The Predicament: Wanderlust

The predicament was a multi-layered, multi-faceted, rather CONFUSING travel itinerary.

 See, when I first left home, I knew I wanted to touch base in as many places as humanly possible- that being said, I was rather flexible with the travel route I was going to undertake, but had a rough idea of where i might go: Australiasia, Asia, Africa and most likely some side of Europe. I was flexible, except for one thing- AFRICA. 

It has been a dream of mine for many, many years to do, and being so close to acheiving a dream, I told myself, whatever negotiations or changes happen in the plans, there would be 
no way in hell that I would give up the Africa trip for anything else. I would do whatever it took. Africa was IT, it was everything to me-it was my main goal. 

About one month into my Australia trip I came to realize just how expensive it is Down Under, and I knew that if I didn't plan ahead, that 'Africa-savings fund' I had built up in Canada could easily get eroded away. So I went ahead, took a leap of faith and booked a flight to Cape Town, South Africa there and then. It was pricey, very pricey, and was booked months in advance, but I took the chance because I knew that if I had that flight, it would keep me motivated and keep me goal-oriented. In my mind, with that ticket already bought, I would HAVE to get there. Anyway- anyhow. My flight was booked to leave Sydney, Australia at the end of March, 2013, 7 months away.

Now during my last 3 months in Australia, there was one month when I went unemployed. It was....well, it sucked. It was so boring because I couldn't afford to do much and because I was basically in the middle of nowhere and you needed a car to do really anything at all. It just wasnt feasible to invest 2-3,000$ into a car for only a few months, so I was pretty much immobilized for that month. As I've mentioned in other posts, living with out a job in Australia is walking a dangerous line. Even just eating on a regular basis will throw you into a dark deep hole of debt without income being generated to off-set the hefty expenses of rent and food. (Groceries cost 2-3 times more in Australia than they do in Canada).

Happiness is a warm loaf of bread

 To reduce my spending I tried to find cheap ways to entertain and feed myself. I got more into yoga, spent a lot of time baking fresh bread, foccacia buns, and experimenting with making rice pudding and baking quiches. It was actually really fun- and I discovered middle-eastern spices are amaaaazing in a vegetarian quiche. I also had to humble myself and accept a cleaning job from the local caravan park, "The Happy Apple". Yes, I was the lady who washed the kitchen sinks, scrubbed out the microwave, mopped the floors, wiped the tables, cleaned the toilets, scrubbed down the shower stalls and emptied out the maggot-filled garbage cans. It was not a glamourizing job, at all, but it was definiely a humbling experience and it probably saved me 700$.


While I was scrubbing shower stalls, baking middle-eastern quiches and oh ya, tanning in the backyard, I had a lot of time to think. I mostly thought about how to make money, but I also had some 'DNM', deep and meaninful time to myself. In that time I realized that I ever since I volunteered as a teacher in Thailand in the dry season of 2012, Ive been more interested in teaching english as a foreign language. 

Prepared for the interview!

One day I printed off an application form to take a CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching of Adults) course in Chiang Mai in February. I took my time and spent a few weeks doing the "Pre-interview task", and then finally had a phone interview from Bangkok. I was accepted! I was so happy. Then the interviewer told me the Chiang Mai course was actually full, but since I was accepted they could fit me in the Bangkok one. Afraid and intimidated (Bangkok was not my favourite place lasttime I was in Thailand), I accepted. I knew I would just have to find a way to get the balls to do it. (More on how that turned out later.)

Other then that there was one tic-tac sized problem...........
my flight to Africa!! It was leaving from SYDNEY, at the end of March. Now what was I to do...? Fly to Bangkok for February and then back to Sydney again just to fly all the way back over the same route to South Africa??  You still with me? 

To my luck, and amazingly enough, was able to change my flight so that I could actually leave Australia early, get to Bangkok for the course in February, and then fly out of Bangkok-->UAE--> CPT (Cape Town) at the end of March. And BINGO was his name-o! Mind you, it cost me an extra 400$, but hey- I was satisfied, it was a better alternative than losing the entire flight, or having to back out of the CELTA course!

So- now that Ive got you all caught up, lets just re-cap.
Its the end of December, Im in little ol' Chinchilla, Queensland, Australia.
I have a flight now leaving Sydney on January 15th, 2013 (2 weeks before the CELTA exam) which will take me to Bangkok. Then February 4th I start the CELTA course in Bangkok, I graduate March 1st, and then I have one month with nothing to do until my next plane leaves Bangkok at the end of March.

This leaves me with 2 weeks free now, and March free. Do I stay in Australia for another 2 weeks?(gaaahhh...when will this be overrrr?)  I don't really have much choice, since I NEED to catch that flight from Sydney- I mean, Ive already changed my itinerary once for 400$, Im not changing it again!...................
Then it hit me. NEW ZEALAND.