Sweet and Sour News
Well, it has been ages since I last wrote anything on here. What can I say, Im just having too much fun! Actually, I just havent had much happen recently that would be of any interest to you. However, things have changed! Im no longer working as a diving instructor which kinda sucks, but I have to work on some kind of farm in order to extend my working visa for another year. So Im currently working on a prawn farm... yes thats right, a prawn farm! On my first day, I was artificially inseminating prawns, by strapping them to the table with velcro, sticking a tube into her lady bits, and pushing some prawn sperm into her. But it didnt end there.... then I had to hold it still while somebody burnt its eye off(!), which apparently releases hormones to help fertilisation or something!!! Sounds very wrong, but was strangely intriguing. I only did it that once though! The rest of the time, Im feeding, fertilising the ponds, doing maintenance work and stuff. Its pretty boring, but bearable for 3 months til I can get back to diving. And I do get to race around the ponds on quad bikes which is cool. Got 2 months to go!
Im still living with Dave and Jill, and we've just resigned our lease so I'll be sticking around here for a few more months.
Now seeing as you havent been able to see for ages now, Ive got a few more photos (of me naturally!) for you. Some of them are actually of some humpback whales. Its been whale season for a little while and we've seen loads over the past couple of months. They come up really close to the boat (the closest was 3m off the stern, 5m from me!). They're huge!! get up to about 18m and they are absolutley amazing. The crew were more excited than the passengers!!! One day we had 1 that was just playing with us. he was tail and fin slapping, and breaching away for ages really close to the boat and according to the skipper was the best display he's seen in 20 years! Awesome stuff!!
Now to the sad bit!! im sure you've all heard of the legend that is Steve Irwin the Crocodile Hunter, and also of his recent death. a very sad day over here as well. What you wont know, is that my housemate was the person who had to administer all the first aid and stuff before the medichoppers arrived! He was filming not far away from an island where 1 of our boats operate, where my housemate's the safety officer (lifeguard - but better trained -defibs, oxygen etc). His crew raced him to the island where she had to take over the emergency care. He was already dead when they got him to the island; she couldnt get an airway and there were other signs that he was gone as well, but she still had to keep going until someone more qualified arrived. Eventually they did, the guy stuck his hand into Steve's chest, found that the stingray barb had pierced the heart and called time of death within 2 minutes of arriving! Nuts!!! She didnt know it was him until he arrived on the beach wearing his Khakis!! A very surreal moment and a very sad day.
Take it easy. xx
Now, if you've read you emails, you'll have already seen this (unless i dont have your email address, in which case, send it to me!). if you havent read your emails, then what the hell are you doing, go read them!!!
Sorry, i have been a bit rubbish recently. i guess not a lot has happened other than work.
HOWEVER!!! this last week has changed all that. As of last thursday, i have been a fully fledged scuba instructor! the course was hard going. not the actual work, just the fact it was 10 days starting early in the morning and not finishing til 6-6.30. but it has all been worthwhile!!!
the exams started tuesday evening at 5, and didnt finish until 9.30. then we had to go prepare lessons for the next morning, so didnt go to bed til gone midnight. then we had to be up at 7am! spent that day conducting those lessons, then out on an island doing our open water lessons where we coud only see 1m in front of us!!! it was interesting, but fun at the same time.
that night we obviously went to celebrate, but were so exhausted we only made it to 12 and had to go to bed! very disappointing, but i guess we'll just have to try again!
now im just waiting to find out if i have the job i want (depends if they actually need anyone), and if not, theres plenty of other boats needing instructors so shouldnt have much trouble. im just really bored at home at the mo.
cant believe ive been here for 5 months! the last year has been working to this moment, and certainly the past 5 months has been directly associated with my instructor ticket. now i have it, i need to find a new purpose in life. its a very odd feeling. oh well, im just gonna have some fun for a while.
im sticking around port douglas for a few months, so im just gonna keep working for a while. my rough plan is to just work for a year, do 3 months fruit picking in order to get another 12 month visa. pay off my debt (to my mother - which could take a while!), save up some money then spend next year doing some travelling. right now, i happy where i am, so we'll see what happens.
im gutted i wont be there for your wedding; 1st bloody friend who gets married and i miss it. bloody typical!!! hope you have a fantastic day though, and i want lots of pictures, and a full run down of the day!
well thats all my news for the moment, i'll write again soon.
take care, xx
CYCLONE SHUTDOWN!!!
