Yesterday I arrived to the Shire of Merredin, 300 km far from Perth.

I arrived at 5.30 pm and I was supposed to meet the Finnish girl with whom I will work. Nobody was there…great..and now? I just had the name of the street, but no clue on how to get there.

I asked a person that was there outside the station and I asked how I could get to Barrack Street? “Barrack Street? You are already in Barrack Street!”

So easy! I just had to cross the street and the place where I will work and stay was there!

I found Michael – the owner – waiting for me at the door entrance. He showed me the place where I will work – the pub at the ground floor – and then my room at the first floor. MY ROOM.

Guys, after 3 weeks in a hostel, sharing the room with other 5 girls, free climbing to go to bed, locking my things everytime , bringing  my stuff back and forth from the bathroom, labeling  my things in the fridge in order not to lose them, fighting to find a place to cook, after all this..I have my room! And I get one good big meal per day for free.

 The place is old, dusty, the room is simple and a cockroach welcomed me but I have everything I need: freedom to do whatever I want, whenever I want.

It’s true you just realize the value of things when you don’t have them.

Honestly I could not bear one day more at the hostel, with 50 people around, different work shifts, slummering doors at any hour, people coming back drunk and shouting, noise and mess around.

I’m not really in the party mood in this period. Last week straight after having received the confirmation of the job, I got the email I would have never wanted to read from Italy: She passed away at 2 am.
In 30 seconds, I passed from the relief of having found a job to the desperation of having lost another pillar in my life and the feeling of being totally powerless, because I’m too far away this time. I could not understand anything in that moment.

I needed a change, I needed to leave and I wanted to go exactly where I am now, the middle of nowhere.

Tout vient à point à qui sait atteindre (Good things come to those who wait). I mean, I spent 3 weeks looking for a job, interviews, getting replies, and then in a few minutes last Monday the situation got unstuck. Sent the cv, got the call, got the job. Easy.

Merredin is 3600 inhabitants and the funny thing is that it’s the biggest town in the Central Wheatbelt.

Yesterday I went sightseeing with Sayla (the Finnish girl)..the shortest tour I’ve ever done. One street and that’s it! That is all Merredin is about. Bank, post office, Subway, a couple of shops and cafè, the Tourist office, a library, a swimming pool and a little park.

The sky bar is the veranda of the place where I’m staying and the business travelers here are guys working in the mines or road works.

I just finished my first day at work..Midi, Pint, Swan Draught, Superdry, Extra Dry, 3.5, Carlton Dry, and 5 different beers more + the drinks + the meals + the till. There are a lot of things I have to learn…sometimes it’s pretty hard understanding the Australian accent, even because they use slang..so a bottle is not a bottle is a stubby, a Canadian Club (a whisky) is a CC. Some of them don’t say: could you please give me a pint of Draught, please as we all learnt at school. They just mumble: blablablablabla. And I am like: Whaaaat!? One time, two times, even 3 times. It’s frustrating (for me) and funny (for them) at the same time.

Here I could save a lot, not because I will earn a lot , but just because I cannot spend. That is good. I have a couple of travels in my mind and I need money for that.

I don’t know how much time I would spend here, maybe until the Australian Winter. It should be quite mild.I would just take things as they come.

See ya mates!