IN THE LIFE OF A GYPSY: American In Oz(stralia): There's No Place Like Home...

Take-off time again!

Destination: MELBOURNE.

Feeling the toasty weather, I slipped through the glass doors just outside the airport to catch my shuttle in Melbourne. The 17 hour flight I just disembarked from was a little bumpier than I anticipated. At least I was able to sit next to someone in my line of work: Therapist/Bartender: same thing right? With sleep not on my side, I wandered aimlessly up and down the corridors trying to find the little black shuttle with no luck.

A nice aged Aboriginal man directs me in another circle before I see the blatant "SKYBUS" that had been staring me smack in the face the entire time. I lucked out and caught a free shuttle from the airport directly to the steps of "The Mansion": vaulted ceilings that when your on top bunk you feel privileged, not suffocated. Standing up, I couldn't even touch the ceiling. From the golden light fixture that dropped 3 1/2 feet attached to the large white ball of light, to the flat screen TV in the corner, this place was vintage with just a few upgrades. The only downfall was the lack of air-conditioning, which I haven't come close to needing so far. This is where I would be spending the next 6 days sharing a room with 6 strangers; three girls from Holland, two lads from France, and an Australian from Sydney in a pear tree. We quickly became a happy family, rooting eachother on for local jobs to stay for the summer, and swapping travel stories from all over the globe.

Going from the laid back summer life on the Island of Nantucket or Queenstown, New Zealand, to the City life was a bit of a culture shock. When I eventually fell asleep night after night, it wasn't to the peaceful sounds of the birds chirping anymore.

I now had the purring of the by-passing mufflers, the crude caws from the ever overpopulating crows, the loud locust buzzing, and the rain shooting off the spinning tires as the light turned from red to green. I no longer felt the need for an alarm clock. The morning traffic now wakes me up on the 6:30 am commute, or if I'm lucky, maybe a siren quickly buzzing by or two from a late night crime at 5 a.m. after the bars have let out.

From taking the subway and tram, and not worrying about getting parking tickets all day long, to the hustle and bustle of the 9-5 corporates rushing for their morning caffeine fix or afternoon lunch at their favorite local cafe, city life is most definitely different than the simple life I have been living for the past two summers. With an endless amount of exploring to do, I am thrilled to be here.