Chapter 4: SO I WAS A HOUSEKEEPER IN CAIRNS...
July 10, 2012. After six-weeks on the road, I returned to Sydney and received a much needed visit from my mom, aunt, and uncle in Sydney. I spent 10 days with them touring them around the city and basking in the luxury of living in a hotel! I also started to plan my next move...do I stay in Sydney while it's wintertime (summer in USA is winter in AUS) meaning a bit chilly and thus miserable or do I move somewhere else? A really good friend of mine and former Jack's Place housemate was up in Cairns and strongly encouraged I come back. I thought, what the heck! And booked a one-way ticket to Cairns!
So how exactly do I put this? I was kinda sorta working as a housekeeper at a hostel in Cairns! That's right….."knock, knock, HOUSEKEEPING!" (or CAT FISHING as one of my coworkers started to say when we realized it didn't matter what we said). Yup, that was me!
Cairns is a huge backpacker city...it is filled with dozens of hostels, many of which have this thing called "work for accommodation." For the common broke backpacker, this
arrangement is a dream come true. You put in time doing housekeeping or promotional work for a hostel and the hostel provides you with a free bed in exchange. Before I arrived in Cairns, I had not a clue what I was gonna do or how long I was gonna stay. However, my friend told me she got a "work for accommodation" job at a hostel so I decided to try my luck at the same thing. On day 2 of Cairns, I sat on the Esplanade and called a couple of hostels. I heard a lot of "no, sorry" until one nice receptionist put me on hold for a minute and then came back on the line to tell me: "See you tomorrow at 10am sharp. You can move in and get to work!"
From 10am to 1:30pm, 5 days a week, I, along with a team of about 8 or 9 other travelers, (mostly Italians at my hostel) knocked on the doors of every room in our 60 room hostel to change beds, clean garbages, scrub toilets, the usual. The work was easy peasy with a few perks…i found $20 once while changing a bed! And in a room that's considered a "checkout," anything in the fridge or bathroom that we find, we get to keep…that means free shampoos and conditioners, beer, and random jars of unopened pasta sauce. I'd happily do housekeeping for the rest of my life if it meant free rent! But let me tell you, the job comes with a price... I have stories for days!
Let's see…
There's nothing like wiping down a kitchen counter covered with nail clippings, stepping over a dead cockroach getting devoured by ants in the bathroom, or walking into a bedroom where shreds of paper and cheese balls are scattered all over the floor leading me to wonder, what the hell went down last night?!
The greatest story of all…there was the time we walked in on a couple having sex. That's right….knock knock, HOUSEKEEPING! Enter room, see people doing the nasty, exit room!
There was the crazy lady from New Zealand. She was in her mid-50s and she'd been living at the hostel for over a month. On my very first day on the job, when i came in to clean she was energetic and bubbly and so smily and friendly that she actually made me feel a tad bit uncomfortable. As I changed the sheets on one of the beds, I noticed her in the corner undressing her robe and putting on her bra and underwear. I quickly looked away as it was too early in the morning to see fat rolls and saggy boobs. She insisted on helping me spread the sheets, which was kind, but then she randomly asked to touch my hair (casualty of being a black girl) and shit just got weird again. To top things off, as i scrubbed the mold in her shower she informed me that there was a new moon this solstice and asked if i would burn candles and incense. Smile and nod. Smile and nod.
Then there was crazy Desmond in room 117. He'd been living at the hostel for ages and had seemed to have lost so many screws in his head that management didn't even place anyone else in his room anymore. Yup, lucky Desmond had a 6 bed room all to himself. Why? Well when I first met him he was rambling on and on about only God knows what. I assumed he was just hungover or still drunk from the night before. But no, turns out that was Desmond in his "NORMAL" state. He's a bit off his rocker and his "evil laugh," as some described it, tended to scare off other roommates. He'd previously discussed how his name spelled backwards is (apparently) Demon (followed by his evil laugh) and he once "pulled a knife"…well to be fair, he showed off his collector's knife…to a fellow roommate, but if it was followed by that infamous evil laugh, I'm sure he freaked the guy out.
Then there's the ONLY time I ever felt degraded working as a housekeeper...I was cleaning the room of this stern, skinny Euro waif who sat on the couch eating her breakfast and watched us as we changed the garbage and swept AROUND her. She only spoke to give a quick thanks when we left the room and then later she apparently went down to reception to complain about this and that.
