Chapter 2: JACK'S PLACE LIFE
March 13, 2012. I signed up for a 3 month lease at Jack's Place before I had ever stepped foot in the place. I figured my friend couldn't have recommended a shithole, right?
As I lugged my 3 suitcases (I never called myself a backpacker...) up the stairs to the second floor, I was jittering with anticipation to see what my new room would look like. I turned the key in the lock, pushed open the door, and.... well.... it was quaint. Clean, so I couldn't complain. New furniture, bay windows (facing a noisy street), and a decent sized wardrobe to fit all my stuff. For $265/week for a room, I must admit I was expecting a heck of a lot more, but there was no turning back now!
After grocery shopping, I came back to my room, put on a movie on my laptop, and started to unpack, I could hear doors opening and closing in the hallways, people talking and laughing, basically my future friends going about their lives without a single clue about the new girl in room 12. And that's when the "making new friends" anxiety kicked in. Do I go out and say hi? How should I introduce myself? I wonder where they're all from... Will people be friendly? Knowing how I am...naturally shy, semi-content loner...I knew I could easily go out and buy some dinner and rush quietly back to my room and eat it before anyone ever saw me. But, the good angel said "get your ass downstairs and make some friends!"
At around 7 o'clock, I could no longer ignore the hunger pains. I fixed my hair, checked my outfit, and started to descend the stairs of doom down to the kitchen. As I walked down I could hear what sounded like a 100 people talking and laughing with each other and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and run back up the stairs. I finally walked in the room and saw a big group of strangers sitting at the table talking and laughing. They all turned and looked at me with bright faces and like a bubbly fool I gave a big wave and a big bright smile and proclaimed "Hey, I'm Natasha!" Everyone immediately started to hurl tomatoes at me, yell racial slurs, and told me to get out. Just kidding! Everyone smiled back, gave me friendly welcomes, and went around the table and said their names. It was a HUGE relief to meet such friendly people and I knew from then, everything would be okay.
My housemates were from all over the world and came to Sydney for different reasons…many to study English, some to work and travel like me, some for a semester abroad. I met people from Brazil, all over England, Portugal, France, South America, Germany, Belgium, and much more. Throughout my first week, many people came up to me and said "Hey! Oh you're the black girl from New Jersey?!" It was nice to know my legend preceded me. Although it wasn't at all hard to meet and talk to people in the house, I also had a wonderful tactic and natural conversation piece: my jewelry.
On day 2 in Jack's I made a conscious and strategic move. I woke up bright and early,
gathered my jewelry supplies, and went and sat downstairs by the TV in the common area. All day people came and went but FIRST stopped to say hi and ask what I was doing. I ended up explaining myself and my jewelry 100 times over, but one by one I knew virtually everyone in the house and everyone knew me. Before you know it, I was the black chick from New Jersey who ALSO made jewelry. On another note, this move also proved to be a great marketing strategy! I paid my rent one week solely using money I had collected from housemates who placed orders ;)
As much as I was making the jewelry business work for me, I still very much wanted to find a job! So back to the job hunt I went! I even started to have a few successful leads. Once, I went for a trial at a frozen yogurt place (my ultimate dream job) but ended up not getting the job. I even spent exactly 4 hours temping for the head receptionist at Intel Sydney. I also went on another interview at a pizzeria, which also ended unsuccessfully. I was nailing interviews but not getting the job which grew increasingly more frustrating and there's absolutely nothing worse on the planet than looking for work! As I continued looking for a job, my jewelry store continued to do well and I continued to get wholesale offers one after another. So eventually one day I said screw it! I'm just going to commit to making jewelry full time and that is that!
It's funny how your life turns out. I went from a confused college grad jetting off to Sydney to occupation: jewelry maker who, by the grace of God, managed to pay $265/week rent AND save money. I was hesitant at first to commit to making jewelry full-time because that meant having to develop some strong will power to get my ass up at a decent hour every day like a real job. It also meant I had to be inside all day making jewelry and wouldn't have the opportunity to go out into Sydney and make co-worker friends. However, those "cons" soon proved to be nonsense. I basically turned the common room into Natasha's Jewelry Station...I became a staple on that couch and I got alot of GREAT TV watching done. Working from home also allowed me to become friends with basically everyone in the house. It also meant I could prey on the new people, and thus the unemployed, who would often sit with me in the TV room on their laptops looking for work. Before you know it, I was putting people to work! To help fill some of my big orders, I had friends pitching in to cut thread and I even taught a friend of mine how to make my signature woven chain bracelet so she could help me complete some orders.