Its been ages I know, but not a lot has really happened since the last update apart from going out drinking, so there hasnt been much point writing! HOWEVER! things have got a little more exciting in recent days. yesterday, the commercial trip to the outer barrier reef got cancelled, and about 20 crew (including myself) had to go out and secure the pontoon we moor at for a cyclone!!! we had to remove everything that was loose, drop the diving platform to the sea bed, and tie everything else down so that if the cyclone hit, damage would be minimal! it was a brilliant day! there was so few of us on a boat with a 440 passenger capacity, playing cards, listening to fat boy slim, and just generally chillin out. its sooo much better when you've got no customers! and on the way back, we took advantage of the free bar, then went out on the piss at 5 o'clock, due to no work today!
now i personally thought this whole thing was hilarious, but unfortunately, the seas were calm. apparently last time, there was 40 knot winds (thats really strong - the boat does carry passengers if its over 33) and massive swells, which would've been cool, but it was actually a really fun day anyway. next we have to go put it all back again. cant wait!
all that aside, i've finished my 65 days working for $40 a day, so i now get paid $80, which means i can actually afford to buy food now which is a bonus! my instructor course starts in about 2 weeks, so its study, study, study for me.
i'll be in touch soon. xx
Emma and Janin again, plus Gilly. 20yrs old. Really cool chick. she even thinks im funny which is a bonus!
Lili on the left, and Taka. One of the instructors. He's leaving to go back to Japan in a couple of weeks, which is a shame, cos he's really funny.
Theo and Gary (right). Theo's my brother! from california. Apparently I have to keep up the American side of the crew. Easily done!
Chris and Ondyne. They've just finished the programme as well, and are now qualified instructors. They helped us a lot in the initial stages, so big up to them! Chris is english, and Ondyne's south african.
The lounge room at Parrotfish.
My housemate Dave. A vidoegrapher on the boat, 19yrs old from Melbourne.
My other housemate, Janin. On the internship with me. French-Canadian, 29yrs old. We just laugh at him because his english gets a little mixed up sometimes.
The boat I work on..... and me!!!
Some of the guys I work with. from left... Lisa, Kelly, Casey, Emma, Wade (just finished the last programme, Dan and Amy. All really cool people, and a bunch of alcoholics. So I feel at home!!
This is a picture of my hostel in cairns. i shared a room with another dive guide (thats what we're called!) for a week. The place was called Gecko's.
As above.
These guy are also on the internship but operating out of cairns. Tom (Aussie)is on the left, Matt (English) on the right. Really nice guys.
Tom again, and Lili. shes the one i lived with. Posh english 19yr-old. nice girl though.
My hostel in Port Douglas. Parrotfish Lodge. stayed here for a week before i found somewhere to live.
No Drama
Its ok, im one really lucky person, and someone in a shop in town has found my phone! They just happened to ring someone who i work with and its safe and well! thanki god for that! someone is looking down on me, i do this too often and still dont learn!
Other than that, things are awesome here. im taking photos of where i am, my house, the people ive met, where i work etc, so i'll get those put on in the near future. everyone is really nice, which must be quite hard for them, because every 3 months they have to go through the same thing again and meet the next generation of dive guides. i seem have given the wrong impression, because no-one believes that im shy, quiet and retiring. in fact they just laughed at me!! no idea what they mean! Chewi -im off to see missy higgins (the ozzie bird) in concert in a couple of weeks which should be good. its so much cheaper here and theres standing room so you can get up close easily! anyways, gotta go book my tickets now, so later! x
Oopsie!!
Right, just a quickie. i have been a complete knobhead and lost my phone! this means i havent got anybodies number anymore, so if you could send me your numbers via email, its probably safer. or just send me whoevers numbers you have, that would be great! i'll let you all know my new number when i get around to replacing it! cheers guys, im gonna go drown my sorrows in sweets now. take care. xx
Post Christmas
Hope you all had a great christmas. Mine was surprisingly good (well not bad anyway!). My lovely mother made up a little stocking to take with me to open on Christmas Day which went a long way! i got a really cool 'bop-it' pen (ask laura), some chocolate money, jelly beans, a little drinking game involving snails (!?!),and some thongs (very much needed at that point due to lack of washing!). along with that, the family betweeen them gave me another $200 to spend, which i have already done! I had a good old traditional fry-up for breakfast, then went down to the beach for a bit, but couldnt swim so got bored and went for a wander round town. the hostel we were staying in had a christmas lunch which we didnt do but joined the party round the pool afterwards which was cool. there were a couple of english guys and a few other nationalities, but not loads of people. in the evening, myself and lili (my room mate) went to an 'orphans' party at the house of one of the guys working on the boat which was basically for anyone who didnt have family to spend christmas with. we had a gorgeous pig spit roast, and bits and pieces for dinner along with a few cocktails.
so all in all, much better than i was expecting!
i officially start work tomorrow, with a uniform that is slightly too big, so that should be fun. we're expected to know everything by now!!! oh well eh?!
ps. laura (and especially) charlotte, please try and remember there is a 9-hr time difference,so the likelihood im gonna reply to a text at 4-5am,is VERY slim!! ;o)
Raining!!!
