Time Flies

…yes, it does. It’s been almost two months since I’ve last updated this thing I call blog. “A shame”, most professional bloggers would say. But since I am neither a professional nor do I actually call myself a blogger, I think I will let this “long” break speak for itself.

Or might this picture of a mommy dolphin nursing a baby dolphin make up for it...?

The reason for returning to these pages is that the countdown of our final week in this country has begun and that alone is inspiring.

Our era on Moreton Island and as members of the Food and Beverage Team of the Tangalooma Island Resort is ending in just a few short days. And our time here has been well spent. Not writing about it just has do to with the fact, that I believe writing (and reading, for that matter) about dirty plates, espresso shots, Chinese tourists, kegs of beer, this function and that event week after week just isn’t that interesting. Our day to day has looked and felt like the day to day of anyone working a monotonous job. Shift times change, sometimes we were busy, sometimes not, at times a big conference would keep us on our toes, at times it was just the coffee shop or bar that filled our week. And just like any job, we complain about sore feet, tiredness, being annoyed with guests, coworkers etc. or tell each other about funny mishaps or uplifting moments that graced our shift. We have gotten bored and we have looked forward to work. We have appreciated every minute spent working and every dollar we have been able to make and save. It’s just been life, only on a different continent. But to be quite honest… we are jumping for joy on the inside at the prospect of getting on a one-way ferry to the mainland on Friday.

Having a beach as a front lawn is quite amazing and having a view of turquoise waters while working is grand, but after a while, this island has slowly revealed its limitations. Living and working in the same few hundred square meters, day in day out, has taken its toll on us. Not being able to walk down a different street, see different faces and (especially) eat different food has left us craving the feeling of freedom. And sure, we could have gone off island every week on our days off, but knowing that that would result in a significant lowering of our tediously saved funds, we decided against it most of the time.

In our two and a half months here, we left the island twice. The first time after a bit over two weeks. We drove to the Gold Coast, visited Emily and parked ourselves on her couch for a night. Movies, junk food and some peace and quiet, before a major shopping spree the next day and the evening ferry back to work. Despite the driving and time constraint, it left us rejuvenated in a strange and backwards way.

The next time was three weeks after that. We had bought tickets to the Future music festival in Brisbane and rented a little flat, together with Emily, Derya (having come to pick up Emily and bring her back to Berlin) and Shannon, Emily’s flat mate. 

Reunited and loving it!

The weather was perfect, the spirits were high. The lineup was okay – quite few chart-toppers and radio-hit acts – not necessarily what I would usually pay that much money to go see live, but for a day (and half a night) of dancing with good friends, it was ay-okay! 

Addicted to bubbles.

It was colorful and loud and we made the absolute best of it! Darude welcomed us with Sandstorm, Sigma warmed us up, Martin Garrix got us jumping, Two Chainz left stage 15mins early because he got annoyed by the crowd concentrating more on the girls flashing their boobs on the big screen than his music, Avicii’s visuals were better than the music itself, Drake bounced his ego back and forth on the very large stage… but The Prodigy… They blew us away! These legends, these crazy old farts, these guys that still look and act as creepy and insane as they did 25 years ago… They made it all worth it! The last act of the evening in a foggy, sweaty tent, lights flashing, people mesmerized, energized and feeling it. That’s what live music is all about. Not taking selfies while Avicii fist-pumps behind his table of buttons and knobs, not posting how much fun you are having on Facebook during your favorite song, not trying to catch the eye of every half naked drunk person in the crowd around you… Just the people going crazy on stage and you going crazy for them :)

It was all over at 10pm. Only in Australia. Kind of pathetic. But anyways, after a long way home that included a disoriented walk through suburbia and a train ride, and a few cab rides that took the others to an after-party and us to bed, one of the must fun filled days in Australia came to an end.

The next day, we were back on that ferry.

The Prodigy.

Work work work. Days off at the beach. Sandcastles (and -turtles). A week of being sick (for some odd reason the week after the festival). Many many loads of laundry. Some sun, some rain. A few new burns and bruises. A few pizzas as a treat. My taste for good coffee returning. Some nightly encounters with opossums… 

Celebrating our 2,5-aversary.

Save the turtles.

And then the question: What next?

I have decided to take a little vacation from travelling (as indulgent as that may sound) and go to Germany for three weeks to be there for my sister’s wedding. All other plans just started growing around this rock and blossoming with time. And here they are, in all their glory…

We fly out of here in a week, land in Manila at night, leave for a few days of diving in Malapascua (you have no idea how EXCITED we are to finally get back under water), then back to Manila. I have one day in the city and then leave for Berlin with my mom. Three weeks split between Berlin and Munich, family and friends, food and feelings and probably being the only person in the country feeling cold. Meanwhile, Mo will enjoy the Philippine summer with Philipp, party in Boracay on the Labour day weekend and explore Camarines Sur and other regions that I haven’t even been to yet. When I get back, Mo leaves for Vietnam to meet his mom and start travelling. And then I will either join them for the final week or meet Mo in our probable next stop Cambodia. And from there… we dive into the final leg of this journey, exploring Asia. We dream of completing the Golden Triangle and venturing into Laos and Myanmar as well and spending some time in Nepal and India. Aside from accepting that it will be either hot and humid or wet (as it will be rainy season in most countries), we will also have to be prepared to make adjustments to time and extent of our travels. But nonetheless, after 7 months in Australia, of which we have spent 6 working, we can’t wait to spread our wings, immerse ourselves in the unknown and live.

Here’s a little anecdote that I wrote down somewhere in between:

15.03.2015

One side of the bed: full of stuff. Other side of the bed: neat and comfy. Someone starts cleaning his side of the bed, starts humming a tune, picks up and puts on his cap. It’s 10:29pm. I ask: “Why are you putting on your cap? Going anywhere?” and the answer I get is as nonchalant as it should have been obvious to me: “So it’s not on the bed anymore.”

On that note… I sign off and wish you all a belated Happy Easter!

PS: In the ONE month between getting on a plane in Australia to get back to Manila and getting on a plane in Germany to get back to Manila, I will have boarded TEN different airplanes! Bring it on!