bean, to how espresso is extracted from it. Once the jib-jab was over, it was time to play on the machines. 

First was first: learning to dose, distribute, and tamp. (That actually was the hard part). After all of that, it was onto texturing milk, and doing a wee bit of some latte art. 

There's a little snapshot of me with my cute little certificate from my course. Awwww. Although that class raped me in the financial department, (or my boyfriend rather since he's the one bringing home the dough as of late- love you sweetie:)---) it was still a really good thing to take. If it isn't going to do me any good here in Australia, then it sure as hell will back home in the states. 

Let's move on, shall we? Aside from coffee and all its glory, another little struggle hurtle i've had to go over is my health. I've been having a lot of issues with my stupid little kidney. I've had problems in the past, but it seems to have gotten much worse. Nothing is worse than having to be admitted to the hospital in a foreign land. Even though hospitals are definitely no foreign land for me, it definitely is a shit feeling being so far from home and trapped in some hospital away from your family. Being so far from home, and experiencing all that I am is terrific, don't get me wrong. But it has also made me come to terms with my severe separation issues. I've never found it to be SO hard to be away from my family. (That's a lie, i'm homesick all of the time). But lately, it's drawn me to a near depression. My mom is my everything and we've always been together no matter what. Even if I moved away for a bit to another state, she would eventually follow or we would meet up. This is the first time that i've been a year without her; and let me tell you, it sucks. 

I'm trying my hardest to overcome this, but I think I may just need to stick near to home and travel moreso on holidays.  Getting back home is going to be a financial fun ride.. (not). Looking at  ticket prices are enough to make a grown woman cry. But i'm determined to be home either by Thanksgiving or Christmas. Firstly, must..find...a job. 

Even though i've been a bit down because of my homesickness and my actual sickness, I can't forget about my Michael. He's been here for me throughout literally everything and is always by my side just trying to do whatever makes me feel better. Australia has had its ups and definite downs, but I like to try and focus on the good. Here's a few more shots of my finds in Australia :)