"You want to go for a run soon, Em?"

You are exhausted. You worked later than usual setting up for another function which consists of 65 people celebrating an 8 year-old's communion. All of them are going to be Italian, and they will expect you to pronounce all pizza names correctly, and with an authentic Italian accent. You sigh at the thought of how long and busy tomorrow will be as you wave good-bye to your roommates driving home for the night. Your friends are in town from Melbourne and now, along with a certain Canadian fellow, you are going to traipse through the pouring rain to try and find this house party they are all at. A house part in Freo? This should be good.

Before setting off on the directionally-challeged journey, you go with your instinct and pick up a bottle of $11 red wine from The Newport's bottle shop and try your best to place it safely under your arm, sheltering it from the rain. But the effort is wasted as the classy brown paper bag it's tucked into quickly disintegrates.

As it becomes more and more clear that the likelihood of arriving at this party is growing substantially dimmer, you confer with your comrade and decide that the best option is to throw in the towel (which, if you actually had one would be soaking wet by now) and catch the last bus home. You're near the stop anyway. You silently congratulate yourself on a very mature and well thought-out decision, and mentally high five your future self which you know will thank you at work. A hot shower, a quick game of Scrabble by the fire, and some wine... another relaxing Friday night avoiding the streets of Fremantle.

The bus arrives on time and you jump on, dripping onto the slippery floors and trying your best to conceal the bottle of wine which is now naked from the lack of the paper bag, and threatening to slip from your grasp. You fall into a seat and try your best to avoid the drunk, rowdy, teenagers at the back. You start to feel old as you realize that at 23, you're partial to an early night and an easier morning than the head pounding antics of these "kids". The bus drags itself down South Street and eventually comes to your stop, opening it's mouth to you as well as the group of fifteen that was determined to turn bus 99 into a party. You immediately sense that something is not right, and grab at Josh's hand... whispering "let'swalkontheothersideofthestreet, theseguysmakemenervous."

Just as the words are hitting your only ally, you hear the quick footsteps of someone sprinting, and feel a hard tug on your purse. You are dragged into an awkward tug-of-war as the perpetrator tries to pry your bag, holding all important possessions, from your hands. Fight or flight. You yank, and pull, and hold on... the whole time alternating between screaming, "NO!" and "JOSH!". Eventually the asshole let's up, falls to the ground, and scampers off... declaring you the victor of your first ever mugging attempt.

It would be very nice if that was the end of the problems, and not the beginning.

Immediately you see darting figures and realize that, not only are you a surprisingly far away distance from where you had originally been taken from, but the only person you are now concerned with is in the middle of a ten-on-one battle. You start yelling again in what can only be described as a panicked yelp, and run towards the fight.

Wrong decision.

As Josh is doing his best trying to avoid getting his head pounded in, the girlfriends of this gang (yes, that is a dramatic term... and no, they weren't loyal to the Bloods or Crips - but these guys are thugs) decide to focus their attention on you. Getting just what they want, you and Josh are now separated and sitting there. Easy for the picking. Not realizing that these girls mean you malice, you don't move away from their approach until Josh starts yelling, "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" As they move into the light, and start calling you "Sis", you know that they aren't coming over to apologize... and you book it. You are done with the "fight" part of this situation and kick it into "flight" mode.

You don't think that they'd actually chase after you.

Heart pounding, feet flying, trying not to slip on the wet concrete, phone crashing to the ground, firm grip on your purse, and hearing people just steps behind you... you round the corner of your street and that's where Josh catches the only girl left chasing you, and proceeds to throw her into a parked car. As the rest of the group catch up to Josh, you're yelling bloody murder for your housemate, Roy. Screaming his name at the top of your lungs way before you can even see the house, hyperventilating, and finally coming into sight... Roy takes one look at you, asks where Josh is, and flies down the steps... across the yard... and towards the yelling. As soon as you can breath regularly enough to tell Isabelle what happened, you both run back to the boys - calling the police on the way. As Bel is spelling her last name for the 911 (or in Australia, it's 000) officer for the hundredth time, you are watching what can only be a scene in a movie...

Rocks flying. Steam rising from the street and off of bodies. Fists falling. And the gut wrenching realization that it's now fifteen-on-two. These dirty, ghetto chicks have no qualms about joining in, scratching, punching, and hitting.

