read the newspapers....

One of the best ways to find out what is happening in the area that you're staying in is to read the local newspaper. Of course its a bit difficult if you don't speak the language, but here in Oz thats not a problem.

As we are travellers and are on a budget it can be costly to buy a newspaper regularly, but there are alternatives. Read them online, or pick the free newspapers. Here in Brisbane 'MX' is distributed at stands throughout the city and train and bus stations every week day. It provides you with a brief overview of National and International news and lets you know what is going on in your local area.

It was through reading 'MX' that we discovered that the 'Paniyiri' Greek Festival was taking place in Musgrave Park a few weeks ago.

It was a brilliant day out and great to experience Greek culture here in Brisbane.

Filled with Food stalls selling traditional Greek cuisine, numerous bands and singers and plenty of dancing! We also saw a world record attempt at the worlds largest Zorba, we were going to join in but got distracted by the outstanding Honey puffs!!

www.paniyiri.com

I have been reading Bill Bryson's book 'Down Under', on my Grandmother's recommendation whilst travelling in Oz. Not only is it extremely funny but also a very helpful travel guide. In the book Bryson recommends reading the local paper to find out local news, but also because the politics etc is often filled with names that you don't know, discussing policies and other things that have absolutely no affect on you... its quite a refreshing experience! A lighthearted take on the news.

Finally I wanted to mention 'The Good Guide'. Based in Brisbane its a very cool little book that reveals the local secrets, underground and upcoming places. From restaurants, vintage shops, art, bars, book stores, clubs, gigs, the list goes on.

To quote the ' Good Guide' directly,
"The Good Guide is all about community and localisation. We want to showcase the underground happenings of our flourishing nests… hidden gems to discover and cool cultural events. There’s so much good stuff going on, shops opening, music being made, things being created, fashion being designed… all from our native nests that see the sun shining (well, most of the time!)." 

Its published Bi-annually and you can also check them out online @ http://thegoodguide.com.au 


You can even subscribe and become a V.I.Pigeon!!


Definitely have a look - Highly recommended!


All rights reserved Copyright © Laura Powell

Temp jobs & long stay accommodation

So we're in Brisbane, its a very nice city and we could do with earning some money so we decided to try and find some work here. We got some CV's/resumes, printed and started handing them out to anywhere that had vacancies and applying for jobs online. After around a week of no responses it was beginning to feel like tedious job hunting back in the UK, but then we had a realisation! We had been applying for ordinary full/part time job vacancies when we are only here on a Working Visa for 1 year - we should apply for temporary jobs. The following week Jamie had an interview for a temp agency and secured a 9 week contract. I also got work with a temp agency for a few weeks.

Before we arrived in Australia the only work that anyone ever mentioned to us was farm work. Having heard a few bad stories and wanting to live in the city we decided that at the moment farm work is not for us.

There are other options!

Our tips for finding work are :

• Don't be picky, remember its not going to be your career. 
• Some hostels will have job boards etc and will be able to help you find work, so use them! 
• Check online jobsites.
• Be persistent.
• Don't give up! 

So as we had work here we now needed to find cheaper long term accommodation than the place that we are currently staying in. Most letting agencies require at least a 3month tenancy agreement, usually 6 months so that was not an option for us.

We found our new place on Gumtree. Its another shared house. In a good location, no bond to pay, bills included and reasonable rent.

If you are looking for a place online beware that there are number of scams out there. Asking you to send large security deposits overseas etc.
To be honest they aren't difficult to spot.
So the moral to the story is, if the accommodation and price looks too good to be true - then it isn't real! There are a lot of genuine ads online, but I would recommend a viewing before making any sort of agreement and certainly before handing over any cash.

All rights reserved Copyright © Laura Powell

Brisbane Library

I have discovered and joined Brisbane Library. As they have free wifi and a pretty amazing view out over the river I am very content sitting here watching the world go by, reading a few books, learning some more about Australia and updating the blog.

This is my view today.

Not the best of photographs but you can see my point! 

As I mentioned the library has free wifi and also has computers that you use the internet from, much better than spending a fortune in internet cafes!  

As a member you can also take out books and dvds, which is sweet. 

I am interested in learning more about the history of the indigenous and their cultures and had actually looked around a few second hand bookstores. One second hand bookstore on Ann St in the city had lots of signed first editions. Unfortunately I think Im already over my luggage allowance, so didnt buy anything. I shall borrow them from the library instead!  

I found an interesting postcard today. Again its not the best photo but you get the idea of just how enormous Australia is in comparison to the size of Europe and particularly the UK. 

So far we have travelled from Cairns to Brisbane which is 1748 km which is about 1086 miles and thats just over half way along the East coast... 

All rights reserved Copyright © Laura Powell