Jeanine: October 2005

or hot insanity?
or insanly hot?
.... not really, more insane, I guess...

out favoured pool in Katherine

out favoured pool in Katherine, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

BEFORE ALL THAT….

We drove 3 days through the dessert. It was fascinating. Hot. Wide. Sometimes boring. Sometimes I was scared. Sometimes I was a little agoraphobic. Sometimes Silvia told so many stories about New York, that everything seemed to be very surreal. At times I could only drive about 80 km/hour (50 miles/hour), because my car got hot again, the old lady….. Then again I thought, what if she suddenly decides that she doesn’t want to run at all anymore??? She’s 28 years now, she could be that moody… but she’s a good girl!
The smell of kangoroo cadaver, very strong to bearable, depending on when the kangoroo has been run over, most of the time by road trains, was there all the time. Also the voltures circulating around them, or "sitting down for lunch"...
I couldn’t believe that there were actually people decide to live there. On a cattle farm or a roadhouse, with NOTHING around in a circle of 400km. How different we can live our lives, it amazes me again and again.

Last night we arrived in Darwin. When I jumped into the pool here, I was certain that I haven’t spend so much time in pools and water in my life than the last 3 days. I don’t mean AT pools, but IN pools. And that there’s many things you can do IN a pool apart from swimming. You can read books, drink wine, make up little competitions, jump, dive, watch the trees, converse, meditate, sleep. ……
We got a room with AC, cheap, and so luxurious for us! We probably experience everything so much hotter because the car doesn’t have AC and we never really get the chance to cool down.
Our car is getting a service here tomorrow, and then we can head South again.
I’m having a great time and enjoying the loss of the feeling for time and space. Life can be too easy! Even when it’s hot…..

After some 4000 km….

....we finally arrived at Katherine. Katherine gorges are known to be beautiful, you can hire a Canoe and jump into the fresh water. Normally. We didn’t go because they weren’t renting out Canoes anymore, they saw a saltwater crocodile a few days ago. While looking for that particular 2.1meter crocodile, they found a 4.1 meter one. So no. No swimming. It doesn’t matter, apart from the fact that we have a temperature of about 50 degrees Celsius. Well, that’s a lie, it’s only 38. But hot. And very humid.
There are beautiful hot springs in Katherine, too. So we spend some time there, swimming through an oasis in the dessert, palm trees everywhere. The water was still refreshing, and the place was crocodile safe. And we found a campsite with a giant pool, and a Jacuzzi, so we were happy to spend time being lazy. Two times it even got so breezy that we were able to practice yoga! First class I “held” after the course!

something like paradise?

something like paradise?, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

this was a well deserved stop at the hot springs in Mataranka. The water was exactly body temperature... so nice. Especially after driving through the outback for 3 days.

a car, a tent and an emu?

a car, a tent and an emu?, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

"good morning"

Reaching the Northern Territory

Reaching the Northern Territory, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

it doesn't look as hot as it was

Aussie pub- need some panties???

Aussie pub- need some panties???, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

I'm exhausted in this picture. The heat was unbelievable. Oh, btw, my car does not have air condition....

Silvie takes the helicopter instead

Silvie takes the helicopter instead, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

"water" on the road

"water" on the road, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

... and the BEST antenna in this world!!!

stop for gas

stop for gas, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

another road

another road, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

GO WEST

Tomorrow will be leaving for "the West". Early in the morning. At 4.30, as soon as it get light. It's gonna be HOT. Well, we will see. We gonna go food shopping now. Can shopping.

Silvie arrived today in Townsville, drove some 2000 km in the last two days... It was good. Stayed on Aurora last night, on the couch, great to see the captain once again, and be a guest on the boat...
we go to Magnetic Island now! To one of my favoured beaches in the world!!!

millions of peaches, millions of peaches, millions of peaches...........................I AM NOT GETTING CRAZY.......................

