The other day I went into a post office. Yes, I knew it’s getting near Christmas and that there probably would be quite many other people too. I was right. The queue went all through the post office and outside through the sliding doors. Well, I did have time to wait so I just joined the queue. An elderly lady sat on a chair waiting while her friend queued for her. No one complained or looked badly when the lady walked to the front of the queue. No one was complaining about how long it takes to queue and get service. You could hear people chatting all around. You could see families queuing together. You could see people talking to total strangers. Behind me in the queue was a mother with a about six-month-old baby, never complaining about the time spent in the queue even though she had the baby on her arms the whole time. People around her talked to her, an older woman gave her son a mint box to play with. When he managed to drop all the mints on the floor no one minded. Women around just said that there have definitely been worse things on the floor than a few mints. No one complained to a woman whose child was screaming loudly from time to time. When you got to service desk the staff didn’t look stressed. All were smiling and talking to every customer with friendly voice and wished you merry Christmas when you left.

It’s funny to think that Christmas is only nine days away. I haven’t quite realised it yet. One reason might be that I’ll be working on Christmas so it won’t make that much difference. And even though there are all these Christmas things in the shops the hot and sunny weather fools you. Also the fact that backpackers are travelling whether it’s Christmas or not makes Christmas feel like any other day of the moment, or at least almost. We will get our Christmas lunch and we don’t have to work that much but it doesn’t feel that Christmassy. We do have our Christmas tree up and I have my Christmas hat which I’m wearing already (well, at least I’m trying to wear it). For me baking Christmas cookies is part of the Christmas and since I haven’t done that this year I don’t realise that Christmas is around the corner. Maybe I’ll realise it when it’s actually already Christmas day. :D   

 

In Finland when the winter comes people start getting sick with colds and flus. During the summer people just don’t get sick that easily. So I really associate having a cold with cold and gloomy weather, not with hot weather and sunshine. But my body must feel compassionate for all the people in my home country because I have the worst flu I’ve had for years. And when it’s +30 degrees and the sun is shining you don’t really feel like lying in bed doing nothing. It feels waste of time to do nothing. Going to the beach wouldn’t be good because I would just be tempted to jump into the water. It’s hot so I love eating ice cream but no, my doctor denied that from me. People are telling me to take it easy and rest but there’s only as much as I can do nothing and I’m over the limit.

Sometimes when you’ve stayed in a place for a while you stop seeing all the beautiful things around you. You get into a routine and stop enjoying the scenery around you. I thought it wouldn’t happen to me but I was wrong. Just last week I went for a walk on the beach with a friend and realised how much I had missed just walking and enjoying the view during the low tide. Or how wonderful it was today to watch waves (yes, we actually got some waves today!) wash over to the street. The water is my element and I could sit on the beach for hours just watching the ocean.

"Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets.
So love the people who treat you right, forget about the ones who don't and believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it.
Nobody said that it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it."
- Unknown -

It’s good to be back home. No need to travel every few days and pack and unpack your backpack all the time. No need to carry your food around and to estimate what you eat in a couple of days. It’s good to have your things on shelves and your food nicely in the fridge. You know where to go to buy things and in a supermarket you know you’re way around, no need to go around looking for things. You know where to go for a bit of exercise and which route to take when you don’t have that much time for a brisk walk ( I do not run!). And there are people you know. Someone you don’t need to start with the usual where-you-from, where-have-you been and so on.

I haven’t been going out that much while I’ve been travelling and I didn’t even really realise that I missed going out. But you need to get out there and have a bit of fun now and then, we all need that. I must admit that it was extremely nice to go out with a few familiar people and just have fun yesterday. I must say I was happy that there were guys in our group who were able to save you when you didn’t want to go dancing with some random drunken person. Good night out it was.

Familiar sight in Sydney. I love the city.

I had a bit of trouble speaking Finnish a few weeks ago. A Finnish girl was amused by my lack of finding words and the difficulty of speaking Finnish, my first language. She even said to me: “You can talk English but I’m going to speak in Finnish now.” In environment where I’m used to using only English, speaking Finnish seems unnatural. It doesn’t come easy. Luckily for my mum I was able to speak Finnish pretty well while she was here. Just sometimes I had to think a little bit for Finnish words. :D But all in all it went well. But now I’m happy to go back to speaking English and only English, it just is so much easier!

 



Great scenery on Fraser Island.