Eventually the group of bastard misfits disperse, around the same time Roy starts punching the girls, and two cop cars show up. You almost faint when you see that Josh's previously white shirt has been turned a dark red. But snap out of it as you realize that it's just the wine that had been broken and used as weapons. As you and Josh tell the police what happened in angry, outofbreath, gulps... you answer "yes" to the most prevalent question - "were they aboriginals?"

The police get your details promising to call if they find anything, you say good-bye to the two Aussies who had come out to help take on these deranged little psychopaths, and the four of you stumble back home. Soaked to the core, adrenaline pumping, slightly wounded, but in one piece... you relay the story to your mom, crack open the bottle of wine that you somehow managed to hold on to, sit in front of the fire, and hug everyone around you. You assess the cuts on Roy's back, Josh's blue eye, and your bag and then remember to - quick! Someone get a camera!

The day started out with Josh asking you if you wanted to go on a run with him soon. Your answer was a hesitant "sure", but you never realized what it would entail. Now you carry your credit cards up your sleeve when walking home, and you call someone to let them know you're at the bus stop. You are skittish and nervous when there are "down and out" passengers sharing your ride, and you will mark that night as the night of your first fight. And you won.

East Coast Roots

Just a quick update!

In two and a half weeks Patty and I will be making our way back to the East Coast. It also so happens that the departure date is one that we both hold dear and have spent together for the last three years... the 4th of July! However, this year instead of an all day bbq at either the Duffey or the Meyers residences, we'll be airborn flying all the way to the tippy top of Australia's East Coast. But don't worry, we'll be strutting our American pride with a couple of very snazzy American flag shorts that were used as this year's Halloween costumes. So what's our destination city? Cairns. More specifically... Port Douglas! Chasing the sun, looking for new beginnings, and starting the final chapter of this year-long crazy ride.

So once again, we'll break out our black stretchy pants, book hostels, and have to get used to yet another city's transportation system. Josh will be jet setting back to Canada a few days before we leave, and Isabelle and Roy will be hitting the road again around the same time. But on a brighter note, as we say even more goodbyes... we'll be looking forward to a very exciting "hello" as we start counting down the days until one of our best friends, Christa Rossell, will join us! Hallelujah! A Canadian/Melbourne friend will also be gracing us with her presence as Miss KJ joins us to celebrate her birthday! Wow, we have so much to look forward to!

So if you're interested, open up another tab and google image Cairns and Port Douglas. Not too shabby!

Bring it on Australia! We've got two and a half more months together, let's get to know each other just a bit more.... :)

The Power of Positivity

So this may seem strange, a bit lame, or just a tad out there but I'm going to tell you all anyway...

It started last August, when I enrolled in a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) class in Columbus, Ohio. I made the decision that for the last month in the US I was going to be working Monday - Friday and taking twenty hours of classes Saturday - Sunday. It was exhausting, hectic, and busy to say the least... but that class changed my outlook on so many things and I cannot say enough about it. The people I met through the course are some of the most interesting and incredible individuals that I have ever come across. In fact, one of them is helping me get a teaching job in China right this moment... but that's a story for another time.

Anyway, one woman in particular altered my life incredibly. Her name is Joan and even though we haven't been in contact in months, I owe a lot of my positivity and perseverance to her. If she ever reads this, I hope that she knows how amazing she is and I wish her all the best no matter where she is or what she is doing. She introduced me to two things that I hold very close to me, and are with me each day.

One of them is a book called "A Guide for the Advanced Soul", which is a self proclaimed book of insight. It states on the front, "hold a problem in your mind. Open this book to any page and there will be your answer". Now, what is so interesting about this book is that there aren't any chapters, no page numbers, and it's story is one of your own life. There are different quotes and passages on each page... and it's rare to ever open to the same page twice. When I've been really stuck or couldn't find any answers of my own, I've thought about what's been on my mind and turned to a page for some advice. I can honestly say, that for me, this has worked 100% of the time. Obviously, it's how well you can relate almost anything to your own situation and your personal investment in this kind of thing. But nonetheless, I've treasured this book and it's been with me on every part of this journey. I've shared it with countless people and although some are hesitant at first and think it's pretty silly, it's proven to be a source of comfort.