But then there was the sweet guy from Canada who was so genuinely nice and struck up a conversation every time we came in to clean. You can just tell he's THAT guy who chats up his taxi driver or personally knows the guys who cleans his car at the car wash. He makes you realize how important "thank you's" are because I would appreciate and cherish his thank you's so much even when they just came after changing his garbage or giving him a fresh roll of toilet paper.
Moving along…There was the time I walked into a room and it reeked like someone freshly took a dump and the only guy in the room was this hot Swedish guy staring guiltily back at me.
There was the getting hit on by the hungover/still drunk random British traveler while I was changing a bed in his room:
Or the guy that came out of the bathroom in his towel and asked: "Does housekeeping include rubbing suncream on my back? haha"
There was also the time I walked in the room to find a half-naked pornstar lookalike sprawled across a mattress laid out in living room.
And the stories go on and on... Anyways, after housekeeping in the mornings, I would then quickly change into my swimsuit and spend my afternoons down by The Lagoon.
Cairns doesn't have a beach but instead has a big manmade pool called "The Lagoon." While there, my friend, her co-workers (who actually became great friends of mine), and I would lay out and people watch, spot hot guys, talk shit, eat McDonalds, not read our books, and just simply enjoy the current state of our lives where we didn't have a single care in the world!
Cairns also became the home of reunions! Remember the British couple we met while traveling the East Coast? Met up with them in Cairns and they stayed at my hostel! Also, two good guys friends from Jacks Place began their East Coast trip in Cairns, so it was good to catch up with them as well.
And then there were Cairns nights. Did I mention Cairns is a big party town?? Let's just say, many good nights were had drinking free champagne at ladies night every Tuesday at PJ O'Brien's, dancing on the tables at The Woolshed, and trying to keep it classy at good ol' Gilligans. Then we'd ALWAYS top off the night at McDonalds or Pie Face.
I ended up booking a ticket back to Sydney after one month. My two best friends were leaving to go back to England and I wanted to be back in Sydney to wish them off. Plus a month of housekeeping and partying in Cairns was enough for me! I would say this was definitely my most memorable month of my entire Aussie adventure.
July 10, 2012. After six-weeks on the road, I returned to Sydney and received a much needed visit from my mom, aunt, and uncle in Sydney. I spent 10 days with them touring them around the city and basking in the luxury of living in a hotel! I also started to plan my next move...do I stay in Sydney while it's wintertime (summer in USA is winter in AUS) meaning a bit chilly and thus miserable or do I move somewhere else? A really good friend of mine and former Jack's Place housemate was up in Cairns and strongly encouraged I come back. I thought, what the heck! And booked a one-way ticket to Cairns!
So how exactly do I put this? I was kinda sorta working as a housekeeper at a hostel in Cairns! That's right….."knock, knock, HOUSEKEEPING!" (or CAT FISHING as one of my coworkers started to say when we realized it didn't matter what we said). Yup, that was me!
Cairns is a huge backpacker city...it is filled with dozens of hostels, many of which have this thing called "work for accommodation." For the common broke backpacker, this
arrangement is a dream come true. You put in time doing housekeeping or promotional work for a hostel and the hostel provides you with a free bed in exchange. Before I arrived in Cairns, I had not a clue what I was gonna do or how long I was gonna stay. However, my friend told me she got a "work for accommodation" job at a hostel so I decided to try my luck at the same thing. On day 2 of Cairns, I sat on the Esplanade and called a couple of hostels. I heard a lot of "no, sorry" until one nice receptionist put me on hold for a minute and then came back on the line to tell me: "See you tomorrow at 10am sharp. You can move in and get to work!"From 10am to 1:30pm, 5 days a week, I, along with a team of about 8 or 9 other travelers, (mostly Italians at my hostel) knocked on the doors of every room in our 60 room hostel to change beds, clean garbages, scrub toilets, the usual. The work was easy peasy with a few perks…i found $20 once while changing a bed! And in a room that's considered a "checkout," anything in the fridge or bathroom that we find, we get to keep…that means free shampoos and conditioners, beer, and random jars of unopened pasta sauce. I'd happily do housekeeping for the rest of my life if it meant free rent! But let me tell you, the job comes with a price... I have stories for days!
Let's see…
There's nothing like wiping down a kitchen counter covered with nail clippings, stepping over a dead cockroach getting devoured by ants in the bathroom, or walking into a bedroom where shreds of paper and cheese balls are scattered all over the floor leading me to wonder, what the hell went down last night?!
