We flew into Melbourne March 11th and immediately began searching for work and housing. This would prove to be a very stressful and demanding task. Australia’s economy is in a downturn just like back home. Work and Travel (our organization that sponsors our visa) has not been of any help in finding employment. They are a fraud, which we will divulge over another time. We stayed at the YHA Oasis for the first 9 days as we scoured the web for housing and jobs. The kitchens at this YHA were exceptionally crowded which resulted in many late dinners. (On a side note we each have eaten more omelets while traveling here then in the entire 2008 calendar year.) March 15th was my birthday! We did an intense early morning yoga class with an Irish bloke named Owen at a nearby studio. We walked around the waterfront most of the day and saw a beautiful rainbow over the Yarra river. We capped off the evening with our first dinning out experience in Melbourne. Tim went for the steak sandwich and I had the yummy vegetable risotto. Finally by March 20th things had begun to fall in place. We found a job posting at the YHA for a temporary work placement in a vacuum repair shop in southern Melbourne. Because I was not having much luck with massage work and with Tim’s imminent anticipation over landing a customer service role, I took the job. We had also found a place to live for 3 weeks. A young couple in north Melbourne was traveling to the US and rented out their room to us. Two other men rented out rooms in the house – David, a Mexican student here studying; and Lester, a hermit who we never really had any dialog with. By week two Tim was still struggling to find work. He accompanied me each day to my new job on the train and met me when I got off work. Finally, Tim received a call from a local marina at Port Melbourne for some casual work. They interviewed him and called him back two days later with an offer. With the two of us working we could feel more relaxed. Melbourne is definitely a fun and bustling place. We did a lot of exploring and found that there is always something to do in the heart of the city. We have just moved into a new place for the long Easter weekend. We are house sitting for a nice couple and looking after their two dogs, "Titch" "and Santa". The house is amazing! It has three bedrooms, immaculate hardwood floors, and is located in a more swanky part of town. We found the house sit opportunity on Gumtree - a craigslist type website of Melbourne. They’ll return on Monday so we have two days to secure our next housing stint. We will only be in Melbourne for another three weeks. We are going to rent a car and take a drive to Phillip Island, Great Ocean Road, and the Twelve Apostles before making our way to Sydney to fly to New Zealand. We’ll spend our last month in NZ traveling around both Islands. Tonight we are going to see Cirque Du Soleil: Dralion! It is opening night and we are very excited. Bye bye for now!
Julie