The other amazing, day-to-day, reminder of Joan that I have is actually in forms of emails that I get sent to me by "The Universe". Now don't freak out, I completely understand that the cosmic universe doesn't have a gmail account and a password... but there is a website (www.tut.com) that is focused on pursuing dreams, happiness, and life goals. It's a "club of adventurers" and I'm signed up for "Notes from The Universe". So a couple times a week I get a quick email with advice and encouraging words... some that have applied directly to my life at the time, and some that I've had to think about for a while until I really understood their meaning. I hooked Patty into signing up as well, and usually forward the notes to some of my friends a couple times a week.

In fact, I was about to get off the computer when I received one of my weekly emails. And the note that I got was so simple, so blunt, and so true that I felt like I had to share it with someone. This was the inspiration for my blog today... and just another reminder of how meeting one person, pushing yourself to do something different even if it's not convenient, or just changing something from your day-to-day lifestyle can have such a profound effect. I must admit, I believe that I was predisposed to these types of "life messages" or whatever you want to call them because my Mom believes so much in "the power of positive thinking". Hopefully you all can open your minds, your email account, or another tab to Amazon.com and take a peek into the book and/or site. I promise it won't be a waste of time.

As an example, I'll leave you with this...

All that you need to have all that you want, Emily, will be provided, as if by magic, once you know what you want and do something about it every day.

No matter what,
    The Universe

Hurray, It's J-Man's Birthday!

Last weekend, we had lots to celebrate. For starters, our fearless leader of debauchery, Josh Purdy, sunk another year into his twenties by welcoming in his 24th birthday. I switched my work schedule around a bit so that Friday was dedicated to making chocolate chip-cinnamon-banana pancakes, purchasing champagne, arranging an afternoon out on the town, and coordinating with the rest of our group to when and where we were going to kick off these mysterious "Dutch Games" that Isabelle and Roy had been talking about.

The morning started off really well with a breakfast made for real people (not backpackers). Orange juice, bacon, pancakes, kiwis, and champagne was consumed on our deck in the gorgeous sunshine with Edgar, Patty, Ayden, Josh, and myself. After eating way too much, and our stomachs hurting a bit, we hurried off to work, to complete errands, and for Josh and I - to get ready for my surprise birthday present!



We brushed the dust off a nice bright red dress, and a handsome button down and hit the town. I planned for the afternoon to be spent at Whisper Wine Bar on Essex Street in Fremantle. There, we munched on delicious olives and each tried a couple of wines. There was a Pinot Grigio that was a bit too sweet for Josh, but reminded me of Summer nights spent in North Carolina on my porch. Pinot Gri was the first wine that I ever liked and if I was lucky, my parents would have some stocked whenever I came to visit. Another wine was a Shiraz that was woody and had a lot of body to it. Paired with the black and green olives, it was amazing. The sun was out and we felt grown up, sipping our wine and having nowhere to go. Such a luxury.

The rest of the evening was a bit less laid back after meeting up with ten other friends at a local pub called Sail and Anchor. This is one of the most famous Fremantle bars with 43 different types of beer on tap. It's definitely a place to lighten your wallet so after a couple of drinks we all headed back to our house for a ridiculous next couple of hours. Roy and Isabelle had arranged for around six different games consisting of trying to pop a balloon with your shoe the fastest, being blind folded and trying to eat a piece of cake hanging off of a string, who can grab a plastic fish out of a bowl with only using your mouth the quickest, etc. It was hilarious and a new twist on some childhood games that they had grown up doing. Definitely a unique way to wrap up the birthday night and the pictures are outrageous! Cheers to them for putting in such an effort and everyone having the most amazing time!

While everyone got back into the swing of things, we had to say some good-byes that were extremely difficult. Nick and Linda pushed back their departure date a day to have a Mexican BBQ (compliments of Edgar) on Monday night. We stayed up late and munched on quesadillas and pico de gallo in front of the fire. On Tuesday morning the couple left with their bright green hippie van and went off exploring some new town up the coast. Edgar followed suit the next day hopping on a plane to Malaysia where bottles of Bacardi are $6 instead of $45. There are still remnants of them everywhere... from Edgar's flip flops in my room, to Linda's shirt she gave to me for work, even this blog... Nick showed me how to post multiple pictures, and I just found one of Minnie's headbands that she left here quite a while ago... saying good-bye is never easy, especially since they seem to be never-ending. However, what I've been learning is that the world is increasingly getting smaller, and those that impact you stay with you for a while after they go.