I did have great three weeks with my mum. It was good to see her. It was pretty intense three weeks. Sydney, Blue Mountains, Brisbane, Hervey Bay, Fraser Island and Noosa in that time, not really a relaxing holiday! But I was glad to show places for mum and get her to see why I like it here so much. And I think she got to see it. Three weeks by in a flash and before I knew mum hopped onto a shuttle bus to the airport and I returned home.

 
The weather is a great factor for staying here. It just is so much warmer here and it’s not cold and dark like in Finland at the moment. Now that summer is here I must admit that even the winter wasn’t bad. For some the heat of the summer can be too much but I’m not complaining. Having a work out in the heat of 29 degrees is fine. 37 degrees that we had here yesterday felt hot but wasn’t unbearable. I just love it when you can wear shorts and a top all day around, no need for long-sleeved shirts. And the nature is just beautiful. I could sit on the same beach every day and just marvel the scenery – never getting bores. People here are more easy-going and relaxed than people in Finland. People are helpful and welcomes you into their country with open arms and help you all the way they can. I just love it here.

"Home is where the heart is."

I must say that Darwin was too hot and humid even for me even though I love the warm weather. Darwin is a nice city but that’s it. There’s not that much to do. Might be different if you had your own car and you could easily go and visit one of the National Parks nearby for a weekend but backpacking and relying on walking and public transport your possibilities are limited. You can walk in the park or walk to Mindil Beach but even in the evening it can be quite an exercise when it’s still +29 and the air is humid. For backpackers Darwin seems to be quite a party place (like so many other places too). I rather spend my money on something else than partying every night, but don’t think I didn’t go out at all!

Thanks to a tip from my roomie I got a good price on a 3 day Kakadu & Litchfield trip. If people think it’s early to go to Fraser Island leaving at 7.30am they should try going to Kakadu and being at the travel shop at 6am! I’m not really a morning person but I made it. Our trip was awesome! Huge termite mounds were our first stop before even getting to Kakadu National Park. We saw amazing wetlands with different birds. We also walked to wonderful lookouts to look at the view around us. Aboriginal paintings on the rocks were part of our trip as well and our guide Nathaniel was extremely knowledgeable on history, nature and indigenous people’s life, habits and history. For his young age he was a better guide than some older ones I’ve met along the way. It tells quite a lot that he had spent dozens of hours to make a weapon aboriginal people use. After all the sweat we shed on the first day was rewarded on the second day when we spent almost the whole afternoon playing in the water underneath and above waterfalls, nature’s wonderful playground. We also went on a cruise to spot crocs. We did see big crocs straight away, there were plenty of them. We also saw many birds on the way too. I think a jabiru was maybe the greatest of the birds we saw, small kingfisher was probably the cutest. The whole trip was amazing with all the walks, wonderful sceneries, clear fresh waters, all the wild life, didn’t even mind the early mornings or the rain we got on Sunday morning.

I did my first trip to Australia almost nine years ago and I must say that some things never change. You’re in a night club and Bryan Adam’s Summer of 69 starts and everybody is just dancing and singing along. And same happens with 500 miles by the Proclaimers. It’s funny how some things haven’t changed over the years. And you can be sure I was there with everyone else dancing! Can’t remember when I would have been dancing as much as when we went out with the group from Kakadu trip.

If you get a meal deal for $5 you don’t ask questions. You’ll just accept it nicely and happily drink your cold beer and enjoy the food. And no matter how many thoughts you had about going to bed early as your companions did too you can’t deny that cold beer tastes good and another drink won’t hurt, you can still leave just after that. But if you’re out with a Scottish and a Canadian there’s no going to bed early, at least not when a jug of cider is cheaper than a pint! Surely one more won’t hurt. 
 

Even a thought about going back to Noosa and Hervey Bay brought a broad smile on my face and I started to get excited. The thought about going back to something familiar sounds so good. And I’m more than happy to see all those people again, I’ve missed them.

"A hug is like a boomerang - you get it back right away."
- Bil Keane -

Back in Finland there was no way I would have gone to work without any make-up, never. And if I was going out I definitely had my make-up on too. There were a few days off when I didn’t bother with any make-up. And now I’m the total opposite. My face has hardly seen any make-up in past eight months I’ve been here, none for past two and a half months. When it’s hot, humid and you plan to jump into the water there’s not much reason to put any make-up on, at least not for me. I’ve seen girls have a full eye make-up when going snorkelling, I couldn’t bother. I haven’t even bothered with any make up when going out. And what comes to my hair, my friends would be happy to see me not spending much time with my hair. For my friends’ irritation I was always really precise about my hair. My hair had to be exactly right. If there was even one hair out of place I just started all over again until I was satisfied that my hair looked good.  There was absolutely no way I could let any hairdresser make my hair, not even for my sister’s wedding. I’m not so sure about letting anyone else make my hair, but I definitely don’t care that much anymore. Nowadays there are often hairs out of place which might have something to do with the fact that my hair hasn’t seen any hairspray in past two and half months! :D

The best place to walk to
in Townsville.