The greatest story of all…there was the time we walked in on a couple having sex. That's right….knock knock, HOUSEKEEPING! Enter room, see people doing the nasty, exit room!
There was the crazy lady from New Zealand. She was in her mid-50s and she'd been living at the hostel for over a month. On my very first day on the job, when i came in to clean she was energetic and bubbly and so smily and friendly that she actually made me feel a tad bit uncomfortable. As I changed the sheets on one of the beds, I noticed her in the corner undressing her robe and putting on her bra and underwear. I quickly looked away as it was too early in the morning to see fat rolls and saggy boobs. She insisted on helping me spread the sheets, which was kind, but then she randomly asked to touch my hair (casualty of being a black girl) and shit just got weird again. To top things off, as i scrubbed the mold in her shower she informed me that there was a new moon this solstice and asked if i would burn candles and incense. Smile and nod. Smile and nod.
Then there was crazy Desmond in room 117. He'd been living at the hostel for ages and had seemed to have lost so many screws in his head that management didn't even place anyone else in his room anymore. Yup, lucky Desmond had a 6 bed room all to himself. Why? Well when I first met him he was rambling on and on about only God knows what. I assumed he was just hungover or still drunk from the night before. But no, turns out that was Desmond in his "NORMAL" state. He's a bit off his rocker and his "evil laugh," as some described it, tended to scare off other roommates. He'd previously discussed how his name spelled backwards is (apparently) Demon (followed by his evil laugh) and he once "pulled a knife"…well to be fair, he showed off his collector's knife…to a fellow roommate, but if it was followed by that infamous evil laugh, I'm sure he freaked the guy out.
Then there's the ONLY time I ever felt degraded working as a housekeeper...I was cleaning the room of this stern, skinny Euro waif who sat on the couch eating her breakfast and watched us as we changed the garbage and swept AROUND her. She only spoke to give a quick thanks when we left the room and then later she apparently went down to reception to complain about this and that.But then there was the sweet guy from Canada who was so genuinely nice and struck up a conversation every time we came in to clean. You can just tell he's THAT guy who chats up his taxi driver or personally knows the guys who cleans his car at the car wash. He makes you realize how important "thank you's" are because I would appreciate and cherish his thank you's so much even when they just came after changing his garbage or giving him a fresh roll of toilet paper.
Moving along…There was the time I walked into a room and it reeked like someone freshly took a dump and the only guy in the room was this hot Swedish guy staring guiltily back at me.
There was the getting hit on by the hungover/still drunk random British traveler while I was changing a bed in his room:
Drunk dude: "How long have you been here in the hostel? I haven't seen you around much..."
Me: "Oh, I just started housekeeping on Wednesday."
Drunk dude: "Well, you're definitely the prettiest housekeeper I've ever seen *wink*"
Me: "Haha thanks, umm can you pass me that pillow?"
Or the guy that came out of the bathroom in his towel and asked: "Does housekeeping include rubbing suncream on my back? haha"
There was also the time I walked in the room to find a half-naked pornstar lookalike sprawled across a mattress laid out in living room.
Me: "Are you or anyone checking out today?"
Girl: "Umm, I don't live here…
And the stories go on and on... Anyways, after housekeeping in the mornings, I would then quickly change into my swimsuit and spend my afternoons down by The Lagoon.
Cairns doesn't have a beach but instead has a big manmade pool called "The Lagoon." While there, my friend, her co-workers (who actually became great friends of mine), and I would lay out and people watch, spot hot guys, talk shit, eat McDonalds, not read our books, and just simply enjoy the current state of our lives where we didn't have a single care in the world! Cairns also became the home of reunions! Remember the British couple we met while traveling the East Coast? Met up with them in Cairns and they stayed at my hostel! Also, two good guys friends from Jacks Place began their East Coast trip in Cairns, so it was good to catch up with them as well.
And then there were Cairns nights. Did I mention Cairns is a big party town?? Let's just say, many good nights were had drinking free champagne at ladies night every Tuesday at PJ O'Brien's, dancing on the tables at The Woolshed, and trying to keep it classy at good ol' Gilligans. Then we'd ALWAYS top off the night at McDonalds or Pie Face.
I ended up booking a ticket back to Sydney after one month. My two best friends were leaving to go back to England and I wanted to be back in Sydney to wish them off. Plus a month of housekeeping and partying in Cairns was enough for me! I would say this was definitely my most memorable month of my entire Aussie adventure.
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