As Nick said in his blog, the difference between normal traveling and exceptional traveling can be attributed to those who you are with. I just hope that we'll still be in Fremantle when Nick and Linda get back, that we'll be able to run into Minnie on the East Coast in August, and that we can bridge the Mexican/American boarder when we return home. But for now, I'll enjoying working with Isabelle, going out for "Girl's Nights" with Patty, Solene, and Bel, losing at Scrabble to Josh, and practicing the Soulja Boy dance with Roy.

"It's not where you are, but who you're with that really matters..." - DMB

Lord Christopher Michael Johnson

Lord Christopher Michael Johnson, who was residing in Fremantle, Western Australia, left us suddenly on the 8^th of May, 2011. He was 25 years old and in the middle of planning an illustrious career path in town while enjoying the finer things in life, such as baked beans and bunk beds. The loss of him was an unexpected tragedy and those left behind still mourn him deeply.

Mr. Johnson was born in York, UK on June 22^nd, 1985. He stayed in York for most of his life besides the occasional vacation to Mexico and Spain. At the age of 24 he decided to take his booming soccer career to another continent and let the people of Australia see his skills. While catching up with old friends such as Ken Davies, and making new ones like Emily Meyers, he started enjoying the Aussie lifestyle and loving Melbourne. From traffic controlling both day and night, and babysitting on the side, he was able to provide himself with some of his favorite treats: gummies, Crown Lager, and Eye Fillet steaks.

Although the reason for Chris’ sudden departure is still somewhat a mystery, there is no doubt he made a lasting impression on those around him. Chris is survived by his friends and housemates, Patricia Duffey, Emily Meyers, Edgar Padro Velasco, Minnie Avila, and Josh Purdy. At this time, I’d like to make a list of some reasons why I love Chris and think about him from time-to-time.

1) I miss having someone decent to play Ping Pong (Table Tennis) against.

2) I liked the fact that we both have itchy, teary, droopy eyes sometimes.

3) How you introduced me to the “Tim Tam Slam” and then criticized me when I did it with red wine instead of tea.

4) The fact that I still don’t comprehend (or support) your obsession with tea OR your constant need for afternoon naps.

5) How we can sit for an hour and talk about what we’d do with a million bucks and then secretly told each other we wouldn’t tell anyone if we actually ever wont he lottery.

6) Mush. Mushykins.

7) How Ken kind of forced us to be friends, but then we actually ended up hanging out every single day and lived together for over five months.

8) Your blunt, and sometimes seemingly emotionless advice, which was usually right (not always, usually).

9) Your silly accent which became “American-ized” and how after 8 months Patty still can’t completely understand you on the phone.

10) Your stupid shirt and leather jacket that looks like you have a shirt underneath but it’s just a sewn-in pretend shirt.

11) That unlike Patty and Josh, we rarely went on runs – that made me feel better.

12) Cuddles.

13) Your obsession with that Kelly Clarkson song that sounds like Paramore, and how much you liked “Toes” by Zac Brown Band.

14) How ridiculous you looked with “long” hair.

15) That small smile you get when you do something right but don’t want to seem too excited about it.

16) How you complained about prices of beer, food, etc but ALWAYS bought the Eye Fillet steak with peppercorn sauce when you went to Beachcombers. And you did everything but lick the plate every single time.

17) How much it meant to me when I wasn’t invited to that party and you came over and hung out with me anyways.

18) Our first picture together was in Sepia tone, and you like that setting almost as much as I do.

19) The fact that you think you’re a professional soccer player but I’ve never actually seen you kick a ball.

20) Your scar that you showed me one night… which I wasn’t expecting but I appreciated nonetheless.

21) How you put on Patty’s lip plumper and let us take pictures of you. But more importantly, that if you were a girl it would have looked really good.

22) You were my blue-eyed counterpart with silly brown and hazel-eyed friends.

23) Our date to see “Sex, and Other Drugs” and getting coronas after.

24) How excited you got whenever we brought home gummies.

25) How you can act like a little boy one moment and then like a dad with Kathy and JP’s little ones the next.

26) The fact that you bawled equally as hard (or harder) than Patty and I did at Christmas when you got off the phone with your family.

27) That whenever you get the sniffles you sleep with tissues stuck up your nose. And how when I tried it, it worked!

28) The enormous let down we felt/still feel about the lack of Yorkshire Puddings.

29) How when I now meet English people I think I can relate to them by saying “my best friend lives in York”. They never seem to get overly excited about that though…

30) The fact that until last week, you had me convinced that Bangers and Mash was a good meal. Then I tried it, and just so you know – I disagree.