My travels through Townsville and Mission Beach went by in a small haze. After saying goodbyes in Ayr I didn’t really feel that much travelling. I felt sad. And I didn’t have that many things to do in those places to put my mind into something I was doing so that I wouldn’t recall goodbyes over and over again in my head.
But as always when possible I had to find the highest place and walk up to enjoy the view. It definitely was worth all the sweat in the midday heat! I could have sat at the top forever. There's no place like high up where the wind blows in your ears and everything looks tiny somewhere below you.

But when I got to Cairns I started to enjoy travelling again. There wasn’t much in Kuranda itself but the Skyrail and the scenic railway made it all worth visiting. It was amazing to sit in the gondola all on your own and look at the scenes below you with breathtaking views. I could have sat in the gondola for the whole day. You sat high up there and you were actually able to hear the sounds of the forest. A couple of white cockatoos were flying above the trees - awesome sight. And on the way back to Cairns on the train I couldn't stop looking at the view of those bright green hills.

 

Trip to Green Island was great! I didn’t really see much of the tiny island itself since I practically spent all possible time in the water snorkelling. And it was great! There were so many fish and nice looking corals. The best moment was definitely to see a sea turtle! An amazing sight.
The island itself was far too crowded with tourists for my taste but luckily I didn't have to spend much time on the land. And even though there were lot of people, not that many seemed to be in the water. Or at least they were not that far out on the reefs as I was with a fellow traveller. It felt like we were the only ones really snorkelling!

My trip to Cape Tribulation and Port Douglas was great too. We saw a couple of crocodiles while on a cruise on Daintree River and then in the rainforest we saw a cassowary – loads of luck we had. I was surprised how many people tried their luck by swimming in the waters in Cape Trib. For me my life is more precious than cooling myself in the cool water.And since I’m in love with snorkelling I had to book myself one more snorkelling trip before leaving Cairns. I went snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef and it was amazing! The visibility was so good and the variety of fish was amazing. And the confidence I have when I’m snorkelling is amazing. A couple of months back I was so unsure when snorkelling and now it’s impossible to keep me out of water! :D I wish I lived at the edge of reef and could snorkel every day. No words can explain the feeling of getting a glimpse of the underwater world.

                             



When I started to think about staying here longer than I’m meant to my first thoughts were: what about my friends and family? What are they going to say if I want to stay? Do they want me back that badly that I would go back just for them? I hadn’t decided anything even though I was quite sure what I wanted to do and I wanted to hear my friends’ and family’s thoughts as well. The hardest part was to write and tell what goes in my head. I felt so terrible. I felt like I was betraying them because I even contemplated on staying longer. But my worries were blown out of the window when all my friends and family were so supporting. “It’s your life and if you have a chance to stay don’t think twice!” “Absolutely stay if you can!” “You have to do the decision with your heart.” “Whether it’s after a year, three years of five years I’ll be waiting to see you when you get back.” I must say that I have truly special people in my life. I couldn’t wish any better friends. ♥

"Goodbyes are not forever.
Goodbyes are not the end.
They simply mean I'll miss you
Until we meet again."
- Author unknown -

 

I may have to give up eating these. :(
But no way I'm stopping to bake them!

I’ve been allergic to this and that for most of my life but I’ve never minded that much. I’ve just learned to avoid those things that give me allergic reactions. And back in Finland my reactions were mostly really mild, itching throat and mouth, skin rash in worst cases but that happened rarely. I came to the other side of the world and thought that I could eat the same way I used to but couldn’t have been more wrong! And the reactions I get – way worse than back in Finland! It isn’t really a great moment to wake up with extremely swollen upper lip and swollen eye when you need to work, you don’t really feel pretty. And I must admit that I was really upset first few times. Now it’s more just irritating cos I still can’t say which all ingredients give me the allergic reaction. Just when I think I have left out all allergenic ingredients I find myself in starting point again. And when salads and lemonade are the only things you’ve eaten you really can’t think of what’s giving the allergic reactions. But I’m determined to figure it out, sooner or later.

Nice snorkelling place.

