Australia - 10 things I learned as an Au Pair

Dear children lovers,
I never thought I would end up as an Au Pair. In all honesty, I considered working as an Au Pair as almost my very last option to earn money in Australia. But then I decided to answer this one add on Gumtree as it did sound quite fair and well, the next week I boarded the plane from Melbourne to Perth to start working as an Au pair - in a French family... I swear this is the best picture of the four kids and me that we could take!

I had a bit of experience with younger children before due to my younger cousines and my goddaughter but these three kids have teached me quite something, I can tell ya!

Perth - Zoo visit with children

Dear Zoo lovers,
The Perth Zoo is only a few kilometers away from my hostfamily, just a 10 minute car drive. But I never bothered to go there in the five months that I have spent here in Perth. Why? Because it didn't offer me anything special or new that I wanted to see and at 27 AUD entry fee for an adult I wasn't willing to pay that. During the spring school holidays and just 11 days after the birth of Éléonore my hostmother asked me to join and help her with the four kids at the Perth Zoo where she would meet two other French families with their kids to spend the day.

I took the chance to take some close-up pictures of my hostchildren.

Manning - The baby is here!!!

Dear baby lovers,
In the afternoon of Saturday, the 20th of September the fourth baby of my hostfamily finally arrived (9 days after the due date...). My hostparents didn't want to know the gender of their kids before the birth, so here SHE is:

Éléonore, fit and healthy, a French born in Perth.

Swan Valley - Delicious food-tasting for Christine before heading back

Alrighty everyone,
On Monday morning on the 9th of June I took this picture. Why? Because I am allowed to drive these three cars at the moment :-) To the left the shiny new rental car, in the middle the old Saab and in the very back the really cool but fuel consuming Holden (4WD 7-seater).

Anyway, Christine and I navigated the rental car through the morning Perth rush hour back to the rental company and then took the train and bus back to Manning where we arrived at 9am.

Perth - Worrying about everything

Hi there,

On Wednesday it was cloudy, so I stayed in the apartment of Carly until I had to leave to get to the airport on time for my flight to Perth. I didn’t consider the rush hour, so the trams were packed and I had my big black suitcase with me. On the third tram I managed to squeeze in. I changed on Flinder Street Station and said Good-Bye to Melbourne :-( as the train drove North where I had to change into a bus.

Australia - Job search experience

Hi there everyone,

As my loyal readers know I have been trying to find a job since Markus left Australia to fly back to Germany. This was Mid January 2014. Surprisingly enough and very motivating I got two interviews within a week of sending out my resume / CV to various Facility Management companies around Melbourne. (I have studied and worked in the Facility Management field since 2005 if you count my dual studies).

Melbourne - Footscray Park and Maribyrnong River

Hi there,
It is Wednesday the 19th of March. One week ago I got back to Melbourne from Adelaide and I am lucky enough to still stay with Tim and his funny flatmate while I am trying to find a job. I had a few promising phone calls and a nice chat yesterday to someone who might have the right contacts. While I have to wait for an answer back I decided to take advantage of the nice weather and went for a walk to Footscray Park which is only a 10 minute walk away from the house. And I most say: I was very surprised by how nicely done it is.

Gawler - A dog, new houses and job-searching

Cheers everyone,
I left Kangaroo Island one week ago. Honestly, where did the time go???
Back in the CBD (Central Business District) of Adelaide I met lots of new great people in the hostel and as it is Mad-March in Adelaide a lot is on. So everyday I had something else to do and spoke to new people about the same things: where are you from, what are you doing in Australia and why are you here?

Adelaide - Beach, cleaning and concert after Clipsal 500 race

Cheerio friends,

It is VERY busy in Adelaide. The Fringe Festival (artist and fun etc), the Adelaide Festival (music) and the Clipsal 500 (V8 racing) are in town. I only got into a 10-bed-female dorm but at least it is very central. And I get to know many people in a very short time.

Together with Eva, Sébastien, Teresa, Pauline and Holly we got by tram to Glenelg where the beach of Adelaide is situated.

Melbourne - Going out and about

Good morning world!

In the last five days I have spent each afternoon/evening with someone else around the city which is great as I totally did not know what to do with myself. As I already wrote in my last entry I haddinner and a last walk around Melbourne with Laura on Thursday. On Friday I had to check-out of my room and check-in in the afternoon into another 4-bed-female-dorm in the same hostel (Nomads All Nations) and met three Australian girls from Adelaide. They were so nice and friendly and as I had no other plans for the evening they asked me to come along with them for a night out.

Australia - Job searching pain and deciding what to do next

Moin Moin everybody,

It’s Wednesday the 5th of February 2014. I left thetour on Sunday after the Port Arthur visit and went back to the hostel called The Pickled Frog which is very comfortable and colorful (absolutely bright-green from the outside and awesomely colorful inside). I should have made some pictures of it but funny enough somehow I never took pictures of the accommodations that I stayed in.

 

The day after the tour I wrote some more postcards and posted them at the post office in Hobart. As it was very cloudy and slightly raining I went grocery shopping (I got me some nice stuff to treat myself after this exhausting tour) and then back to the hostel.

Melbourne - Job interviews and penguins

Servus everyone,

It’s Friday already! Where did the time go? One week ago I started to look for a job on the internet. I have sent my CV/resume to different Facility Management companies and applied for various assistant jobs throughout Melbourne. And this week I already had two interviews!

Melbourne - Job applications and waterfront

Howdy partners,

It’s Saturday afternoon and I am finally feeling cool again at 23 degrees Celsius. It’s been over 40 degrees Celsius over the past three days. The sun was burning down, the wind was as hot as a hairdryer and you were thirsty and sweaty all the time whilst outdoors. Even in our 4-bed-dorm it was just horrible to stay in. So I decided to stay in the dining/internet/meeting area of the hostel where a ventilator was supplying a bit of a cool breeze and have a look for jobs on the internet. But it was hard to concentrate with all the people around, eating and talking.