Two weeks after arriving in Sydney I was on my way to see an apartment I found on gumtree and, as luck would have it, I got lost.
I saw a woman walking by so I asked her for directions. She said, “oh that’s across the street from my place! Here, I’ll show you the way.” So we walked together and I explained to her that I just moved here and was looking for an apartment. She stopped, looked at me and said “that’s so strange because my roommate just moved out. I was just about to start looking for someone to move in.” She told me to come by hers after I checked out the original place. The original place was a house so old it was falling apart. There was a sink filled with dirty dishes and a sign above it that read “Please clean your SHIT when you’re done” the landlord showed me where my room would be and it was a closet converted into a bedroom. He was asking for 250 AUD per week (these are the going rates for a private room). I smiled, thanked him then shook his hand and left to see the lady I ran into. I came up to her place and her apartment is absolutely beautiful, a five star hotel in comparison. She showed me where my room would be and it had a big bed, huge windows with the sun streaming through the blinds and was charging the same price as the place across the street! She is actually giving it to me for 250 p/w until I find a job then it goes to 290. Needless to say, here I am.
Today, I woke up early and went to a recruitment job interview at Hays. While sitting in the waiting area a cockroach was crawling on my bag and I almost had a panic attack but had to hold myself back as that would be horribly unprofessional. I almost got a job offer but the client wanted someone who could stay longer. The lady in charge of my file said in a cheery voice she will “keep me on the top of the list for the next thing that pops up!” Let’s hope something pops up. After the interview, I walked back to my apartment and continued to spend hours searching for jobs. After it started to feel like my back was caving in, I laid in my bed and went through the good ol’ “I’ve made a horrible mistake” routine when it suddenly occurred to me that I’m in AUSTRALIA and that Bondi Beach is right around the corner. I literally shot out of bed and skipped down the street, saw this sign and smiled so hard. I ended up getting there just before the sun went down and felt so overwhelmed with gratitude and joy I almost cried (but calmed myself down because surfer guys were around and I had to look as cool as possible). It was really incredible though. I am uncomfortable – so much! And I don’t have a job and this city is expensive and I don’t have a group of friends. But it will come. I am grateful as hell to experience this. The struggle and all. I feel alive!
Art Therapy with Kimberly 