1st month at Rosewood station

'we don't travel to escape life but for life not to escape us'

This is how I imagined Australia! Hot, dry, wide, and no cell phone reception for miles, no proper roads, and the nearest neighbor lives so far away that you can't even see their house.

Welcome to the Outback.

Emma and I now work for Rosewood, a pretty large cattle farm. Here, we have to wake up at 5:30 every morning, work until 6:00 pm, and only have every other weekend off. My expectation of losing weight in Australia was unfortunately destroyed by the so-called "smoko." Every day at 9:30 am, we have cake and tea, and after dinner, we have dessert. Those who know me know that I can't say no to that...

We're doing pretty much exactly what I imagined farm work in Australia to be.

Mustering cattle on horseback, sorting cattle, branding them, castrating them, and so on.

When there are no cattle to muster, we check fences and take care of everything else that needs to be done. I've already spotted a few spiders here and there...

Since the farm is self-sufficient when it comes to meat, we occasionally have to kill a bull, just like in the old days, right in the middle of the bush. The first time, I almost burst into tears and trembled all over. But over time, you strangely get used to it, and now I even find it really interesting. To be honest, it actually just strengthened my desire to become a doctor.

We spent our first weekend here in town at the rodeo. That was pretty cool! Camping under the open starry sky, bull riding, and campdrafting.

But some of the other people who work here have made it

really difficult for us to integrate into the group.

In the end, my expectation of a farm life like on McLeod's Daughters was also destroyed by that...

The work here is not the problem, it's rather a few people who make the work a problem... because no one works here without massive pressure.

I think I'm just too sensitive for that. Good preparation for life or not, I was close to quitting once, but I will stay here until mid-October.

Also, unfortunately, I still have problems with my English. Especially here, it's super difficult to understand people... but it's getting better.

Aside from all the frustrations, I couldn't do this kind of work for my whole life.

But I'm still totally glad to be able to make all these experiences. Because here in Australia, so many things are different. We drive on roads that would have been declared impassable in Germany. But it works!

What doesn't fit, is made to fit, and it works!

Every rider here has their own saddle, not like in Germany, where each horse has its own saddle.

I even shoed my own horse, which would have required years of training in Germany (not that I find that weird...)

And the best part is, you don't have to constantly worry about how you look here, because no one cares.

And the scenery here is simply incredibly beautiful. We have beautiful sunrises and sunsets every morning and evening, and at night, we can see the Milky Way and thousands of stars. I never get tired of it seeing.it We even saw wild camels in one day! (I didn't even know there were wild camels in Australia)

I'm curious to see what else will happen, but one thing is for sure, it's getting hotter every day!

You are going to hear from me soon!