It's All Over, Oz!!!

OH NO!!! I'm leaving Australia today!!! I swear, I've been a bit of an emotional wreck since I arrived back in Sydney for the last time on Sunday morning, and I know I'll be in tears on the plane to Fiji today. "Pull yourself together girl!" I hear you say, "You're going to FIJI!!!" Yes, that's pretty damn great but I cannot even begin to describe how much I've loved Australia and I've really been genuinely completely happy here; I feel like a new person. Well, not quite, I'm still crazy ol' me, but I'm way new and improved! Can you remember how stressed I was, back in Week One? Indeed, the money thing did worry me, and I've just about managed to stay within budget, but every penny has been worth it. I've had the most amazing experiences out here, but the very best thing has been the people.

Australians are genuinely the nicest people I've ever met anywhere and it has been a pleasure to meet each and everyone of them. the British service industry could learn a lot from these guys! Oz cured my phone phobia, diminished my spider phobia, made me so happy that I try to pet sniffer dogs and chat about any old nonsense to security whilst being tested for explosives at airports! And then there are all the people I have meet here from other countries, they've all been amazing! I have so many new friends that I need to visit again one day, loads in Denmark, some in Germany, hopefully I'll make it to Italy and Israel and then definitely back to Oz to again. Seriously, someday, somehow, I HAVE to come back to Australia. It is just... words fail me!

Talking of coming back to Oz... I left a little cryptic note at the end of my last blog post. Well, I can now tell you all about it! Mark had told me about a job, that the Queensland Tourism Board had been advertising online, for "The Best Job In The World" whereby the successful candidate would have to live on the Whitsundays for 6 months, rent free, and write a blog about their experiences out there, such as snorkeling, scuba diving, sunbathing, sailing. What's the catch? Erm, there isn't one! What's the salary? $150.000. Yes, you read that correctly - ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! For 6 months work in paradise! When he told me about this I was stunned, I've been in training for this job for the last 5 months, I can scuba, I can blog, I can talk for England (and hopefully now Australia!).

"How do I apply?" I asked? Well, I went online to find out and lo and behold, the deadline for VIDEO applications was last Sunday! Crikey, I was really pushed for time and plus, how on earth could I make a 60 second video with no time to plan, especially as I was heading off to Perth that morning? Anyway, when Gillian had to cancel, I started to hatch a cunning plan, but I was struggling to come up with any cool ideas. However, when we got back to York that afternoon, I found that Mark had video making software on his computer, and by some miracle, I started to make a video to send in for the job.

6 hours (and one batch of homemade fudge) later, I had somehow managed to produce a 58 second video and I pressed submit... off it went through cyberspace and last night I got a confirmation email that it had been approved and was available to view online!!! So, I'm up against thousands of other applicants and I probably won't get any further with it, but it was so important for me to give it a go! For years I have shied away from opportunities because I've been too scared to fail or I wouldn't stand a chance... but things are different now, I mean, I am travelling the world on my own! I survived Vietnam! I'm going to South America for 5 months... what can't I do? Well, there's bound to be something, but I feel so positive and enthusiastic, bring on all the challenges!!!

Anyway, this is where you, dear reader, can help me! I'd ask you to kindly view my video and rate it (favourably I hope!) If I do make it through to the final 50, then voting starts and I'd appreciate it if you could take the time to give me your vote! I can't imagine that I will get to that stage, but my new motto is "Never say never!" Here's the link, hope it amuses you as much to watch it, as it amused me to make it!!!

Emma's Video Application

Now, I've just tried the link out and it wasn't available; due to so many people visiting the website, it is undergoing maintenance. However, I watched it online last night so it is there, I would kindly ask you to persevere and come back to it later to give it a look.

Anyway, that was Saturday afternoon, since then I left Mark and Kaiya in York, headed back to Sydney, checked back into the the YHA for my third and final time and since then, I've talked non-stop to my new roommates! I'd like to say a personal thanks to Sarah (UK), Azure (Canada), Sanne (Netherlands), Pernille, Maria and Cecilie (Denmark) and Sinikka (Germany). I talked the ears of these girls for 2 days! The Danish girls arrived last night and I basically didn't stop talking to them for a good hour probably; bless them, they needed to eat! Anyway, I made yet more cool friends and now I have even more people to visit in the future (if they can bear the talking again!!!) So, I have but 30 mins left here before I catch the shuttle bus to the airport, and by 2pm local time, I'll be on a plane to Fiji... and then next phase of my adventures begins...