Who says you need tv, movies, cafes, pubs, gyms, shops and so on to occupy your free time? Most of us probably think that life would be really boring without all those. Living on an island definitely shows that you don’t need all that to occupy your time. Instead of watching tv you watch the sun setting over the mainland. Instead of going to a pub you go to the deck on the beach and have good time with friends. Instead of a gym you go for a run on the beach and have a nice refreshing swim in the ocean. Who needs a fancy swimming pool to be able to jump into the water when you have your own natural deep pool right at the beach? Instead of sitting in a noisy night club you sit by the fire with friends drinking whatever you have and join for a shot of tequila straight from the bottle. Instead of meeting a friend in a cafe you have a cuppa with friends several times a day. Instead of wondering what to do on a nice day you just grab your snorkelling gear and get into the water.
   Living on an island is definitely an experience. You are living in a bubble. There’s no hustle and bustle of city or town. There’s no rush of working life. There’s never a dull moment. The time just flies by and days come into a blur, it’s hard to keep up with the days. Bogged cars on the sand are normality as is just hopping onto the back of the truck. If we had dinner for twenty people it meant washing up the dishes the old way, no dishwashers. You never got tired of watching sunsets, it was awesome every time. It made you speechless to walk on the beach under the night sky with countless stars above your head and being able to see the Milky Way up there too. It was entertainment to watch a huge barge come in with trucks and see if they get bogged or not. Film crew definitely gave the island a little bit more liveliness and it felt horribly quiet and empty after the crew was gone. Snorkelling was just amazing on the island. It took me a while to get myself into the water but there was no stopping me when I got the hang of it!
    But everything comes to an end and so did my time on the island as well. I did extend my stay quite a few times, never quite felt ready to leave the idyllic island life. And it was sad to leave the island and all nice people behind after six weeks. We were like family. We laughed, cried, talked and had fun together. We were all very different people but we just got along really well. And I do miss them all.


My trip to Whitsundays was just awesome! Good boat, great crew and awesome group of different people. We all got along really well and there weren’t any small groups, we all spent time together. And spending time and having fun didn’t end when the boat came into the harbour. Some of us ended up on the beach together and lunch afterwards. And in the evening it was party time – big time! :D Thanks to a great Scottish couple no one’s drink had time to get warm. And the night ended up being quite a pub crawl! Junk food and pies ended the evening fairly early at 2am. The next day we weren’t that lively but still ended up having a drink while watching a rugby game. But no partying – I was bed by ten o’clock! :D

Whitehaven Beach

 Goodbyes, the worst part of travelling is really to say goodbye. You’ve met someone and you’ve just let that someone get close to you and then it’s already time to say goodbye. It’s not fair. We all have our plans to do this and that and when our paths cross it’s usually too soon that we say ‘see you later’. The worst part is not to know when you’re going to meet again, if you’re going to meet again. And you just wish you could stay a little bit longer so you wouldn’t have to say goodbye just yet. And if you’re lucky to meet again it’s even harder to say goodbye cos you’ve let that someone get even closer to you. And after you’ve said goodbyes once again and left to continue your travels you wish you could just turn around and go back if even just for a little while.



"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard."
- Thomas Meehan -

Last week I finished working in Hervey Bay. But no, I didn’t leave right away. That week I spent my time with people that are important to me and whom I’ve got to know better during past few months. It was sad and hard to say goodbyes on different days to different people, some of them leaving as well.  But I’m glad I got to know them all, some of them better than others. It felt like leaving home again and no wonder since all those people were like family to me. How I miss going for a coffee and cake, having ice creams, talking about everything, listening to good music, watching movies, just sitting at the breakfast eating pancakes, having someone to talk to.

Last Monday I arrived to Great Keppel Island and I fell in love with the island straight away! The island is stunningly beautiful and there are so many trails you can walk and see new places as you go. My first thought was to stay for three nights but it just wasn’t enough so I extended my stay for three more nights. The island life is just so relaxing. I sleep in a tent, in a bed though and during the night you can hear possums wondering around, bats screaming up in the trees, curlews calling to each other. The electricity is on roughly from 6 am till 11 pm and it suits me just fine. To walk in the darkness you just use your flash light so you won’t run into anything, possums for example like I almost did last night. On Friday we had a really nice bonfire at the beach and we sat there for hours. There are no roads on the island, just tracks and trails going from place to place. The beaches are stunning and snorkelling is a good way of passing time but so far I’ve just walked and enjoyed the sun. After darkness there isn’t much to do but to sit around, eat, talk with people, play cards and since it gets colder during the nights everybody heads to bed fairly early, cos in bed it’s nice and warm at least! There are no proper shops on the island so you just bring all your food from mainland with you.

