As I write this I’m sitting in a cafe called The Blacksmith, in Belgrave, a little suburb outside of Melbourne. It’s the 13th of January. It’s 70 degrees Fahrenheit, and will get warmer as the day wears on. It’s around eleven o’clock in the morning, and I’m listening to a playlist full of love songs, because being on the other side of the planet than my home I naturally tend toward rather romantic ideas. I’ve just finished processing all of the images I’ve made since arriving in Australia on the 3rd; ironically most of them are of cars. A fair number have also come from my stay with my hosts this past week, Steve and Amber, who have been incredibly gracious and welcoming in giving me a place to stay during an already hectic season. As it is, it’s time for me to be moving on, so finding another spot is on my agenda today.
Last night I went to bed imagining getting up early, walking to Belgrave, and enquiring from strangers in the cafe about a place, and it seemed such an easy thing in my head then. I have come to realize over the past few days, that my anxiety begins its peak early in the day, right after I wake up, and tapers off toward the evening. Late at night is the time that it’s easiest for me to be confident, energetic, positive, and self-assured. As much as I’ve worked on my people skills in the time I’ve been on my own, I have to admit that at the moment the thought of walking up to the counter and asking some random Aussie if they know someone who’d like to take in a traveler is at least slightly daunting. It was much easier to imagine doing such things while sitting comfortably at home with friends in Arkansas. Really though, what better way to practice?
I will say honestly that my first several days here in Australia were quite rough. I had a short stop in Auckland before heading to Sydney (short meaning I literally ran to my gate to catch the bus to my departing flight), and managed to leave my phone at a security checkpoint in the hustle. Not having time to get it back before the plane took off, I landed in Sydney without it, and headed off to find someone who could help me get in touch with the airline to sort out the situation. After being helped by a wonderful lady who worked for Air New Zealand, and emailing the airport in Auckland a few times, I realized I wouldn’t have my phone back too soon, so I bought a cheap new one from a shop in the Sydney airport, and headed out. I caught a train to Central Station, and walked out swinging my head back and forth and hoping for the best. Some young ladies were walking in the same direction as me from the train station, and I decided to ask them where I might find a coffee shop. They turned out to be a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and some of the loveliest people I’ve interacted with since being here. One of them, whose name was Marilyn, took up the conversation with me quite happily, and I walked and talked with them through the downtown Sydney streets. It was a beautiful, sunny, breezy day. We got to the place where Marilyn and her friends were meeting with others to get organized before going out on their mission, and I decided to go off on my own, thanking them for helping me along and giving me suggestions on where I might go. I then walked to a Gloria Jean’s, bought an iced latte, realized I had no way of charging my dying devices, left the shop, and spent the rest of the day aimlessly wandering the city and kicking myself for not sticking with Marilyn and her friends as long as I could.
I spent the next couple of days walking around the city more. I stayed in a hostel near the train station, and worked out where to go and what to do. I began communicating with Steve, who lives in Melbourne, and is a friend of my brother’s from when he was in Australia some years ago. (Thanks, Caleb.) I bought a train ticket, and made the ten-hour journey overnight, arriving at the Melbourne station in the morning. From there I took another train to the suburbs where Steve and Amber live. And here I’ve been since last Monday. Steve happened to have a friend who was in the Auckland area, and he picked up my phone for me and shipped it back, so I’ve been waiting for that to arrive in the post.
It’s been hard for me to not feel stranded through all this. It’s made me realize how dependent I am on my phone, at least while traveling. It’s really quite an amazing tool for connection, and once I have it back I’ll be getting plugged in to the Couchsurfing community, and hitting the road (or possibly rails) again.
I did go to a local church yesterday morning, and met some lovely people. I went home with a couple of them for lunch, Michael and his wife Rose, and met their children and grandchildren, and afterward they took me out driving to see the sights. There’s a car show happening just this Wednesday that Michael normally goes to, so I’m going to go along with him for that — right up my alley. This family also arranges some off-road trips a couple of times a year, and invited me to come along with them if I’m still around later in the year when they’ll be doing another one, probably in springtime. Needless to say, we will be keeping in touch.
All that said, and though it may sound very “adventurous” to you depending on what your life looks like, there is a part of me that finds it very difficult to feel encouraged and hopeful in all this. Nothing is really straightforward, and each day comes without my knowing quite what I’m going to be doing. But, that is kind of what I wanted. A break in my routine, a chance to shake up my life and restart things. This is about as much of a reset as I could hope for, really, and I am planning (more and more) on very deliberately and intentionally making this journey a launching pad for the rest of my life. I want to get better at living life, and take advantage of the opportunities I have to make that happen. This sort of trip is out of the question for many people, and I know I’m very fortunate to be able to do it. I mean, really, how many Americans have the chance to pick a fight with a big western red kangaroo?
That’s a joke. Do not try to fight a western red. You’ll lose.
with love,
— Joel
Geeky Things
Camera: Fuji X-Pro2
Lens: Fuji 35mm f/2
Location: Sydney, NSW; Melbourne, VIC
Notes: The first half or so of these images, up to about when I got on the train to Melbourne I suppose, were taken in downtown Sydney, in the area near Central Station. The others were taken in the suburbs of Melbourne. All of these images were processed in Capture One 20, which I’ve switched over to from Lightroom. I will at some point write something up about that switch, and the differences between the two, for my use. I will say in passing that Capture One does indeed handle Fuji raw files better than Lightroom, and that’s why I switched over. I’m getting better results, and that’s the main thing. If you’re a Fuji shooter, I highly recommend checking out Capture One Express Fujifilm, which is totally free, yet still quite a powerful editor, and gives you the opportunity to see the difference in Capture One’s raw processor. Just know that Lightroom is not the only option.