As I write, the rain outside is deafening. I can hear the
water gushing down the street of our hill. A cyclone is coming our way. While
the Gold Coast has been prepping sandbags, closing beaches and emptying supermarkets,
we’ve just been getting wet. No gusty winds yet, no wild waves. Just lots and
lots of rain. Since yesterday morning, it has varied between light and constant
and heavy and constant. In the short breaks between one rain cloud and the
next, people rush to and from work or wherever else they need/want to be.
This morning I put my new rain jacket to the test, walking
down our waterfall to the staff room. My upper half stayed toasty dry, while my
lower half was completely drenched. The streets have turned into rivers, the
hills into cascades of water and some areas into lakes.
But right now, I am dry and comfy, sitting in my bed, doing
what rainy days were made for – getting cozy and writing.
Wet. But still beautiful.
Stating the obvious. Especially after your feet are submerged up to our ankles.
Another week or two have passed and we have grown even more
accustomed to our island habitat.
Work has become more diverse and we are now put to use in
functions and events as well as our F&B areas of choice.
I’ve accompanied the meals of groups from a high school in
Japan, for example, and have grown to appreciate their incredible politeness
and tidiness. I also witnessed a phenomenon I’ve only read about – young girls
that had their eyelids done to make their eyes look more round. Also, just the
other day, I’ve begun to train in handling events and my first one is an
ongoing conference of the Livestock and Rural Transportation Association
Queensland. Lunches, afternoon tea, dinner galas and cocktail parties for up to
110 people!
Mo has - and how else would it be - turned into a favorite
of one of our managers - she lovingly calls him “Machine” - and has been put to
work in setting up for various events, as well as working them. He’s also
finally had his wish fulfilled and was granted a spot on the roster for the
main bar. Ever since he’s arrived, everyone who learns his name says: “Mo? Mo
has to work at the bar!” (a reference to The Simpsons, duh!). After his first
shift, he had mixed feelings about it though. On one hand, being behind a bar
and mixing drinks is fun. On the other hand, some of the customers turned out
to be downright rude and slowly but surely the complete lack of a “Trinkkultur”
(guessing you can imagine what that is in English) started showing. To make use
of a well known cliché – Aussies like to drink. To make an observation – When
Aussies drink, that is the main purpose or activity of the evening. To express
a personal opinion - Aussies lack class in drinking and just don’t know what is
“good”. I was once asked if the sparkling wine we were serving during a dolphin
presentation was dry or sweet. Having no clue and no one around to ask, I just
said “dry”, because that’s what I thought most wine drinkers would like to
hear. She wrinkled her nose and asked if we might not have something sweet
around. Ick. Last night, Mo pulled a perfect draft beer with just the right
amount of foam – a beauty. And when proudly setting it down in front of the
guest he got:” What’s this pussy beer? Way too much foam. Shouldn’t have to pay
for that shit.” Because here, the glass has to be full to the brim with beer and
only a slight film of foam on top – the more the better, I guess. Also,
premixed long drinks in cans seem to be quite popular – Jack or Jim and Coke,
even gin tonics or those deadly sweet vodka cruiser mixes. Ick.
On a funnier note, Mo has also caught the eye of many an
Asian family and has already twice had to pose in photos with their children,
because he’s just “sooo handsome”;)
And lady luck has also been kind to me, as I was finally
trained to join the Coffee Shop team. Who knew that making a good cappuccino is
like riding a bike – it just comes back naturally.
The more we work, the better we get to know our colleagues
and fellow island dwellers. Most spend their time off lying under the white
shade-giving marquee in front of the big white tent in which we hold functions
and larger buffets (aka The Marquee). Bottles of wine are emptied, tans are
maintained and conversation made. Since I’m not much of a daytime (or anytime)
drinker, we sometimes chose to wander off into the direction of the wrecks, to
find a spot away from the guests, quads and Segway tours. The water here is
perfect for swimming and lying around in ( - imagine large marine creatures
beached, rolling to and fro in the gentle waves– that’s us). The sand is soft
and, on windy days (pretty much anytime we’ve been to the beach), you get
sand-blasted from one side. At some point you develop a protective instinct of
covering the ear on the windy side at just the right moments.
And here a few random stories…
Ironing Irony –
never in my life have I had to iron anything. Because, why would I? I haven’t
had the pleasure of having a job for which I have to wear business shirts and
get all proper for. I’ve worked in offices and cafes, but now that I am
cleaning tables and taking care of dirty dishes… Now I have to iron everyday?
Isn’t it ironic…, don’t ya think?
Of the two shirts that I bought at Kmart, none is completely
white anymore. Both have been subjected to many a sauce, soup and condiment
stain and some have come to stay. There’s the one with a barely visible hint of
chocolate smack in the middle of my cleavage – leaning in to replace chocolate
cake in a messy buffet. And the one with pale yellow curry-remnants on my
shoulder – how that happened, I don’t know. I guess it’s time to pay another
visit to Kmart!
Monty the Python
– One night, Mo was out working and I was lying around in our room, I hear this
commotion from outside, right below our balcony. “Snake, snake! There’s a huge
python!”. I saw it from my balcony, but headed downstairs in my pajamas to take
a closer look. What a beauty! At least as long as I am tall, though I would
reckon more like Mo’s height and quite active. Then again, I would be too if
there were over 10 giants surrounding me squeaking and gawking and taking pictures.
She was slithering around in a patch of green right in front of the rooms
facing our building. Coiling up trees and trying to find a way out of the
crowd. After a while, one of the two men who take care of such snakey business
came along and after a short battle, had her crawling into his snake-catching
device on her own. Highlight of the evening for many here – island
entertainment at it’s best! PS: No worries, she was brought somewhere on the
island where snakes are allowed to run free. Thank god this is a national park
and no wildlife is to be harmed.
More fun moments…
Getting caught in the rain on the way back from dinner/the
beach or having just left the house to go down to the beach. A mix between warm
tropical showers and autumn rain, that’s just that tiny bit too cold to be
comfy. The temperature drops a few degrees and everything is clean and fresh.
Winning a free Magnum! Eating a Magnum was already quite the
highlight of that day. Have you ever tried Ego Caramel? If not, you better.
It’s got dark chocolate, then a layer of liquid-ish caramel and a layer of milk
chocolate on the outside (and vanilla ice cream)! Then realizing I had a
winning stick – jackpot! Then finding out the convenience store actually honors
the promo – bingo! That stick is now worth it’s weight in gold to me…also
because that’s probably the equivalent of how much a Magnum costs here on the
island ;)
Random, but isn't this the coolest ambulance ever?
Soon to come… Sunday Monday funday days off! We shall
finally make our way to the mainland for a sanity check and shopping spree :)