I know I just finished working in Hervey Bay but I just fell in love with the island life so much that I’m going to work there for my accommodation for a while. I just don’t want to leave. Well, I had to come to mainland today to get food cos I barely had anything left. It’s hard to try to think what all I will need for the whole time but I’ll try to get the right amount of food. I know I definitely need cookies, sweets and chocolate! :D

When you travel you get to meet a lot of different people. We’re all used to different things depending where we’re from. Some miss proper bread, some miss good Italian food in a restaurant near their home, some miss good cakes, some miss good chocolate. I miss proper rye bread, and some good sweets you can’t get here. But I guess you kind of replace them with different things or you just get used to eat a bit differently while you’re travelling. And people do get creative when travelling. It’s possible to bake bread or make a pizza without oven!

While travelling you meet a lot of new people and you get some new friends too. But being away makes you appreciate your friends back home, or at least it’s the way I feel. I miss my friends and sometimes their words make me cry because the words mean so much. And like one of my dearest friends said: “These kilometres between us don’t change our friendship - at most they will make the friendship even stronger.”

"It takes a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye."
- Anurag Gupta -

It is often said that men are better drivers than women. But what I’ve experienced in past couple of months disagrees with that statement badly. I’ve witnessed a guy trying to get out of the parking space by going back and forth several times when there were only two other cars in the whole car park! The van I was driving was next to his and then there was a car on the other side of the driveway behind him one space to his left. But if you decide to reverse just to the driveway not to the empty space behind you I guess it can be hard to get out! :D I so wished I had my camera with me – it would have made a funny video on Youtube! Oh, and last Friday! I had been watching football and when I got back to the car park, what did I see? A campervan partly parked in the space I had the car in and not much space between the cars. I was just thinking how someone could park a van so badly, and my first thought was that it must be a woman! But then I saw a guy by the van getting out and obviously planning to just walk away. I asked:  “Are you really leaving that car like that?” “Yes, I’m not good with this camper van. I’m not used to driving such a big car.” “Well, I’m not used to this small car and I need to get out.” I was driving Bill’s BMW deluxe convertible so I was a bit terrified to drive it! The guy: “Well, you can get the car out, can’t you?” “Well, I don’t seem to have an option, do I? I really need to go.” And I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut: “You’re a man and you should be able to park a car!” My friends (both male) were just laughing and listening to the conversations. That guy shouldn’t be driving since he doesn’t even know how to park the car!

I’m not that much into football but it was nice to go and watch the match Germany vs. Italy last Friday. And since I was watching it with Germans I supported Germany of course. It would have ruined the whole atmosphere if I had been supporting Italy. The previous night when I was talking about watching the game with a friend I said if I was in Finland I would support Italy. He said: “Ok, now you’re not allowed to come and watch the game.” The comment came with a laugh and I promised to support Germany so I wasn’t excluded from this early morning game watching – luckily!

This is my "home" beach. :)

Sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me cos I feel comfortable here on the other side of the world and I don’t seem to miss home. I do miss people, don’t get me wrong. But it seems I’m adapted to be away and I’m not letting myself to get depressed or anything just because I don’t have my friends and family here to talk and spend time with. I’ve made some new friends and life is very different here for me but I don’t seem to need much to be content and happy. Dreams don’t come true without a price. And I knew the price I was going to pay to be away from everyone.

Sometimes I’m sad when I see other people skyping with their family and friends. I’ve skyped probably three times in past three months. So no wonder I’m starting to “lose” Finnish words and I feel weird if I speak Finnish with Finnish travellers. I may be rude but I must say that luckily I haven’t had to speak Finnish with travellers for a while! But at the same time I’m a bit sad that there aren’t more Finnish people travelling cos I already prefer English now, what will it be when I’ve been here for a year? I already have to look up in the dictionary a little too often for words – Finnish words!

My mum is coming to visit me in November and I’m so excited! I just want to plan our trip together when I actually should be planning my own travels starting in about two weeks when I finish working here in Hervey Bay. I’ve been invited to Noosa so I’m going there first but then I should be travelling up north towards the warmer climate. I’m both excited and sad to leave. I’m so happy to go and travel to see new places but also sad not to have the familiar friends around to talk to anymore. I know I’ll meet new people, I don’t have to be alone, but it’s not the same as talking with people you’ve got to know a little bit better.

