Finally got to meet my
hostel mates. There was a guy from Lapland and a couple of Korean
girls. Once I said I studied in Texas, the girls got really excited.
Apparently, they want to travel to Texas to meet some cowboys. And
yes, of course I encouraged it.
I love how every bus
station in every city on the face of the planet has to be located in
a sketchy area (no, parents, not that sketchy. This is Australia, not Detroit). It took a while to trek from the hostel to the
bus stop, but luckily I got there. Pro tip: if you ever need to get
to/from the East Perth station, just suck it up and get a cab. Not
worth the confusing map directions and lack of confidence that occurs
when you notice your neighborhood is a bit different.
The bus ride was long
and boring. The coach reminded me of the coaches we used to take to
go to Chicago for our middle school orchestra competitions, except I
got a whole row to myself, there wasn't always a movie playing, and
there was a LOT less drama ;) (Not that we could help it, of course.
That's just how middle school goes.) Luckily for me, it was raining
the entire ride down so I slept through most of it.
Northcliffe is cute
but so so so small. I got picked up by my hostess and taken to their
property. They live on 12 acres- most of it is bush, but the gardens
are considerable. While I'm here, I'll be staying in a boxcar. Just
like the Boxcar Children, except my life will just be turned into
boring blog posts rather than a boring book series. It's really not
nearly as bad as it sounds, though; in fact, I like it. It's got a
wooden stove for heat and a lofted bed and stained glass and a stove
for tea, and tons of reading material. The one thing I'll have to
get used to is the bathroom being outside. I just don't like the dark.
When I first read
about the shed on HelpX I though, “really?” But it makes sense
now: my hosts live in a shed, too. They're in the process of building
their own house. It's really cool: they're using a combination of
reclaimed and environmentally-friendly materials to make their home.
My hosts are super into sustainable practices: their farm sounds like
it's straight out of The Omnivore's Dilemma.
They have chickens for fertilizer and have surrounded their farm by
bush. And they have these crazy fruits I've never heard of before. I
tried a fruit from South America (I can't remember the name of it for the life of me) today- it tasted like a
creamy, coconut-ty pear. I'm excited to see what other sorts of
things I come across while I'm here.
So
far, my hosts seem like wonderful people, and the area is quiet and
calm. I think it's the perfect place for me right now. I'm surrounded
by green things, I don't have to worry about city drivers cursing at
me for no reason while I'm on my bike, and I can't check Facebook
constantly on my phone. I like getting away from it all every once in
a while, and spending my nights reading and blogging in front of a
fire while Norah Jones is playing sounds like a good time to me.
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