Still waiting on my visa extension to come through. My tourist visa officially expired on June 4th and now I am on a bridging visa. That will keep me in the country legally until a decision comes back from the Australian government.
I figured it might take this long. I applied for the visitor’s visa in the middle of May. So it’s been about three weeks. I am not too worried about it. I’m sure I will be approved to extend. I have the money to stay and I think that’s what they care about the most.
The situation at the hostel has changed a bit over the last week. Jade got a job selling solar panels door to door with one of the guys we know at the hostel. And Sebastian also started a job with the same company. They work full days during the week so it’s a bit quieter around here because of that.
I’m happy for them though. They both were looking for work for a while. It’s been a bit funny because most of the people that I’ve met in Australia are here on a working holiday visa. So they are either looking for work or helping somebody find work.
I’m one of the few people that is just traveling for the sake of traveling. But I’ve learned a ton about the process from just listening to people’s conversations. Perhaps I will do a working holiday in Australia or New Zealand once things get back to normal.
Megan, our friend from Alabama, left the hostel yesterday. She has a job lined up in another part of New South Wales. The goodbye was emotional, especially for Jade, Sebastian, and Brandon. They lived together in Melbourne for a few months and traveled all the way up here together. They were basically with each other every day.
When you spend that much time with the same people you start to give a bit of yourself to them and you take a bit of them for yourself. So when it’s time to leave each other it always a bit difficult.
Megan was all about spreading love to others and having a good time. In many ways I am envious of her and how she approaches life. She has such good energy. Always curious and finding a way to make other people smile. The vibe at the hostel with definitely be different without her.