Never Stop TRIing: Oh, Canadaaaa...

It was a great day to be Canadian on that last day of the winter games. As I tell people here, I'm not really even that much of a hockey fan, but that didn't stop me from being glued to the TV, pulling out my hair and screaming at the screen during the gold medal match a few days ago. Granted I had to watch it on my own on Monday morning Aussie time, although we did have a Swedish couch surfer staying at the time so at least she could relate a little. It was awesome to see it even on my own, but I think this was the first time I really felt regret at not being at home. Seeing the wall of red-clad fans in the arena, and the wildly enthusiastic facebook posts from friends at home made me wish I could be there to celebrate and share the moment with everyone one else.
During all the time I have been overseas, I have often missed my family and friends, or just being at home, but I have never had a sense of regret, because that's just the trade off you make for travel. Also, earlier I was restricted by flight schedules, whereas this time I could have stayed at home after Christmas, but made the choice to come back to Australia. In the end, I am glad I came back to Oz since my visa here will soon be up and I want to make the most of it, I just had to do my best to enjoy what I cold of the Olympics vicariously through the TV and friends and family at home. I think I have perhaps been thinking of home even more lately because the weather here has been very West coast-ish, i.e. days of steady rain. Plus, my brother has just returned home from his year and a half stint teaching English in Seoul, so I know he is enjoying the comforts and I wish I could be there to welcome him back as well.

And aside from watching the Olympics whenever possible, what have I been up to? Mostly the same as my last post I suppose - working when I can, training, and now that my days in Oz are numbered, spending as much time with friends here as I can. Since most of my friends and family probably know about it already, I may as well also add that I have also being seeing a very nice Aussie guy, Dylan, who I met at the Christmas party for 99Bikes. (He was starting just as I was quiting). It's going very well, but with my inevitable departure from Oz looming there will obviously be some tough choices to make. Also, with so little time left here, I have also been busy planning my next few steps of my journey...

I'll explain a bit about visas for those who don't know about them. I am on a working holiday visa, which allows my to stay in Oz for one year, and work so long as I don't work for one company for more than six months. (That's why I had to quit the bike shop). There is a possibility of renewing the W-H visa, but it requires you do at least three months work in regional Australia, typically on agricultural or related work. I haven't - I've pretty much been in Brisbane the entire time, so I don't qualify for renewing my visa. I know there are people who cheat the system and get away with it, but I'm not willing to risk not being caught, getting fined and banned from the country for five years. At least this way I can still return to Oz as soon as I like, but it will have to be on a tourist or, if I want to stay longer, a real work visa. Even if I want to stay/come back though, I have to leave the country when my current visa is up, or get kicked out, which I'd rather not experience.

So, back to the plan... while I have contemplated staying here a little longer, or leaving and coming back, the plan as it stands now is to leave when my visa is up at the end of April. With that in mind, I want to see a little more of this country before I leave. And, I felt I should at least compete in a triathlon at least while here, so for better or worse I singed up for a race! Just a sprint distance, but that's quite enough for me at the moment.
I have two more events left with USM, the next being at Mooloolaba (pronounced muh-LOO-la-bah), a couple hours north of Brisbane. I will keep my room in my current house till then, but when I leave for Mooloolaba I'll leave here as well. After Mooloolaba, the plan is to help crew on a yacht that is sailing north up the coast of Queensland. I was going to continue with that right up till the end of April, but I've changed my mind and will only go as far as I can before I come back for one more USM event, the Gold Coast Triathlon. It will be one more chance to earn a little more money and see friends in Brisbane before I leave.

And where will I go? New Zealand of course! I was contemplating coming straight home, but I think I would always regret not going to NZ while it was so close. It's been at the top of my list of places to go since before I even started to travel, and it's only my unexpectedly long stay in Australia that has kept me from it. But now I have to leave soon anyway, and as it turns out, the timing is coincidentally rather good for somethings else as well... As any loyal Ringers out there will know, production on The Hobbit is due to start a few months from now. For anyone out there who may have missed out on all pop culture of the last half century, the Hobbit is the book that came before The Lord of the Rings. Anyhow, the bottom line is I wouldn't be me if I didn't try to get a job on that movie. My goal is to get work as a runner, which pretty much is what it sounds like - you run around doing what more important people tell you to do. I have already sent the production unit a cover letter and resume, which where received with a kind response to re-submit once I was in New Zealand and have local contact details. This I will do of course, as soon as humanly possible once in the country. I'm not really sure what my chances of success are, but I know I would regret it if I never even tried.
If that doesn't work out though, I will look for work elsewhere, (I plan on getting a working holiday visa for New Zealand as well), and see how things go. I obviously would like to see as much of the country as I can while I am there, and how long I stay depends on how well that goes, what work I can find, and whether I think I can make it home on time for a Canadian summer. On the other hand, if I do manage to get a job on The Hobbit I may well find myself, once again, staying somewhere a little longer than planned.

That's all the major news I believe. Below I have put up some photos ranging from my visit with Jordan in Seoul to some more recent events here in Brisbane. Enjoy!

One of my favourite spots in Seoul, the Gio Cat Cafe, where customers enjoy a drink and the company of forty or so (mostly) friendly felines. The one directly below seemed to like the taste of my camera.

Teacher Jordan at work, and the colourful hallway of the English education wing at his school.

Shots from a chilly winter palace tour, and a street vendor selling traditional sweets.

The modern exterior of the Korean history and art museum in Seoul. It held many beautiful exhibits but exploring only half of it left me exhausted.

Brrrrrr! Jet lag and jumping into a very cold climate seemed to give me cold, and I spent a couple days recovering in the shelter of Jordan's apartment.

But then I went from that...

...to this!

Ahhh, summer! I was back in time to celebrate Australia Day - like Canada Day, but with more sun, BBQs and alcohol.

Driving down to the Gold Coast was an adventure in Dylan's mini, but the ride in the mini was worth it just to go on the Superman ride at Movieworld.

Fun with housemates and couch-surfers around Brisbane...

Nikki showing off her fire dancing skills, and couch-surfers enjoying themselves at Nikki's brother's birthday party which we had here at the house. Having my travel photo-book around is very handy to share with other travelers.