Day 296! Well today was jam packed with a bunch of different things. I needed to complete my RSA crossover, a stranger gave me a ride home, I went to the beach, got myself a job, and read more of Dune… oh, did I mention I got myself a job?!

I woke up bright and early this morning at 7:45am! Not only was I trying to catch the sunshine over the main Yamba beach, but I was also needing to catch a bus to a nearby town. So I got up, got ready, and set out on my morning adventure.

This morning I was heading to Maclean, a town close to Yamba. There was a bus stop for this route across the street from my hotel. So I was able to have a nice short walk to where I needed to be.

I was a bit early, I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss the bus! It only came every two hours or so.

I waited… and waited… and waited some more and the bus still hadn’t arrived. It was a beautiful morning, so I wasn’t too opposed to sitting outside. But there was a part of me that felt like I had missed the bus somehow, or maybe it wasn’t coming!

The bus ended up being fairly delayed, but in the end, it did show up! I was very relieved as I saw it turn the corner and come down the street I was on.

I got onto the bus and asked the bus driver how the system worked. He was very friendly and told me all I needed to do was tell him where I was headed and tap my credit card. I totally forgot I had $5 in coins still and should’ve used them to pay the almost $5 bus fare… but I planned on doing it on my return trip.

The bus ride took just under an hour to get from Yamba to Maclean. The route I got on had some loops it needed to make on the way, but there was one earlier in the morning that was a straight shot. I just didn’t want to get up that early.

In Maclean, I was heading to the Service NSW office. At this office, I’d be able to finish the bridging process between my Victoria and my New South Wales RSA. The office didn’t open up until 9am, so the earlier bus wouldn’t have made sense. This bus however got me to the town a lot later than I had originally hoped.

The bus was full of people of all ages. A lot were headed to the same town as me. But some were headed to places in between and towns further beyond, like Grafton. It was really nice seeing people who knew each other randomly meet on the bus and catch up. I can already tell there’s a fairly tight knit community here in Yamba!

At just past 10am, I had arrived in Maclean.

I went on a short walk through the center of this town and found my way up a hill to the Service NSW office.

This office deals with a lot of different certifications, licenses, disability, etc. but I was just needing to finalize my RSA. When I walked in to the office, I wasn’t really sure how to check in. So one of the random customers was kind enough to help me out.

Then just after I finished, an older lady came in and needed help. So I imparted the knowledge I had just received to help her out. A nice and quick full circle moment. Now unfortunately, I wasn’t fully able to help her and someone else stepped up to help some more. But because of our interaction, we got to talking.

Obviously, me being American was an easy way to start the conversation and we chatted about what I was doing here. It turned out she was living in Yamba and was raised not too far away in a town called Lawrence! Kind of a small world, seeing how I used to live in a town called Lawrence.

The conversation ended as I got called up to the counter. It was a fairly simple and quick process of me showing the worker my VIC RSA, my certificate of completion of the NSW bridging course, my drivers license, and passport. After that, I got a printout of a temporary NSW RSA competency card and was good to go!

I went to the lobby to store all my paperwork and add my RsA card to an app on my phone. And while I was doing so, the older lady came out and asked me if I had a ride back to Yamba. I told her my plan was to wait around for the bus and she offered to give me a ride back! I was very thankful and accepted because the wait was going to be around 1-2 hours.

This mystery lady’s name was Robin and she was a very young spirited and kind 83 year old! I was very touched by her generosity to give me a lift home and I’m not sure if she realized it, but she saved me so much time and hassle. I’m sure I would’ve figured out something to do, but now I’d have plenty of time in my day to do whatever I wanted.

Robin and I chatted all the way back to Yamba. Over the 25 minute ride, we talked about her life, my life, and how nice the community in Yamba is. She was thankfully a very good driver and dropped me right off at the hotel safe and sound! I really hope our paths cross again soon, because she was a very lovely person to chat with.

This is just another amazing example in my travels of how wonderful people are and can be. It also shows the signs of a great community I’m stepping into.

With this newfound time on my hands, I made my way up to my room. I quickly got changed into my swimsuit and packed a little bag to head down to the Yamba Beach!

I was stoked to finally be able to hang out in and by the ocean! It was a hot enough day out that I was going to brave the cold sea. Thankfully, it wasn’t near as cold as in Melbourne… nowhere near as warm as SE Asia though!

The temperature and roughness reminded me of when I’d go to North Carolina and get beat up by the waves with my dad and siblings.

I spent about 30 minutes getting smacked around and watching a surfer go at it. I can’t wait for that surfer to be me!