31) How when you walked into an ice cream shop you picked out the flavor that was bright blue and added gummy bears to it. Childish.

32) Your growl that you do when you see a girl you think is remotely cute.

33) The fact that you owned a set of weights and I never once saw you use them.

34) When we watched that TV show that ended up showing us what 80 year old people look like naked. To this day, that still grosses me out.

35) How unaware you are to the amount you affect those around you. That when you left you didn’t just leave a vast, empty, strange country… but you left some people who really care about you. Detrimental modesty, I think.

RIP Chris Johnson, who was taken by a land of rain, serious men with tall hats, fish ‘n chips, chocolate factories, and tiny family members. At Chris’ request, you can send any donations you might have to 16 Harwood Street, Hilton WA 6163 Australia. These should be in the form of cash or cheque addressed to Emily Meyers, Patty Duffey, or Josh Purdy. Thank you.

Sleep, Work, Barbie, Repeat

There’s this small café on a corner right by the train station. It makes the best skinny cappacinos in Fremantle and the chocolate chip – blueberry muffins are the perfect treat to cheer anyone up. One entire wall is a red chalkboard, covered with last-minute quotes, wise words, “call me”, different initials sketched together with hearts, and a spattering of foreign phrases. The entire wall facing out towards the train station and the harbor is completely glass, giving you a feeling of sitting outside and letting you people watch or enjoy the company of the other coffee drinkers who are plopped down with notepads or computers. There are numerous palm trees and the sky is a bright blue. I can see the parking spot where Chris parked our Apollo Campervan the first day we arrived here. That day was full of relief, excitement, and the fresh feeling of putting your feet down in a new spot. Little did we know it was the start of a very different part to our Australian adventure. Some parts good, some parts harder than expected, and simply put... a lot to overcome. But if something doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. Right?

To me, this small town where everything closes at 5 tastes like baked beans, Emu Bitter, pizza, and granola bars. It smells like garlic, coffee, fire, and whatever strange musty odor that perpetually resides in my room. Here, life is simple. I work six days a week at a small Italian restaurant called “PortaRosa”. I work there with two of my best friends in WA, Minnie and Isabelle. If I’m not working I’m either at the library, in my room, or trying to finagle my way around Perth city. Hospitality work is getting incredibly old at this point and my new job is a huge shift from the chaotic mess at Beachcombers that I loved. Instead of 70 staff, there’s about 8… instead of 12-hour shifts with 20-minute breaks, my shifts are usually between 3 – 7 hours and if I have a break it’s for 2 hours. The people I work with are great, most of them being from Italy and teach me some phrases here and there. I’m lucky enough to get a pizza slipped in my bag from time-to-time and the kitchen lets me nibble on the cucumbers and bread whenever I want. Even as I’m sitting here, I’m wearing nothing but black (besides a pink flower in my hair that was a present from my Mom) and I’m counting down the hours until the night shift begins. I love the spontaneity of waitressing, getting to meet new people each day, and talk to individuals from all over the world. This job constantly reminds me of how small the world is... but after Australia, I hope to never have to do this again. Bring on big girl jobs where my clothes don't smell like garlic bread and chili mussels at the end of the night!