While jewelry making was a huge focus of my life in Jacks Place, it was the friends I made and the fun times I had during this time that truly defined my first 3 months in Sydney. Living at Jack's Place was very similar to my study abroad experience that made me fall in love with Sydney…we all worked hard during the week, but partied harder during the
weekends. Jacks Place was like a family....we had movie nights multiple nights out of the week, rooftop BBQs featuring goon (cheap boxed wine) sangria, family dinners where one person cooked and we all pitched in money, and every weekend was someone's birthday or some big celebration which meant predrinks/dance party before heading out together in a massive group to a night club---one night out even ended with a housemate cracking a bottle over a sleazy clubgoer's head after he inappropriately touched his girlfriend. Basically there was NEVER a dull moment with my Jacks Place family! Living there, I made some amazing friends and even became an honorary Brit (my closest friends winded up all being British). I learned so much about different cultures and languages and made friendships with people that have already lasted beyond my Australian adventure.
However, come May, as my lease in Jack's was coming to an end I started to think about what my next plan of action might be. My couchsurfing friend mentioned she wanted to travel the East Coast by campervan. Seeing as I was going to be homeless on May 15, I decided why not travel the East Coast together?! Soon a third girlfriend--a 19 year old Brit on a gap year between high school and college--jumped along and after a few weeks of planning, I looked forward to my new future: 6 weeks driving 1,500 miles from Sydney up the coast to Cairns and living in a campervan with 2 friends, a Canadian and a Brit, who I'd actually only known for the past 3 months. We said our goodbyes to everyone (because many of our friends would not be in Sydney when we returned after our trip) hopped in our camper and embarked on our new adventure!
March 13, 2012. I signed up for a 3 month lease at Jack's Place before I had ever stepped foot in the place. I figured my friend couldn't have recommended a shithole, right?
As I lugged my 3 suitcases (I never called myself a backpacker...) up the stairs to the second floor, I was jittering with anticipation to see what my new room would look like. I turned the key in the lock, pushed open the door, and.... well.... it was quaint. Clean, so I couldn't complain. New furniture, bay windows (facing a noisy street), and a decent sized wardrobe to fit all my stuff. For $265/week for a room, I must admit I was expecting a heck of a lot more, but there was no turning back now!
After grocery shopping, I came back to my room, put on a movie on my laptop, and started to unpack, I could hear doors opening and closing in the hallways, people talking and laughing, basically my future friends going about their lives without a single clue about the new girl in room 12. And that's when the "making new friends" anxiety kicked in. Do I go out and say hi? How should I introduce myself? I wonder where they're all from... Will people be friendly? Knowing how I am...naturally shy, semi-content loner...I knew I could easily go out and buy some dinner and rush quietly back to my room and eat it before anyone ever saw me. But, the good angel said "get your ass downstairs and make some friends!"
At around 7 o'clock, I could no longer ignore the hunger pains. I fixed my hair, checked my outfit, and started to descend the stairs of doom down to the kitchen. As I walked down I could hear what sounded like a 100 people talking and laughing with each other and my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and run back up the stairs. I finally walked in the room and saw a big group of strangers sitting at the table talking and laughing. They all turned and looked at me with bright faces and like a bubbly fool I gave a big wave and a big bright smile and proclaimed "Hey, I'm Natasha!" Everyone immediately started to hurl tomatoes at me, yell racial slurs, and told me to get out. Just kidding! Everyone smiled back, gave me friendly welcomes, and went around the table and said their names. It was a HUGE relief to meet such friendly people and I knew from then, everything would be okay.
