Coming to America

The lead up to me leaving Australia was weird.

First of all, I landed in Australia (from travels in Europe) with aplomb - a super great 'welcome home' bbq occurred the day after my return, and then my good friends Ozland and Carly got married the day after.

I immediately went searching for work, but in the back of my mind, I thought i would probably be flying to the USA in January. Being the honest Joe that i am, speaking this probably worked to my detriment with my usual summer employer (they would want me to be there for the whole summer). I didn't work for them at all during my time back. I had a trial day at the ABC, editing a story for the show 'Behind the News'. That went really well, and when i was honest in saying i was potentially leaving, it went down very positively with my contact there - Phil was very encouraging of me travelling and having an adventure.

Alas, no income.

It didn't really matter - instead of earning money, I worked on my 'Bluebottle Kiss' documentary that had been laying dormant for over a year. For two weeks i put in strong full time hours...and then took a holiday to Alice Springs with my mate, Cameron. Again, unsure that i was leaving but wanting to make the most of my time - i thought hanging with Cam would be a good decision. And it was. Great times exploring the middle of Australia - great times.

Christmas came and time was running out, and still no confirmation i was going to the USA - no visa, no plane ticket. In a weird frame of mind then, unsure and uncertain about the future, I was momentarily distracted by my good friend Leila (an Austin, TX native) visiting me. Had a lot of fun with Leila - visting McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley (with awesome and rambunctious friends to boot), beaches, pubs...but inside i was still growing a little bit more and more unsure each day: the USA is not even confirmed, the Bluebottle Kiss documentary is super close to finished (but not finished), my savings are fast being drained and i have no income...what am i going to do if i stay in Australia?

Things with the USA worked out less than a week before i left, and there were adjustments right up to the last minute. On Wednesday morning, I found out that my flight had been changed from Friday, to Thursday morning. I frantically changed farewell party plans (with a good number of friends being able to legendary change their plans for me and say goodbye at the last minute) and packed my bags, with one last night of NBA Wednesday at Cam's going down a treat.

It wasn't at all easy making the decision to come to the USA. On the one hand, I was super excited to have this adventure, volunteering with this company I believe in and enjoy being a part of. On the other hand, my time in Adelaide was brilliant. I was having a good time up until the moment i left, so in thinking heavy thoughts of the future during my last week in Adelaide, I had to weigh up that I was leaving:

such great, great friends
probable freelance broadcast tv work (love it)
probable good income with video/broadcast freelancing and relief teaching
a potentially stable life where one can potentially have a potentially stable girlfriend
summer time and all it's benefits (beaches, Fringe Festival, Big Day Out, Womad etc.)
a great live music scene
a chance to play on a regular basketball team
fun writing for dB magazine again
probably more stuff too

For me, that's a lot of good things to give up. So it wasn't an easy decision to come to the USA at all.

But, I'm here in Boston, Massachusetts at the moment, on the road, volunteering in my 'traveling salesman' type role, promoting Travel for Teens. And...I like it. I think I made the right decision. I'll tell you about the USA in my next blog.

I do miss all that Adelaide had on offer....I guess at the end of the day, I'm grateful for my 2 months from December 2009 - mid January 2010 there. It was very special. This is one of those occasions where I'm happy that I left on a high.

And the adventure continues...