"A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."
- Lois Wyse -

If I had been in Finland
I would have been
sitting there with them. ♥

Here I am on the other side of the world and what do I miss? Spending the midsummer in the countryside. On Thursday evening I was sitting and thinking that if I was in Finland there would be a big chance I would be in the car on my way to the countryside like so many other Finnish people too. It has been a tradition for a few years for me to spend the midsummer in the countryside with my best friend, her boyfriend, parents, cousin, uncle, aunt, a bit different mix of people every year. It’s so nice to relax, eat and spend time with others. We do have a habit of eating a lot! :D Breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee, dinner, evening snack and whatever you feel like eating whenever you’re hungry. And no one minds if you want to a have a nap or you get up at midday. The sauna! How wonderful it is to get warm in the sauna and then swim in the cool water, and back to the sauna. Your hair feels so smooth after washing it in the lake! And the midsummer bonfire! I miss standing there in front of the huge bonfire watching the flames. But it’s the people who make the midsummer as great as it always is. And my dear friend made me part of it by sending me a couple of photos and greetings from everyone. It really made me happy.

Midsummer bonfire

I must say have really and truly great friends. I sometimes feel so bad when I don’t feel like writing and emailing and I just sit watching a movie or reading the news. It often moves me to tears to read my friends’ emails. The other day I was reading an email from a friend and it was a great way to start the day, but her words made me cry. Her words meant so much to me.

I’ve sat on the beach here countless times but still the scenery makes me stop and admire it. Today I sat there and look in the horizon, you couldn’t see where the sea ended and the sky started, it looked so beautiful! I have a huge amount of pictures taken on the beach but I couldn’t pick any favourite. All the moments worth taking a picture has been so wonderful that you just can’t pick one moment and one scene. Today’s mirror clear water and the horizon made me think of Fiji.

It’s really nice to work in a hostel but it can get tiring to meet all people and basically start the conversations with all the same things: where you from, how long are you travelling for, where are going to travel, what do you do back home etc. And since people don’t usually stay here that long, you go through that conversation every day for several times. It’s wonderful to hear all different stories but just sometimes it would be nice to just talk about things in your life with someone who knows you well enough so there’s no need to tell the history to understand the present. It’s sometimes frustrating because it’s not the same to write and an email to a friend as to sit face to face and just talk.



Paddle out for whales in Hervey Bay

There seems to be a curse on weekends when I’m having my day off. It’s usually raining and if not raining it’s really grey and it looks like it might rain any moment. Well, it gives a good opportunity to be lazy and just relax but it would still be nice if it was sunny. So today it’s grey and rainy but I still ventured out to have a look on paddling for the whales. Many people took part in paddling and equally many were watching from the beach. There were whole families on a kayak, a girl with a body board, people paddle boarding, a couple even had their dogs on their boards! :D

"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same."
- Elbert Hubbard -

The weather was just horrible over the weekend. And I must say you were able to see the atmosphere to drop with the weather. Everyone just sat quiet and looking depressed. I worked the weekend so I didn’t care about the weather so much but I must say I prefer sunshine. In the evening on Sunday I was literally like a kid when I saw a rainbow. I was just driving when I saw it in front of me with really bright colours, I was amazed. But when I parked the car and stepped out I was awestruck to see the rainbow forming half a circle. I almost run to my friend’s car and my first words were: “Have you seen the rainbow?” I’ve never seen anything like that before! There are no words to explain how amazing it looked. Too bad I didn’t have my camera with me.

When I heard a loved one back in Finland has been in a bad car accident I was shocked. I was relieved to hear it from him himself but still it stopped me, I was speechless. My hands were shaking and I felt tightness in my chest. I cried, I don’t know why, he’s not badly hurt, but still. I’m relieved to know he’s okay. Of course he’s traumatized and I can only wish that the time will help him to overcome what happened.
I googled the date with the name of the place it happened and read all the news I could find, even though they all said the same things. And I still have the news of the accident open on the browser and keep on reading them.
What bothers me is that no one told me when it happened. It happened a month ago, I was told today. I just keep on thinking that if he’s okay, why no one told me? Not to upset me since he’s okay? But why? I know I’m far away and I don’t have the kind of friends here as I have back in Finland but I’ve always said I want to know if something happens. If something happens I want to be able to make my own decisions what to do in those situations, not someone else to make decision for me by not telling. I know I’m probably overreacting being upset but I just hate it when I’m not told. Hearing bad news is never easy and it definitely doesn’t get any easier even though the time would pass, it still will be the first time I hear about it whether it’s the day it happens or a month afterwards.