The best part about living in Fremantle is that we’ve come to acquire a fantastic new group of friends! We've become somewhat of a makeshift family and see each other almost every day. It’s weird because never in my life have I hung out with mostly couples… but now, it’s almost completely what our group consists of. Different, but definitely not worse. We met up with Edgar and Minnie who are two of the most fantastic people I know. Hailing from Mexico, I worked with both of them at Beachcombers and as soon as we got to Freo they introduced us to Isabelle and Roy. The two couples met on the road somewhere between Melbourne and Perth and decided to travel the rest of the journey together. They are from Amsterdam and are amazing. It’s not uncommon for us to get up and find Roy sleeping on our couch due to Isabelle having to work super early and then having a bbq with them later on. Through Isabelle and Roy we met Nick and Linda from Germany. Both of these couples having traveled throughout Australia in campervans so they met while sleeping down at South Beach one night. Nick has been traveling around the world for the past year and is hilarious – every cool place he’s gone he does this “crab walk” on his video camera and so far has made an awesome youtube video of it. From places like NYC, Sydney, the beaches of Fiji... it’s something really cool and just funny to look back on. Linda is still in school back in Germany so she’s only been able to see Nick sporadically. They’ll be separating again pretty soon which is incredibly sad, but gives you a good feeling that there are still those people who try that hard. One night, I was walking home from work with Minnie when we were yanked into Edgar’s campervan by Edgar and Josh and brought out to the harbor to drink some beers and hang out with Clemente and Solene (vive la france!) who they had just met at the hostel. Immediately I knew that we all were going to hang out for a while… they were just so NICE and sweet and funny. The next day I ended up talking to Selene for what seemed like a couple minutes but was actually over an hour about everything from getting married to friends at home. I still can’t get over how easily it is to connect to people despite their nationality, background, or age. Throw in our American couple that we live with (Ayden and Justine) and we have our amazing band of misfits. At least every other day we have a bbq at our place with lots of odds and ends of food that we all pick up and a couple drinks if we have a couple spare dollars. Josh, Patty, and I have it pretty lucky when it comes to company. I can’t imagine Freo without any of these people. But unfortunately we’ve already started saying our good-byes. Minnie left for Broome a couple days ago, Edgar just sold his van and will be headed to Asis next week, Nick and Linda are back on the road come Monday, and Ayden and Justine are off exploring on Sunday. On the bright side, Isabelle and Roy will be moving in and although our group will shrink a bit, we’ll still be having cookouts and poker nights with Isabelle, Roy, Patty, Josh, Clemente, Solene, and myself. Plus, hopefully we won’t stop meeting people and recruit more people for our late night talks and massive feasts. Some friends from Sweden are supposed to be arriving this weekend, we have one little Irish girl from Beachcombers in Perth City, and a German friend who I saw on the street but haven’t been able to convince to make the trek all the way to Hilton for some of our famous dinners yet. Soon though, soon.

So what is WA all about? As Patty says, it stands for Waiting Always. We’ve been waiting to find jobs (which we did), waiting to find a house (did that too), find some crazy kids to call our friends (yup), waiting to see if Chris was going to leave (unfortunately, he did), waiting to save up money to get out of here (booked the flight yesterday!), waiting for work to be over… beers to be cracked… steaks on the grill… poker being dealt… and the good parts of all this to continue. Waiting Always.

Gypsy Soul To Blame...

*I just want to let everyone know that I was supposed to document the entirety of our time on the road but like so many other attempts to keep a journal or diary, I failed. Here’s a glimpse into the first couple days of our trip. Unedited. It’s sporadic, rambles on at times, and there aren't too many facts about Southern Australia, but it was what was on my mind at the time…*

Road Journal.

“Couldn’t wait to get going, but wasn’t quite ready to leave…”

Thursday April 14^th

Day 1.

First of all – Happy 24^th Birthday Scott Dulany!!! Thinking of you wherever you are and hoping you're having a fantastic day with great food, amazing friends, and some celebratory drinks!

Well, it’s officially been an hour into our 37-hour trek across Southern Australia! We’ve pretty much explored every nook and cranny of our campervan and settled in for an 8-½ hour trip to the first (and most likely last) major city - Adelaide! The sun is out and it’s a bit chilly, definitely feels like the beginning of Fall! It's strange having September weather in April. Already sweatshirts have been taken out of squished suitcases and blankets found. Chris immediately assumed his designated role of “the only person who can confidently drive this house on wheels” and has taken his place in the front seat. Patty, who wasn’t feeling too hot after the largest thick shake in the world and some pork sliders, is scrunched up in the passenger seat – accompanied by Spike, Josh’s cactus. I’ve plopped down in, what looks like, the “booth”… aka the-perfect-place-to-play-Scrabble-table. With the windows cracked, a blanket tucked next to me, and some sunnies on I’m feeling very content. My black stretchy pants are back out for our journey, I think the last time I donned these yoga-esque fashion faux pa was on the long journey over to Australia. Almost 8 months ago. Besides, they also came in handy when chowing down at Misty’s Diner (an American-themed 50’s style restaurant). It figures I’d find my favorite restaurant the last day in Melbourne. I was elated when we walked into this pink, black, and white themed diner and I could order French Fries, burgers, and a shake! It reminded me of some of my favorite restaurants back in the States - the Tilton Diner and the Sycamore Diner. It seems that I would have been in my prime back in the '50s. Also, if allowed to eat at any of those places anytime I wanted, I would definitely NOT fit into my stretchy pants. I'm buzzing with the familiar feelings of the beginning of a new adventure, but I think the food and the lack of sleep finally caught up to Josh – who is currently passed out in the back with the blinds drawn.

