Yep, I'm still in Tasmania! (How many blogs have I started off with
this admission?) I keep finding more community and extending my stay
to get to know people better, to have more experiences with them, find
more connections or deepen the ones I have.
I'm staying at Celia's house with Jacob (a PDC participant) and Henry,
Celia's oldest son, while Celia and Marissa (Jacob's travel buddy) are
rowing on a trip called Tawe Nunnaguh, an historic voyage in oar and
sail-powered whale boats from Recherche bay to Hobart. Whew! All of
the people above are some of the ones I'm really enjoying hanging out
with. Marissa and Jacob are fellow Americans, from the midwest,
hitching and working their way around Australia. I feel like a posh
traveler with my massive duffel and nights in hostels after I hear
their stories of camping in parks and working for crazy people in
Dover. I feel much more comfortable in trusting in the universe after
hearing their stories, though. They (and a couple course instructors)
helped me sort out my stuff and pile it into get-rid-of, store in
Melbourne and take-with piles. I also found the perfect bacpack at an
op shop in Huonville for $30 and now it's a matter of deciding how
little to take with me. I think it could all fit, I just don't need
most if it. Like this computer :)
The last three weeks have been bliss, full chaos. Up to 26 adults and
children circulating through the house and outdoor kitchen, people
crowding around the bench at morning tea, tying down bamboo blinds and
shutting doors against the wind and rain, waiting for real summer to
hit and then laying around like fainting ladies when it does (like
yesterday!). I've postponed my ticket twice, I've been having so much
fun having a home base and being able to do whatever I want. This is
how I'd like to live all the time, and I keep meeting people here who
do that – Celia's a full-time mom, and many people work just two or
three days a week here. I even met a guy (ex-pat American, in fact)
who hasn't worked in the last two years – he's a freegan in a very
opportunistic sense of the word, and he trades or barters his
mechanical skills for the rest of what he needs. It takes a special
kind of person to manage that, admittedly, and I imagine that he uses
cash for some things. I'm learning all different ways of living here,
meeting so many cool, generous people, and finding that the more I
allow things to happen without worrying about how or why, it flows
better than I could ever plan it.
So I really think I am heading to Queensland this time – I haven't
booked my ticket yet, but I keep feeling the call of Queensland, and
it's not going away until I go and see for myself. I've heard from
everyone here that Tasmania is the coolest part of Australia, from a
woman that's traveled the world for five years, to all the Peter's (at
least five) living here who aren't from here, to fellow travelers who,
like me, don't want to leave. I keep reminding myself I can always
return, like when my mom, sister and I were in Italy and we returned
to Venice because it was so cool. It's only me setting limits to what
I want to do anyhow.
Since I'm storing my computer for the rest of my trip, I doubt I'll be
blogging much, if at all. I'm not talking about the same things
anyway, and it's much more about my interactions with people and how I
feel than what I'm seeing or doing. I could tell you a chicken just
got attacked by a hawk and I helped put tea tree oil on its wing, and
that sounds exciting, it's something that's happened, but I'm just not
interested in writing about it. I'm realizing how important people are
to my social sphere, and I'm giving up my less social activities to
spend more time with people. Goodbye, knitting. Goodbye, knowledgeous
books. Goodbye, homemade drop spindle. Goodbye, computer. Goodbye,
Australia guidebook.
Hello, neighbor!