Just a normal day.

When people come to Australia they are worried about spiders, snakes and sharks. I’d rather be worried about traffic accidents. There are a lot of poisonous snakes and spiders here but they are not likely to come and hunt you down! It’s my fourth time down here and I’ve seen just one snake in wild. I’ve seen a few spiders but they not usually bothering you unless you go and try to irritate them or they feel threatened by you. Hairy spiders look ugly and they can be poisonous, but common sense helps a lot. And sharks, I don’t know how many times I’ve heard someone ask if there are sharks here in Hervey Bay. There are sharks everywhere in Australia! But if you’re going to be worried about being taken by a shark, you should be even more worried about travelling by car or bus on the roads!

I should be starting to travel again at some point next month and it feels weird! I consider this my home so it feels like leaving everything familiar behind again. I know my way around here, I have a couple of friends here and I’m happy here. And next month I have to find the traveller in me again to go and find new places, to find new adventures, new experiences. I’m excited as well, but I have no idea where I’m going to head first. I thought I had planned it all but nothing seems so simple anymore. I can’t even decide whether to travel by bus or train! :D Luckily I still have time to figure out where I want to go and what I want to do. Everything is possible.

"You've gotta dance like there's nobody watching,
love like you'll never be hurt,
sing like there's nobody listening,
and live like it's heaven on earth."
- William W. Purkey -

I meet all these different people here at the hostel and I’m so happy about it. It’s just so great to have conversations with these people and hear their stories. One day I had these amazing conversations with an American soldier, not-active in duty anymore. We talked about so many things – the financial situation in the world, differences between the countries, dreams, relationships, revelations that will come to you when you travel, and so many other things! But last Wednesday beats any day when it comes to meeting different people. This elderly couple got off the bus and walked over to our hostel’s shuttle bus and asked if we had any room for them, they hadn’t booked anything in advance. They told how they just started in Cairns (staying in a hostel there as well!), then went to Magnetic Island and then Rockhampton. They do live in New Zealand, but they are staying in hostels, travelling by Greyhound and have no return ticket home. How amazing is that?! I could never ever in my life imagine my grandfather doing the same, never! I thought the couple was in their seventies but was tremendously surprised to hear that they are in their eighties. They are quite an example to younger people. I wish I’ll be like them when I’m that old!

Sometimes I just feel old because I meet mostly backpackers still in their teens or in early twenties. It just feels that I’m world apart from their way of thinking.  I didn’t come here to party and spend my money on alcohol, but so many young people seem to be doing exactly that. Why to waste your money travelling to the other side of the world to get drunk night after night? You could easily do it back home you don’t have to travel to do that. But hey, I’m never been like that when I’m travelling, so no wonder I can’t understand it or am I just too old to understand?



I was too busy reading my book
that I didn't have time to go to the beach. :D

I spent the weekend in Noosa and it was so good to have a break and get out from Hervey Bay. I hadn’t realized how much I needed it before I got into the car and we drove away. I felt so free! :D And the weekend was great. I didn’t have to do anything and I was able to relax and read my book without anyone interrupting with questions, it was great! It was wonderful to be part of the family, and do just normal things like having breakfast together, watching tv in the evenings together, going out for dinner or just talking and spending time together. And I couldn’t have had any better family to spend the time with. They made me feel like I was home and part of the family. I was told by Lyn that I was like a cat relaxing in the sun because when I was nowhere to be seen she just had to look for a sunny spot around the house and she would find be reading my book and enjoying the warmth of the sun. :D The weekend was definitely the best so far!

It was awesome to have a weekend off even though it was really cold. The coldness here is not in comparison to Finland. It doesn’t get freezing cold here but when the temperature outside is around seven degrees during the night it means it is freezing cold inside the house! Even during the day it was so cold in the house – it was warmer outside! I was alright sleeping under the covers but when you had to get up in the morning it was so hard because I just wanted to stay in my warm bed not get up to feel the cool air on my skin. I may have to go shopping for some warmer clothes if it stays this cold! :D

I never thought I would end up watching Eurovision song contest here on the other side of the world! :D But there I was on Friday evening watching the semi-final with others. It felt funny that they actually air it here and get people comment on contestants and voting their own favourite. I used to watch it back in Finland when I was much younger but haven’t been that interested to watch it anymore like my mum is. But there was no excitement to watch the end because Linn told us they had won, Sweden I mean.