The Camper is about the size of the room we lived in at Jessica House (our first "home" in Melbourne), and A LOT nicer. It is absolutely huge, clean, and even has a fridge and TV. The shower and toilet situation is pretty crazy, and reminds me of The Clipper’s bathroom facilities. The shower is basically ON the toilet. So you have to stand next to the toilet and turn on the shower and kind of lean over to wash yourself. Already I’ve soaked myself a couple times while trying to turn on the sink and accidentally turned on the shower. Oh well! We’ll sort it out!

It’s a weird feeling to be leaving Melbourne. The feeling was kind of like when I left the States. I was definitely wearing about leaving such an amazing place, but the aspect of something fresh and new overrides any sad feelings I might have. I think it’s the fluidity and consistency of moving that has me used to it all at this point. I think it’s up to six or seven different places in less than six years? Three different houses during college, North Carolina, Luxembourg, Columbus, and now Australia. Phew. But new locations mean new people which means new friends which means “broadening horizons”. I can’t wait! I thrive on being with, and around, people. It got to the point that in November Patty needed to tell me to calm down. And I realized I didn't have to be a part of absolutely everything. But I can’t help it, I love the energy and when you meet that couple people (or that one person) and you just click. There really is nothing better.

Well, enough reflection and onto the scenery... it seems like Australia is pretty flat right about now. The tallest things I can see are the wind catchers (what is the correct term?) that probably power the surrounding farms. Windmills? Yeah, windmills. No Kangaroos yet, just some cows – which, surprisingly are the same here, you’d think they’d have stripes instead of spots or something uniquely aussie. The light is doing this pretty cool thing, it’s coming out in patches as soon as the clouds move out of the way a bit… the taller hills are being highlighted and you could easily take a picture of this and sign it “Van Gogh” and people would believe it. I used to be confused about why people pay so much money for paintings of dull things such as sparse fields or rows of trees. This is one of those moments where I get it. The scene is calming and peaceful. Cows don’t have it bad, do they?

Anyway, there are about a billion different colors in the sky at this moment. There’s the perfect blue that accompanies the clouds when it’s just the right day… it always reminds me of the beginning of The Simpsons or waterskiing on Lake Tomahawk at camp. The clouds are those long paint-stroke ones that seem to hover, just waiting to disappear or open up. My favorite clouds are the ones that seem to touch down somewhere just beyond where you can see and have the sun above them, just waiting to crash through any opening it can find. I feel like the sun and water are pretty similar in the fact that they are constantly searching for flaws, openings, and patches to leak through and infest. Whether it’s slip-ups with sunscreen, macro-bursts in a snorkel, or bits of roof that need to be patched up – we’re constantly searching for these imperfections and doing our best to protect ourselves from them. But then there are the beautiful mistakes… beautiful mistakes? The times when the sun finds it’s way through the rain and different colors swirl around to make a rainbow, or when bits of water get caught in a spider web. I know I’m being lame right now and these images belong in a Disney movie, but I blame the scenery… and my over active imagination.

Another part of the scenery that is not nature are all these ridiculous signs that are spattered along Australian highways. One that I love in particular that is so demanding is...

“TIRED? POWERNAP NOW!”

I've seen other variations of this such as "SLEEP OR DIE". We’ve also passed a lot of road names like Snake Creek, Mount Emu Creek, Kangaroo Junction and lots of other uncommon names. I’ll check back in a while to see if we’ve come across any others.

So… we’ve fast-forwarded a couple of hours and we are now close to Adelaide! We stopped twice at gas stations (petrol stations) to fuel up with some chips and beer. That is the extent of dinner tonight… I got some beef jerky and Chap Stick as well. The life on the road is pretty grand - some games of catch phrase, poem writing to entertain each other, the States game (which Josh beat me at), the Get-To-Know-You game... which is stupid because we've been living with each other since January, and trying to figure out the heat/speaker differences between the front cabin and the back. It seems like the perfect volume and warmth to fall asleep to in the front... and then a rockin' Friday nightclub and chilly in the back. Super.

Friday April 15^th

Day 2.

