half way house

Well it's nearly three months since I left blighty to help civilise the convicts - and that means I'm half way through my trip.

It feels like I've been away for much, much longer. I suppose that is to be expected. It has been without doubt the most eventful time of my entire life, given that I have settled in a different country, found work, lived in two homes and developed a new set of friends.

At times it has been daunting, perhaps even difficult, but overall it has been an adventure that I know I will never forget.

I have been giving a lot of thought to the possibility of coming back here later in the year after I return to London in July. Not going back home at all is impractical for boring reasons (work related) and because I have scheduled stop overs in San Francisco and New York. There is no way I'm missing out on those trips.

Any decision about whether or not I end up coming back to Australia I'm putting on hold for now. I'm frequently asked about my intentions, particularly by a lesbian friend of mine – who wants us to get married. Not only does it give me permanent residency rights, we also get tax breaks and she gets unlimited studying rights in the UK. It seems a bit odd to me that one of the consequences of getting married is the right to live on the other side of the world to your partner, but this is a country where some people eat tortoises (no, I'm not joking) and so I suppose nothing should really come as much of a surprise.

Anyway, all of this is off my radar for now. Reaching the half way point of my trip has really brought home to me how much has happened so quickly, and therefore how much more there is to experience. My attitude could have changed completely to everything in a few months.

I can't see me ever disliking life out here, though. The Aussies just have such a relaxed attitude towards everything. Back home, we have an image of them being loud, abrasive and occasionally obnoxious. The sight of so many of them puking and bawling their way through West London seems to confirm this.

I think this must be behaviour typical of young travellers, because it is not my experience of Australians. Everyone always asks how you are on the phone, nobody wants any 'dramas' and all the staff in bars, restaurants and shops always seem to have a smile on their face.

An experience I had at work today summed this up very nicely. I needed to get somebody from a rural part of New South Wales to clear a press release I had written, so I rang his home and asked to speak to him.

"Sorry mate, he's gone fishing," came the reply.

"Oh, right. Any idea when he'll be back? I've got a press release I need to him to clear," I said.

"You'll be lucky, mate. He's taken off for about three days with a load of beer, and he's switched his phone off. And you know what? I say good on him!"

I mumbled something, put the phone down, thought about it all for a while and then came to the same conclusion. Good on him.