I don’t know if I should be worried if I’m not 100% sure a song is by a Finnish band when I hear it. :D The song was in English and my only excuse is that I haven’t been listening to Finnish music for four months, other than the ones I have on my laptop. We were driving to Noosa and Bill had a cd playing and I didn’t expect to hear any familiar music from Finland! He got the cd from a Swedish girl but still it felt a bit funny to hear the song especially when Bill told he really likes the song. I don’t mean Finnish music is bad but I didn’t expect to hear a song by a Finnish band played loudly in the car! :D

"Silences make the real conversations between friends. Not the saying but the never needing tosay is what counts."
- Margaret Lee Runbeck -



It doesn't matter where I am, I'm still the same crazy Finnish girl who stays up all the hours to watch ice hockey. :D I really did stay up all last night to watch all quarter-final games. What could be better than a big screen and no one interrupting the watching? Only thing I’m not happy about is that the games start with half an hour delay on Youtube, but hey, you can’t have everything. I just have to stay out of Facebook and Finnish news sites during the games so I can watch without knowing the result. Knowing the result just ruins all the excitement. There’s no game I would watch and wouldn’t care which one of the teams win, I always have my favourite. There isn’t always any reason how I have my favourite, but who cares? But you bet I’m always on Finland’s side when they are playing!

When you’re travelling you can do your research on hostels and pick the one you like. It’s your choice and you’ve been able to do all you research where do you want it to be, what you want from the place and so on. If you want to have a supermarket next to it, do your research. It’s not the hostel’s fault if supermarket is bit of a walk away. And it certainly is rude to go rolling your eyes and saying isn’t there anything closer by, especially when the person you’re talking to tries to give your options of walking to the supermarket or a smaller grocery shop or getting a lift to a supermarket. If you’re having a bad day, don’t take it on people who are trying to help you. I really wasn’t proud to be Finnish when I heard this story of the rude Finnish girl today.

This is where I spend a lot of my time when I'm not working.

A couple of weeks ago we had some Finnish girls staying at the hostel and I made the mistake telling them I’m Finnish. After that I said I won’t tell I’m Finnish for Finnish people that stay here. I just can’t speak Finnish in this environment! And yesterday we knew we had a couple of Finnish girls coming, and what Bill did? He had told a Finnish girl to speak in Finnish to me. I was talking in the reception with Lyn when this Finnish girl came to the front desk, she said something and I just said “Sorry?”.  And Bill just laughed.  



I may not always eat healthily,
but I couldn't eat this for breakfast!

Sometimes when I’m too lazy to cook anything for lunch or I haven’t been shopping for anything so I opt for an easy way and get just some take away food. I know it’s not that healthy, but I just can’t be bothered to cook every day. And when you’ve work hard for a few hours and would need the food right away, it’s just too easy to go and buy something. It doesn’t help that you can get a chicken n’ cheese burger for $2 in McDonald’s. I often find myself walking there to buy ice cream as well, maybe too often! This week has been bad considering I’ve gone to McDonald’s a bit too many times! I should get worried if the boy at the counter recognizes me! :D

On one of my days off I headed to Maryborough. It’s nothing special, but it’s nice to get away from Hervey Bay and just walk around in a new place. It’s a small place but it was a beautiful day to walk around and sit in the park. I really liked the old buildings (not old in European standards, but old buildings for Australians) and I almost felt like stepping into a world a hundred years ago. It was also a day for Maryborough Heritage City Markets, which wasn’t anything that special but at least it brought some life to the city, at least I’m guessing so. And this month Maryborough has been on the news because there has been sighting of a big saltwater croc in Mary River near Maryborough. It’s the first ever confirmed sighting of a saltwater croc this far south. I wouldn’t want to see it close by!

For all people I left behind back home I’m travelling around and seeing new places. But at the moment I’m just living pretty normal daily life of a working person. There’s nothing special, I’m just living here and working. And I do like it a lot! The weather is definitely better here and surroundings are a little bit different. It’s great that after working I can just walk to the beach and enjoy the sun, can’t do that too often in Finland. But it’s also a different kind of job that I have here than I did back in Finland. If someone thinks I worked a lot sometimes back in Finland, it’s nothing compared to the work here sometimes. And even when I have time off I’m partly in a working mode. Only because I’m not only working, I’m also living in the place I work in. And if someone comes up to me and asks something I’m not going to say I’m having a day off, go and ask someone else, it’s not in my nature to be rude or unhelpful. It’s sometimes hard, but it’s my own choice to work here. And I really do like my job. But I must admit that I’m waiting for my weekend off in Noosa next week!

"They invented hugs to let people know you love them without saying anything."
- Bil Keane -