So after writing to about 37* job postings in around Perth and Margaret River and to WWOOF hosts in Western Australia, with no luck, no responses, not even a "sorry this position has been filled" reaction I was starting to lose hope. Ok, well, I did get one call from a restaurant in Perth's CBD called the Greenhouse. It's completely made out of recycled material - walls and furniture and all, has their own roof top garden growing veggies and herbs, is insulated using stacks of hay, and all around eco-friendly and sustainable. I had read about the young chef, Matt Stone before who has an impressive background and the menu looked interesting serving line-caught fish, local produce, and in-house stone ground wheat to make all their bread and pizza bases in their wood roasted pizza stove. All that kinda stuff I like. So I went in on a Monday for a trial run interview. We went over the menu, went through the computer system, and the ins-and-outs of the restuarant. After about two hours, the restaurant was completely quiet - the slowest they had seen it for a Monday in like 2 years - so they said don't waste your time, we cant see your waitressing skills, come back again on Friday.
The week went by and by Friday I had already decided that regardless of how much I liked the concept of the restaurant, I really didn't want to be a waitress. I nearly called them to say I wasn't going to come in and waste their time, but I had nothing else going for me so if I got the job and had some cash, at least it was something. So I went in, with a good attitude, even more confidently as I didn't care if I got the job or not. Funnily, I actually really enjoyed it. I liked the business of the restaurant's atmosphere, I liked the interactions with the people - both the staff and the customers, I liked being a part of something, I liked doing something right - I even think I rocked it for those couple hours. Sure I didn't know where all the buttons on the computer were, didn't know that Lemonade meant Sprite and Fresh Lemonade was a whole 'nother button, and of course I really just wanted to loiter around the food and expedite! As lunch service slowed down, the front of the house girl came over and told me that I did a great job, full of compliments, but that since I was in last on Monday the position had been filled, but they are really impressed with my CV and would love to keep it on file. WHAT. I didn't even want to come in and didn't want to waste their time and then I just worked my butt off when they already knew the position was filled? What a waste of my time. So yeah, that was annoying.
I gave up looking for jobs in Perth, deciding to focus more on the regional work that I needed to do for three months to apply for my second year visa. I applied to a bunch of different wineries in Margaret River - actual job postings - thinking it would help just to be down there and get into the wine industry. No responses. Then I started applying to WWOOF hosts. I paid for the membership afterall. I wrote passionate, personal, heartfelt letters to hosts explaining my background and why I wanted to work on their farm. No response. As a side note, I thought I should just become a professional cover letter writer - even though no one was responding, it was all I was doing. I was becoming desperate and felt as though I was buried in a hole and couldn't see the way out. What was I doing spending every morning sitting inside on the computer writing to the dark hole of cyberspace when I was in Australia? There were places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do that didn't involved sitting inside by myself, but I felt guilty. I didn't feel as though I deserved to be out and about, exploring the country when I didn't have a job, I didn't have a plan, and was overextending my welcome. I needed to get out: I checked out hostel prices, updated my CouchSurfing profile, and wrote to some people in Fremantle, who even if their couch was occupied, maybe they wanted to be my friend?!
The next day, do it all again. Woke up and wrote to 4 more WWOOFer's. Sincere, interested letters. I'm definitely qualified. I'm definitely available and willing. I'm definitely desperate. I actually got my first reply, but the position was already taken. Bah. Didn't want it anyways. Then I got a real response, someone who commented on how great my letter was and they had a spot for me. However, they were not eligible to sign the form for my 2nd year visa. At least it would be experience and a step forward, I thought. I was giddy. Then I got a second response saying they would check with the wine producers and get back to me. I wrote back to her to thank her and then shortly after she responded saying they would love to have me and I could work there for as long as I wanted!
lajdl;fjasdajfdoaidsfapidjaodfiajdaijdsadoifja <- that's how you spell squeal.
So I accepted and she wrote back that her husband and brother were going to be at an event in Perth for their Riesling release on Thursday - that's tomorrow - and that I could get a ride with them on Friday - that's in two days. HolyShit.
It's called Frankland Estate and it is located in the Frankland River Region in the south of Western Australia. I think it's about 4 hours from Perth, and 40 km from the Southern Ocean's coast. The vineyard is located on Isolation Ridge and the amount of times the website says the word "isolation" is starting to freak me out. They grow their grapes organically, focusing on the work in nature, not in the winery. The area is prime for making wine as viticulturalist Dr Harold Olom discovered that the climate was similiar to that of Bordeaux. It's not too far from Margaret River and there are a couple other wineries in the area, close to Denmark and Albany.
I didn't really realize, or expect, that this was all happening so soon, but I am really excited. Wine to me is incredibly complex despite everything I've learned about it, and I'm really looking forward to being involved in the production process to understand better the way the winemaker knows when the grapes are ready depending on the season they've had, how to blend the grape varieties, how to know how long they need to be aged for....farm to fork, vine to bottle.
I'm anticipating the work load - it's going to be from 7:30am-12:30pm then lunch in the winery and if I want to work more than that in the afternoon, they will pay me. (!)
I wonder what the 26 year old German guy will be like who I will be sharing accommodations with and working with.
I'm a little uneasy about how isolated the estate is and what that really means - I like being around people and like meeting new people.
I have no idea what to bring, even though I only have a backpack with summer clothes. 4 hours further away from the equater means a definite cooler climate.
I really don't want to freak out about it, but what if there's no internet access??
I'm scared to feel completely lost and alone.
(re-read the last two lines above: I write a lot when I have no one else to talk to).