I got out of the water and found a nice sunny spot in the grass to dry off in. While I was drying off, I revived a text from my friend Ally. So I FaceTimed her and my other friend Maddie and caught up with them a bit about their lives back in the US and my current whereabouts and plans.

After a wonderful catchup, I moved into the shade for the next 30 minutes. The sun had been getting pretty intense and I wanted to cool off a little bit before heading back up to the hotel to take a shower.

I’m excited to spend many more days by this beach and the others surrounding this beautiful, small town.

I was pretty hungry by this point. All I had had to eat so far was my last granola bar from my trip. I’ll need to get a bike STAT so I can get to the nearby Coles for groceries.

I walked down the hill and into town in search for cheap food for lunch. I should know by now that Australia isn’t home to many cheap options. But I found a cute bakery that had fairly cheap sandwiches, wraps, pies, and sausage rolls. So I ended up getting a falafel wrap.

After I devoured this wrap, I headed back to the hotel to try and find the manager that I met the day before. He told me to find him today, after I had finalized my RSA (I couldn’t start work until I had the RSA squared away).

He had just gotten in around the time I got back, so the timing all worked out perfectly. We got to chatting a bit about my past hospitality experience and why I’d be a good fit. I told him about my hostel work and my time at One World Cafe back in high school/early college. But I leaned more on the reasons why I’d be a good fit.

I guess what I said was up to par with what he hoped and he asks me to pour a beer for the next customer. I was hoping my years of drinking in college and beyond, plus my YouTube sleuthing would work some wonders… but, my pour wasn’t the best. Now I didn’t over pour, but the head ended up being way too big somehow. The manager showed me how to fix it and I think he saw through my little charade of being a knowable hospitality worker.

We of course do it slightly different in the US 😉

But, he said to watch him do the next one and that it’ll take time to perfect. However, this “fail” didn’t seem to deter him from bringing me into the team. And shortly after this very short trial, he got the paper work and I started reading and signing.

Interestingly enough, the hotel has some strict rules on social media guidelines… now will they ever see this blog? Who knows. I’ll probably stick to not using the hotel by name anymore or talking about any of my coworkers by their name for the time being.

I did get to meet some more very nice coworkers today though, the team seems quite large!

The manager did also tell me that there was the cheap housing available for me. And that I’d be starting work tomorrow! So all very exciting news. As of now, this plan seems to be working out quite nicely.

After finishing up the paper work, my manager wasn’t around anymore, so I handed off the papers to someone else. I had a few more questions that were running through my mind… but I guess I’d have to wait and ask later.

I still didn’t know when I could move into the new room available for me, what time I started work tomorrow, what I needed to wear, did they need my bank details, and a big one… how much was I going to be paid per hour?

These felt like pretty important questions, but with the relaxed culture in Australia, I was sure I’d get the answers in due time.

After a quick power nap to ease my mind, I got some answers immediately. I had to fill out bank details through email and got situated with the companies app that showed shifts.

I then dove into reading more Dune while listening to the ocean in a comfy chair. But eventually my stomach started grumbling again and it was time for dinner.

I headed downstairs where I immediately ran into my manager and was able to ask him my last couple of questions. I’d be moving into my new place tomorrow morning, it’d be $200 a week which was exactly what I was hoping for! My shift started at 4pm tomorrow afternoon and I’d need to get black shorts for it, but they’d provide the shirt for me. I’ll try and find a pair in the local OP shop.

And finally… I still don’t know my wage. But minimum wage as a casual worker is just shy of $30 AUD an hour. So I’ll definitely take that as this will best laboring by a mile (or should I say kilometer)!

I thanked my manager and went to order some food and a beer. I got what was called “Japanese fried chicken.” I wasn’t too sure what to expect and what I got wasn’t what I had pictured in my head. But it was tasty nonetheless! I’m hoping this new place has a kitchen and that I can make my way to a grocery store soon. I already miss cooking for myself.

After eating, I went back upstairs to continue reading. I made some good headway and then a guy, who just arrived at the hotel, started chatting with me. His name was Allen and he was a very nice guy to chat with. He had a lot of suggestions for my time in Australia and gave me his biggest advice on surfing… to just go for it and keep going for it every day.

I’m looking forward to when I can start taking that advice!

I was about to start reading again and out of nowhere the power cut out! I used this as a sign to head off to bed, as I was sure I had a long day ahead of me tomorrow.

I’m super excited and nervous to start this new job. I know I’ll be fine, but I want to make sure it all goes swimmingly! The thing I can always remind myself is I can find jobs everywhere… even if something happens I can find another one. But, I’m sure this one will go great! The team and town seem to be super friendly and I can’t wait to explore it all more!

We’ll see what tomorrow holds!

– Elie