Just to make you all feel slightly better, its absolutely pissing it down today (it is the wet season i guess)! its still fairly warm, but definately raining!
Port Douglas
Charlotte, dont be so cheeky!
Here it is, the next thrilling installment of my life in Oz.
To be honest, not a great deal interesting has happened since the last time. However, i did get asked out for dinner by an american guy on the smaller boat (Silverswift) who was in his 30s, a little overweight, and had little hair. i really didnt know what to say to him, but had to let him down gently! it was kinda embarassing, i guess i shouldnt be so damn good. i had to be his buddy (you always dive in pairs) and was trying to be helpful and show him some cool stuff and basically do the kind of things you'd do if you were working, but it kind of backfired on me! got a little bit of stick from some of the other crew members!
Now, i have moved up to Port Douglas which is where my internship is, and have been out on the boat a couple of times to lern how they do things. it is improving but still not as good as Silverswift. looking for a share house or something now which is better and usually cheaper than hostels, so fingers crossed we'll get something half decent. (we being myself and a girl called Lili who is doing the same thing). also gonna try and find some waitressing work or something to supplement the pathetic wages we get.
i havent really taken any photos as yet, but will post some when i get around to using my camera.
well, til next time, (happy christmas if its not til after!),
stay safe! xx
Update!
Well! today i went on the boat i'll be working on for the next 3 months,
just to get a feel for how they do things etc. if im totally honest, it was
kinda wank! the boat's huge, and has an average of 200-300 passengers.
the smaller boats have about 17-24 passengers! they're much better for me, i like the fact its a little more personal in terms of talking to staff and
customers. but the gits didnt give me a choice in the boat im going on. im
gonna ask if there's any space of another boat, but its unlikely. at least
if someone on the smaller boat wants to change for any reason, they'll know im interested.
The past 6 days i have been diving on 1 of the smaller boats called
Silverswift, which is an awesome boat. i love it on there! the people are
really nice, and i like the way the boat runs. the dive supervisor has
actually been letting me on the boat for the staff price of $27 (rather than
$50 the school charges me!), in return for me helping to set up kit and
cleaning a little at the end of the day, which im more than happy to do.
hopefully this'll put me in good stead for any positions that may come up in 3 months. they'll know how keen i am and how good i am. fingers crossed.
other news: my tan is coming along quite nicely, and for the first time in
my life, i havent burnt within the first few days! hope you're all enjoying
the cold and rain over there! ;o)
i have 1 more week in cairns before i move up to port douglas for my
internship, so i'll probably write next time when im up there! x
ps. i dont know why its set the text like that!
Random rubbish
Jenny, and anyone else who wants (will!) say happy birthday to me; my birthday is 28th June! a little way off i know, but there you go. i expect more than 3 messages this year!
Josh - i didnt get involved in any fights im afraid. have you seen the size of some of these girls? i would get my ass well and truly kicked!!!
would anyone like to let me know whats happening in the X factor? come on, i dont get to watch rubbish british shows anymore!
My ozzie number
Right! finally remembered to bring it! dont feel you have to txt, this is just for those who would maybe like it!
041 566 2528
I start my diving tomorrow, thank god! because unless you're here to travel and do trips etc, there really isnt much to do, except drink and sunbathe. and im really not that bothered about either!!!
Finally arrived!!!
Firstly, thank you Marieke for setting this up for me, it could turn out to
be perfect.
Well, i got into Cairns at 4.30 AM!!!! I didnt get much sleep on the plane, but have just had a few hours at the hostel this morning. still pretty tired,but should just about manage to keep going i think. Even though it was the middle of the night, it was still 24 degrees, and now its even hotter, and muggy. so ive gone from being really cold to really hot. i just cant win!!
Now, i'll be honest, when i first got here, i did feel pretty shit (as you do) cos i was tired and all on my lonesome. but i have calmed down and am feeling much better. i just want to get on with it all now.
Tomorrow i will sorting out all the little things like setting up a bank account and getting my visa stamped,so will have a fairly busy day. im sure i'll be able to spare time to do a little sunbathing though!
thats about it for now, but i will keep you all updated. take care all,
Tami. x
ps. i cant remember my australian number but will let you know next time!
Off to Oz!
Hello.
I am off to Australia on Friday. Really looking forward to it. I will try, but won't promise, to keep a kind of journal here so you can see how things are going. With a bit of luck I will learn how to post pictures to this website and then things will look really cool and funky.