So we’ve all made the executive decision not to change for at least a couple of days. As Chris said, "it just makes things easier.” This way we don't have to unpack and honestly, who really cares about looks at this point? So that means jeans and an England jersey for Chris, stretchy pants and a bogan aussie singlet for Patty, jeans and Josh’s favorite shirt for him, and stretchy pants and my victorica’s secret shirt for me. The beds were… less than comfortable. Comparable to sleeping on the hard ground in a tent at Fraser Island. It seemed like, again, there was a disconnect between the heat and one part of the Camper was way too hot, and the other part was freezing. We'll have to get to the bottom of that. We ended up parking in this remote, VERY QUIET, hilly area. Perfect place for a horror movie to go down. I kept waking up in the morning thinking that we were going to get in trouble because of all the cars that kept passing us. It felt like each car that drove by was about to crash into the side of our camper due to it swaying violently every time another vehicle would come close. It was okay though, nobody stopped and there was never that knocking on the door that I expected throughout the night. However, when we finally did venture outside we realized we were parked in the middle of a construction site. That would account for all of the cars around us. Crap. But we survived the night and are now on our way to reach Adelaide… which is about an hour away. We didn’t want to stop in the city due to the charges at camping grounds and whatnot. Hopefully we’ll get some food other than chips and I’ll be set. Oh, my French braid and the running band have already come out so looking remotely cute this trip is a no-go. I’m going to dive into the book I brought, Invictus, later on – unless Josh takes it first. In which Petra will have to come out again in full force and scare the crap out of him. You see, Josh has a habit of rough housing and throwing me around… that was until I made up this crazy weirdo alter-ego, Petra. Revenge is sweet.

We stopped in Adelaide for lunch! There was this huge indoor market with tons of different food – and the prices were fantastic compared to Melbourne. As we decided, we’ve been grossly exploited living in a city where McD’s costs more than a normal sandwich in the States. Chris and I went straight for the meat pies amongst other treats… wraps, sandwiches, truffles, croquettes, corn and cheese thing, and of course – coffee. The city was great! It seemed open and really clean. But of course we jumped to conclusions with “everyone here is weird” because the first person we saw had bright pink hair that matched her knee high boots. Judgmental much? After sorting out our grumbling stomachs we made our way back to the Camper. The next couple hours consisted of Josh and I reading in the back while Chris manned the front and Patty learned more about Australia. The chips have been devoured again but we’re refraining from cracking open any beers ‘til later.

Let's see... what else happened? Oh! Josh drove this morning, and it went pretty well! Chris somehow got cream in his eyes and had to take a break from the perils of the road. I was Josh’s number 2 person and proceeded to be a backseat driver while manning the radio. Although it was only for about twenty minutes, it was fun to switch positions with Patty & Chris. Got to give them a couple minutes to lay down and experience the ridiculously loud speakers in the back, and for us to pretend like we’re the responsible ones taking control. We're currently on a road that we’ve been on for the last 3 hours. There's nothing but vast desert and a couple turns here and there… the scary part about this road is that it’s completely straight but yet there are tons of markers indicating fatalities and/or accidents. The black markers mean death while the red ones are for near fatal accidents. It’s pretty nerve wrecking since there are TONS – it makes me feel safer that Chris and Josh are driving instead of me, and that we’re in a massive car that would take a lot to total. I still have that kicked-in-the-stomach feeling whenever we come up close behind a car… reminds me of two years ago and the split second I saw the car stopped in front of me and how I barely swerved out of the way, totaling Baby Blue and almost killing myself. Even though the scars have all but faded, definitely the scariest moment of my entire life.

By the way, another sign “REST OR DIE”. These Aussies don't mess around with the signs! But on a good note and we can finally see the ocean! I kept on forgetting while reading my book that I’m road tripping across South Australia. Then I'd look out the window and realize that there wasn't anything familiar. What a difference a year makes, or even six months. I would have never imagined that I'd meet two guys and end up hiking across the country with them. When I think about how completely altered my life has become by Chris, Josh, and (of course) Patty I can’t believe it. I don’t know if I’ve ever been happier.

At this moment, the trip reminds me of a scene from my favorite movie, "Almost Famous"... where they were road tripping across the country while touring. Suddenly "Tiny Dancer" comes on the radio and everyone starts singing together while watching hundreds of miles go by beneath them. Only right now, (much to Josh's dismay) Chris Brown is on the radio and the measurements are in Kilometers, not miles. I'll end today on a quote from "Almost Famous" that just about sums up our little band of adventurers...

"The only true currency in this bankrupt world... is what you share with someone else when you're uncool."