01/12/18 - 01/16/19 Agnes Water in YHA Hostel

I spent a total of 6 weeks in Agnes Water working at the YHA Hostel to get free accommodation. It was a really beautiful time and the hostel became a kind of Australian home for me. The other staff members and I experienced a lot together and we all became good friends.

We celebrated Christmas together. It was the strangest Christmas I've ever had! We decided to do Secret Santa and, surprisingly, I actually felt the Christmas spirit! 😜🎄 Then we all pooled our money together and bought food and drinks for our Christmas lunch. In Australia, Christmas isn't celebrated on the 24th, so it was on the 25th. We decided to watch the sunrise on that morning...I still don't know why I agreed to that 😅. So at 4:30 am, we all met outside the hostel and walked to the beach. The sunrise was really beautiful! Back at the hostel, we all called our families and talked for a long time since it was still Christmas Eve in Europe and presents were being handed out 😬, so it was the perfect time. In the late morning, we opened our Secret Santa gifts. 🎁 I got a nice bracelet 👍 Then we prepared a big buffet for lunch. There were different salads, bread, dips, chopped vegetables, and chicken...and everyone made their own plates. After eating, we went to the beach. It was really nice. We spent the whole afternoon there, listening to music, chatting, and relaxing. In the evening, we sat together for a long time and some of us went to a party...but I was already too tired. The day had started early after all.

The next highlight was my birthday. I had the day off and could sleep in! 😊😉👍 Then in the late morning, I went to the beach and found a spot to stay. In the afternoon, I had a long phone call with my mom, so I felt a little bit like at home. After the long call, I went to the café on the beach and treated myself to a coffee and a piece of cake...I thought it would be my only cake of the day, but another one actually came 😬 Gradually, all the birthday wishes from home came in. I went back to the hostel and in the evening, there was a shared dinner with the entire staff. They had prepared everything and I didn't have to do anything else. That was sooo sweet of them! As the highlight of the evening, Greg, the manager, prepared a punch for us. He made a real show out of it, and the punch was really delicious! You couldn't taste the alcohol at all 😬😉 When the punch was finished, there was actually another birthday cake for me! That was also sooo sweet and cute of the others! I was really thrilled about it! In the end, we went to the pub. It was Saturday and there is always a pub night in Agnes Water. 👍🎉

Shortly after that, it was New Year's Eve. The whole day didn't feel like New Year's Eve at all. I didn't have to plan anything either 😬 We were all invited to a bush party and of course, we went. We also took the guests from the hostel with us and had a really good evening! The party was in the middle of nowhere in a forest. Greg drove us there with the shuttle bus from the hostel and then joined us with his own car. The place was great! Everything was a bit makeshift, but everything just fit together. Everyone brought their own alcohol, so I had the cheapest New Year's Eve ever 😜. At midnight, there was a tiny fireworks display and we stayed there until around 3 am when the last shuttle bus left. Despite the little amount of alcohol, I felt really bad the next morning and I was glad that none of us had to work that morning 😅

Greg then decided that it was over and no more alcohol would be consumed since we had been celebrating something constantly for what felt like a week 😝😬

Gradually, all of my "original staff" left. Of course, new people arrived, but for me, it was clear that I didn't want to stay much longer. Because I don't think there would ever be such a beautiful constellation again. So, I booked a bus to Brisbane for 2 am on January 16, 2019.

My last day was really nice! I spent it on the beach with 2 girls and we had coffee one last time. In the evening, they cooked for me again and there was a big farewell dinner. We did that for everyone who left over time. But still, it was nice that they came up with something for me as well 😊👍 My roommate actually stayed up with me until 2 am when my bus arrived.

Saying goodbye was really hard for me! And when I arrived in Brisbane, I actually wanted to go back again. I wasn't used to a big city like that anymore and I had to get used to all the noise and all the people again. But I'm getting used to it again, and I know that I can always come back as long as Greg is the manager at YHA Agnes Water 😊