16 - The spring's coming

Wake up in the morning after 10 hours sleeping with some rays of this Queensland sun; the wind is noisy outside and you can hear it between the brunches of the trees, blowing so strong and powerful. Even if I don't know why, this wind's reminiscing of a particular borough of one of my favourite city San Francisco. Yes I know, I'm living in Australia, I've been here for almost 8 months, I'm planning to settle here or at least to try to do it. First of all I'm gonna finish these 88 days in the farm in order to get my second Visa, then I'll go back to Italy, probably in the middle of December and finally I'll come back overseas, I still don't know where. Every day I change my mind, it's not very easy to plan your life for the future, especially when you are alone and you feel free to do whatever you want. The only thing which I'm really sure about is represented by the fact that this experience, this gap year in Australia's been worthwhile, I'm glad that I made the drastic decision to leave everything behind me and set off for a new life abroad.

The U.S. are still going around in my mind, reminiscing the last (it was also the first) trip I had more then two years ago. A lot of memories are stuck inside me and they're gonna stay there a long time. I want to make an effort, again, to make my way towards America; I'm gonna do it, soon or later, to continue this australian life I'm enjoying now.
But I'm in Australia at the moment. And I wanna figure out how to extrapolate the maximum which this Country has to offer. Once again I've pictured how it would be going back to Italy now, to start all over again in my own country; and once again I realized that it's not the right moment to do that. For sure, as I mentioned before, during the Christmas period I'll be there to enjoy the festivities with my family, but then my life will be here. I can't imagine living in Italy anymore, at least not in the close future. This is the place where I'm gonna stay, I'm gonna live. Here or in U.S. but not in Italy for sure.
It's really painful and it's a hard decision, because all my friends, my parents, my family are still there, but I feel that now I should do something different, I need to live this part of my life as I've never done before. Even if I'm doing menial jobs, even if my skillset and my expertise would allow me to look for, and probably find something better, I don't care; it's much more important to complete little tasks in my stride and complete them in order to reach a higher goal. I feel that I have to enjoy this life here in Australia, but I need also to research something else, I don't have just to have fun and then come back to my Country, as most of the people who come here usually do. I'm here for that, but above all for more. Far more. And it would be a pity to waste this time of my life without trying to attain a high and really worthy goal then I still can't figure out with simple words but which is becoming clear in my mind.

15 - The little things

When at the beginning arrived here in Gatton, the first impression that I felt was a sensation that this town wasn't going to offer me too much. I headed Gatton only because I was interested, and I still am, in working 88 days in a farm and get my second WHV to extend my australian experience. A part of me felt really sorry to leave the friends who I met in Perth, but the other part was excited to try a new experience, even in a farm. Usually, when a foreigner set off to reach the kangaro's Country, in his mind there's a clear picture of the farm; or, at least, was the imagine which my brain built to represent the farm environment and everything that surround it. You can think to turn on the volume of your radio, listening Boy from the bush by Lee Kernaghan and go through the country driving your 4 wheels jeep along the only road existing in that part of that forgotten land.

On your left side, there's just red soil and some shrubs; on your right, the same. The sky is completely light blue, some clouds stuck there, creating different images that make you fell like a painter with his brush in one hand and the imagination in the other one.

It's always been my dream exploring the Australian outback and see how it is; try to live there for a while, being completely plunged in the idea which, for me, is the best expression of the Australia.
Probably, one day, I'll have the opportunity to go into this marvelous and mystical environment, in a close future, not very far from this days. But not this year, not now. Nowadays I'm in Gatton, in a little town surrounded by little and big farms, the hobby farms, as the autochthons use to say. Apparently, is not the outback that I dreamt. Definitly not!

However, day by day, I'm starting to appreciate some aspects of this area, its shops, its people, its landascapes. Especially in the last few days, since I began to work in the farm where I've got the job, I reckon that this town has something to offer, not only to its citizens, but to the other people who live or wander for a while in it. I mean the backpackers. Us.
Maybe the first period I was too worried about looking for a good job, living with other italian people, about my english improvements; probably I hadn't free my mind in order to appreciate the nature and the intrinsic meaning which stays behind the boring imagine that this town gives at the first look.
But now, after 1 month, after having got a hourly paid job, after buying, almost, a car, finally I fell something different.Especially after yesterday. I went with my farmer to look for a car nearby his farm (and "mine") and coming back he took a different road, off the beaten track; and I discovered the beauty of Gatton. Above all, I saw the town and its surrounding with different eyes, because my farmer was describing to me how is living in Gatton; he explained to me how the population got over the flooding which happened two years ago and swept away some houses that were built nearby the river. He narrated briefly his life and the inception of his farm, which are the upside and the downside of this work; I was listening to him astounded because I was wondering how it's possible looking at same town, or in general at the same thing, and thinking positively or negatively regard to the point of view. I mean, I thought that Gatton was really awful, but now..now I think that, neverthenless, it's got some aspects that make it valuable and worthy to be lived.