My housemates were from all over the world and came to Sydney for different reasons…many to study English, some to work and travel like me, some for a semester abroad. I met people from Brazil, all over England, Portugal, France, South America, Germany, Belgium, and much more. Throughout my first week, many people came up to me and said "Hey! Oh you're the black girl from New Jersey?!" It was nice to know my legend preceded me. Although it wasn't at all hard to meet and talk to people in the house, I also had a wonderful tactic and natural conversation piece: my jewelry.On day 2 in Jack's I made a conscious and strategic move. I woke up bright and early,
gathered my jewelry supplies, and went and sat downstairs by the TV in the common area. All day people came and went but FIRST stopped to say hi and ask what I was doing. I ended up explaining myself and my jewelry 100 times over, but one by one I knew virtually everyone in the house and everyone knew me. Before you know it, I was the black chick from New Jersey who ALSO made jewelry. On another note, this move also proved to be a great marketing strategy! I paid my rent one week solely using money I had collected from housemates who placed orders ;)As much as I was making the jewelry business work for me, I still very much wanted to find a job! So back to the job hunt I went! I even started to have a few successful leads. Once, I went for a trial at a frozen yogurt place (my ultimate dream job) but ended up not getting the job. I even spent exactly 4 hours temping for the head receptionist at Intel Sydney. I also went on another interview at a pizzeria, which also ended unsuccessfully. I was nailing interviews but not getting the job which grew increasingly more frustrating and there's absolutely nothing worse on the planet than looking for work! As I continued looking for a job, my jewelry store continued to do well and I continued to get wholesale offers one after another. So eventually one day I said screw it! I'm just going to commit to making jewelry full time and that is that!
It's funny how your life turns out. I went from a confused college grad jetting off to Sydney to occupation: jewelry maker who, by the grace of God, managed to pay $265/week rent AND save money. I was hesitant at first to commit to making jewelry full-time because that meant having to develop some strong will power to get my ass up at a decent hour every day like a real job. It also meant I had to be inside all day making jewelry and wouldn't have the opportunity to go out into Sydney and make co-worker friends. However, those "cons" soon proved to be nonsense. I basically turned the common room into Natasha's Jewelry Station...I became a staple on that couch and I got alot of GREAT TV watching done. Working from home also allowed me to become friends with basically everyone in the house. It also meant I could prey on the new people, and thus the unemployed, who would often sit with me in the TV room on their laptops looking for work. Before you know it, I was putting people to work! To help fill some of my big orders, I had friends pitching in to cut thread and I even taught a friend of mine how to make my signature woven chain bracelet so she could help me complete some orders. While jewelry making was a huge focus of my life in Jacks Place, it was the friends I made and the fun times I had during this time that truly defined my first 3 months in Sydney. Living at Jack's Place was very similar to my study abroad experience that made me fall in love with Sydney…we all worked hard during the week, but partied harder during the
weekends. Jacks Place was like a family....we had movie nights multiple nights out of the week, rooftop BBQs featuring goon (cheap boxed wine) sangria, family dinners where one person cooked and we all pitched in money, and every weekend was someone's birthday or some big celebration which meant predrinks/dance party before heading out together in a massive group to a night club---one night out even ended with a housemate cracking a bottle over a sleazy clubgoer's head after he inappropriately touched his girlfriend. Basically there was NEVER a dull moment with my Jacks Place family! Living there, I made some amazing friends and even became an honorary Brit (my closest friends winded up all being British). I learned so much about different cultures and languages and made friendships with people that have already lasted beyond my Australian adventure.However, come May, as my lease in Jack's was coming to an end I started to think about what my next plan of action might be. My couchsurfing friend mentioned she wanted to travel the East Coast by campervan. Seeing as I was going to be homeless on May 15, I decided why not travel the East Coast together?! Soon a third girlfriend--a 19 year old Brit on a gap year between high school and college--jumped along and after a few weeks of planning, I looked forward to my new future: 6 weeks driving 1,500 miles from Sydney up the coast to Cairns and living in a campervan with 2 friends, a Canadian and a Brit, who I'd actually only known for the past 3 months. We said our goodbyes to everyone (because many of our friends would not be in Sydney when we returned after our trip) hopped in our camper and embarked on our new adventure!
No comments:
Post a Comment