I'm picking nectarines, too, is there a song about nectarines????

millions of peaches, peaches for me
millions of peaches, peaches for free

peaches come from a can they were put there by a man in a factory downtown

moving to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches
moving to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches
moving to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches
moving to the country I'm gonna eat a lot of peaches

peaches

peaches, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

middle of nowhere

Tuesday all got better! I got the job, and I got my lovely car back. Went shopping to Aldi after I picked it up, couln't believe I saw one in South Tweed Heads... Felt like I was in Germany for half an hour. You even had to put in a coin in the trolly/cart :-) to get it out!
Started working in the Hostel for accomodation, and managed to get so many hours that today I even worked for money!
Being an extra for these two nights was fantastic! It was like a big party! We were keept in this little very old and scruffy village gymnasium, where we got food and hung out. Then some time we were asked on set were we pretended to have a good time in something like a beer garden. Well, we acturally HAD a good time....A band was playing... typically Australian... very funny. Some were dancing, some sitting, some standing, I was mostly "crossing", walking across the dancefloor. I should become a professional cross extra, I'm very good at this... :-) It was fun to hang out with the same people for two nights! And the money was good. The movie is a backpacker story, called in the middle of nowhere, and it even will be shown in theaters... let's all hope you'll see me crossing....... :-)
Tomorrow is finally peach day!

on set

on set, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

self portrait

self portrait, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

extras waiting room

extras waiting room, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

sun on set - sunset?

artificial sun, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

Stef, I hope at leasts YOU laugh at this comment....

...no work, no money, no car...

At least I can work for accomodation. Driving the hostel bus on sunday a million times in and out of town... oh, dear. No peach picking yet, hopefully soon. Maybe I can work as an extra in a movie the next couple of nights. Hopefully. Because of that casting I can't get my car today. Well, tomorrow morning. The car's fixing is affortable, thank god. It's all so vage here. Jobs come up and go before even stating them. Australian's "no worries". But I only have 10 days and want to make some money. Just some. So I worry. Just a little bit.
Last night I was trying to coordinate that whole Westcoast trip. I stressed myself about it probably more than necessary. I could organize the whole world with these organisation skills!!!
I JUST NEED SOME REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hali, Lauren & I

Hali, Lauren & I, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

Party on.... Hali, Lauren and I friday night, a few hours before passing out and Lauren missing her flight...

ISHTA TTC

ISHTA TTC, originally uploaded by JeanineJeanine.

these are the people I spent every day with... we all look kind of spaced out or like vampires, I have to work out that red eye button on my camera.... but we all look happy, no???... xxx

September's gone...

Well, there goes September. There goes the yoga teacher training. Definitely one of the most intense months in my life. I’m still exhausted.
We had our oral exam on Thursday, and it was fun. Then we had our practical exam on Friday, and that was even better!!! It was amazing to watch people doing their 15 minutes of teaching each, everybody became so confident and creative all of the sudden, and it was a pleasure to watch.
In the evening we had our graduation ceremony and it was very touching. Then we went out and stayed out forever dancing and got home at 3am. I had to drive Lauren to the airport at 4, but she fell asleep and we all fell asleep and she missed her flight. I drove her to the airport in the evening instead, and on the way back my car was overheating. I called the road service and they took it away from me L because it wasn’t repairable at 1am, so Hali and I were stuck in Tweed Head, some 60km away from Byron Bay. A lovely woman drove us home because she didn’t want us to hitchhike. And hell, I didn’t want to hitchhike, because that’s just not something I do on a Saturday night at 1am. Or at all.
Hali and I had the best night once we got home. Everything went wrong from Friday night on, and we both laughed so much that we got mocked by the neighbor today – we apologized for the noise but he said laughter is laughter and no noise. He said he stated laughing in bed last night when he heart us.
So now my car is in Tweed Heads, I hope it is not going to be a big deal to fix it, I’m still living with Hali in Lauren’s room (I moved here after another nerve taking incident on Wednesday night…) and basically I’m just trying to get a hold of a non yoga teacher training life again, where things are happening, cars break down, people’s aggressions are thrown towards you and you don’t have any money to spend. Tomorrow is a bank holiday, how useless is that when you don’t work and want to work, and hopefully I can start to pick peaches on Tuesday. Then I have to pick up my car in Tweed Heads at some point.
Yeah. But all’s good.