14 - Finally, we need a car!

I'm spending another week working in the farm, in the same one where I've been working for almost 1 week. It seems that the owners want me to work with them, because one girl of their staff left at the end of the last week and they need someone the replace them. Two days ago I asked one of the owner if I was going to work everyday for them and she answered me that yes, "pretty much". It's not a concrete affirmation but I'm conscious that it's really close. Yesterday I had a go with the other owner and fortunately he replied me that I'm gonna work and spend my days with them from now on. Until october or november or whenever I want.
I was so glad to hear that, after 1 month of troubles and problems, finally I got a job. And it's really easy and, in certain way, I would say that's also funny. Moreover, it's hourly paid and this means that, working an average of 7-8 hours per day, I can save money for my next trip, in other words my go back trip which consists in some days spent in the Unites States (yes Louise!) from Honolulu to San Diego, from San Francisco to Las Vegas and finally London and Venice to enjoy the Christmas period with my family, after 1 one year of Australia and before...coming back to Australia!
Anyway, there's a downside about this job: I have to wake up really early in the morning, 'cause I start at 4.00 am on Monday and on Friday and at 4.30 am the other days. The reason? Working in a vegetable farm means deliver all your products to the supermarkets and shops before 8.30 o'clock so you should prepare (washing, packing and sorting out) everything in the night and early morning in order to load the vans by 7.30 am-
Nowadays I borrowed a car, from the owner of the sharehouse where I'm living, paying the transport day by day and the petrol as well; given that I'm thinking about heading Sydney from Gatton by car, I should buy one. Even because I bought some new things for the house and some new clothes and I guess that my luggage is over 23 kg which is the maximum weight that you can carry with you on the flight from Brisbane to Sydney.
Hence, this weekend, I hope to find some spare time for looking for a new car, actually a second hand car, possibly one which I can afford!
Stay tunned!

13 - The situation in Gatton after 1 month

I glance at the landscape in front of me and I leave my eyes wandering through the sunny and clear sky which characterizes this day in Gatton. I can see a thick veil of clouds on the horizon and I breath the air of which you can feel the warmth on my skin. Nearly 4 weeks have passed since I've been here and some things have changed, others seems are going to change, some others are still stuck and, apparently, they're not going to modify at all.

First of all, Internet has finally arrived in my house. After 3 weeks of strange promises, excuses, technical problems and postponements, yesterday the tenant of the sharehouse, where I'm living, came around with a modem and set the connection with the provider. Now we can use skype, check the email and do all the operations that without internet are so difficult to complete (book a hostel, check your bank account etc..).
Second, my two english housemates left at the end of last week; it means that now I'm living with other 3 italians and I should say that is not a good news for my english improvement, above all in order to get the Ielts certification at the end of this period, in Gatton. Even before, when I was with them, because of their age and also because I wasn't at home often, I didn't have the opportunity to talk with them about interesting and difficult topic a part the life in Australia and the motivations that push them to come overseas, in an other continent. In any case, having two english housemates was a good excuse to not speak italian all the time; that is the situation which i'm leaving after they left.
At the beginning I tried to speak in english even with my italian housemates but I gave up after a few sec. Why? The reasons are easy to explain. The english's level of some of them is really low; I'm conscious that mine is not very high, but I reckon that it's good, I'm understable, I can understand most of the native speakers (at least the sense of the speaking if I cannot get all the worlds said in a discussion). If it would be just me and another italian the situation would be different 'cause it'd mean that most of the people in the house are not italian; so it'd be easier to speak english, out for respect towards other people. But in the actual contest, there are four people under the same roof; how could we expect to speak another language different from italian?? Finally, and I know that it's so sad to say, a lot of time we come back home from work really tired and exhausted and it's become natural to speak in italian for laziness.

Anyway, initially I was talking about the things that are changing or that are not. Well, fortunately, I think something is going to change in my daily work, particularly in regard to the opportunity to get an hourly paid job instead of the other jobs which are paid relating to the fact that you are fast or not (salary based on the number of bin/boxes harvested). But in this moment I feel I should just bring out this potential event that could happen, a new job, but I don't want to delve into the discussion, I want to be superstitious!
By the way, as I said before, I'm still living with other italian guys and my english is getting worse. Maybe. Sincerely, I believe that my level is not worse or better then the one that I had when I was in Perth. The main problem is that I lost some of my confidence, every day I need a sort of "warm up" before speaking relaxed and be comfortable with my english. I also think that I found the solutions of the problem: my ex housemate and the new job represent the way to keep going with my improvement, in addition to continue to write this blog and watch movies and serial in english. In the new potential job all the pepole who work are australian, so I'd speak english all day; why my housemate? Because she's my teacher, I can really learn with her (and she can learn italian with me, is a good deal!) given that when I was in Perth we had hell of a lot of interesting discussion and talking about different topics which allow me to test my english and work out of it trying to use as much word I could. I hope to set a sort of weekly appointment(s) in order to speak english more and more and start again to be involved in my english absorption!