I'm eager to see how much I will actually learn - if being out in the vineyard will actually fulfill my expectations. What do I expect? I don't know. That's why I'm here right? To figure it out.
But I am grateful for the opportunity.
I thought leaving here would be the hardest thing I would have to do, and maybe it will be, leaving the comfort, the friendliness, the hospitality, the safety, the easiness, the generosity, the conviviality, the laughs...but that was before I had a plan.
I am ready to move on for what's next, as I always am - maybe not two days ready - but READY RYAN.
*37 is my exaggeration number, but it was a lot.
The week went by and by Friday I had already decided that regardless of how much I liked the concept of the restaurant, I really didn't want to be a waitress. I nearly called them to say I wasn't going to come in and waste their time, but I had nothing else going for me so if I got the job and had some cash, at least it was something. So I went in, with a good attitude, even more confidently as I didn't care if I got the job or not. Funnily, I actually really enjoyed it. I liked the business of the restaurant's atmosphere, I liked the interactions with the people - both the staff and the customers, I liked being a part of something, I liked doing something right - I even think I rocked it for those couple hours. Sure I didn't know where all the buttons on the computer were, didn't know that Lemonade meant Sprite and Fresh Lemonade was a whole 'nother button, and of course I really just wanted to loiter around the food and expedite! As lunch service slowed down, the front of the house girl came over and told me that I did a great job, full of compliments, but that since I was in last on Monday the position had been filled, but they are really impressed with my CV and would love to keep it on file. WHAT. I didn't even want to come in and didn't want to waste their time and then I just worked my butt off when they already knew the position was filled? What a waste of my time. So yeah, that was annoying.
I gave up looking for jobs in Perth, deciding to focus more on the regional work that I needed to do for three months to apply for my second year visa. I applied to a bunch of different wineries in Margaret River - actual job postings - thinking it would help just to be down there and get into the wine industry. No responses. Then I started applying to WWOOF hosts. I paid for the membership afterall. I wrote passionate, personal, heartfelt letters to hosts explaining my background and why I wanted to work on their farm. No response. As a side note, I thought I should just become a professional cover letter writer - even though no one was responding, it was all I was doing. I was becoming desperate and felt as though I was buried in a hole and couldn't see the way out. What was I doing spending every morning sitting inside on the computer writing to the dark hole of cyberspace when I was in Australia? There were places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do that didn't involved sitting inside by myself, but I felt guilty. I didn't feel as though I deserved to be out and about, exploring the country when I didn't have a job, I didn't have a plan, and was overextending my welcome. I needed to get out: I checked out hostel prices, updated my CouchSurfing profile, and wrote to some people in Fremantle, who even if their couch was occupied, maybe they wanted to be my friend?!
The next day, do it all again. Woke up and wrote to 4 more WWOOFer's. Sincere, interested letters. I'm definitely qualified. I'm definitely available and willing. I'm definitely desperate. I actually got my first reply, but the position was already taken. Bah. Didn't want it anyways. Then I got a real response, someone who commented on how great my letter was and they had a spot for me. However, they were not eligible to sign the form for my 2nd year visa. At least it would be experience and a step forward, I thought. I was giddy. Then I got a second response saying they would check with the wine producers and get back to me. I wrote back to her to thank her and then shortly after she responded saying they would love to have me and I could work there for as long as I wanted!
lajdl;fjasdajfdoaidsfapidjaodfiajdaijdsadoifja <- that's how you spell squeal.
So I accepted and she wrote back that her husband and brother were going to be at an event in Perth for their Riesling release on Thursday - that's tomorrow - and that I could get a ride with them on Friday - that's in two days. HolyShit.
It's called Frankland Estate and it is located in the Frankland River Region in the south of Western Australia. I think it's about 4 hours from Perth, and 40 km from the Southern Ocean's coast. The vineyard is located on Isolation Ridge and the amount of times the website says the word "isolation" is starting to freak me out. They grow their grapes organically, focusing on the work in nature, not in the winery. The area is prime for making wine as viticulturalist Dr Harold Olom discovered that the climate was similiar to that of Bordeaux. It's not too far from Margaret River and there are a couple other wineries in the area, close to Denmark and Albany.
I didn't really realize, or expect, that this was all happening so soon, but I am really excited. Wine to me is incredibly complex despite everything I've learned about it, and I'm really looking forward to being involved in the production process to understand better the way the winemaker knows when the grapes are ready depending on the season they've had, how to blend the grape varieties, how to know how long they need to be aged for....farm to fork, vine to bottle.
I'm anticipating the work load - it's going to be from 7:30am-12:30pm then lunch in the winery and if I want to work more than that in the afternoon, they will pay me. (!)
I wonder what the 26 year old German guy will be like who I will be sharing accommodations with and working with.
I'm a little uneasy about how isolated the estate is and what that really means - I like being around people and like meeting new people.
I have no idea what to bring, even though I only have a backpack with summer clothes. 4 hours further away from the equater means a definite cooler climate.
I really don't want to freak out about it, but what if there's no internet access??
I'm scared to feel completely lost and alone.
(re-read the last two lines above: I write a lot when I have no one else to talk to).
I'm eager to see how much I will actually learn - if being out in the vineyard will actually fulfill my expectations. What do I expect? I don't know. That's why I'm here right? To figure it out.
But I am grateful for the opportunity.
I thought leaving here would be the hardest thing I would have to do, and maybe it will be, leaving the comfort, the friendliness, the hospitality, the safety, the easiness, the generosity, the conviviality, the laughs...but that was before I had a plan.
I am ready to move on for what's next, as I always am - maybe not two days ready - but READY RYAN.
*37 is my exaggeration number, but it was a lot.
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