Last week when we had to decide to hang around southern Australia or head right off to Perth, I had a harder time choosing than Chris. I just figured that I would spend Christmas in Perth, it seamed to entice me in some unknown matter. Chris just planned to camp in some caravan park over Christmas, but I shot that idea down rather quickly. I wanted to be in a larger center, and in a hostel, because I wanted to be with people for Christmass. Well, we settled on staying in Adelaide, something I wasn't that impressed with, as I hadn't heard much good stuff about Adelaide. I must now make an announcement, Adelaide for Christmas, was perfect. 
We came in on the 23 day of December, and left on the 26th day, something I might one day regret, I am wondering if we shouldn't have stayed longer, but I wanted to be in Perth by new years, so we must leave. Anyway we walked into this little hostel that only holds about 60 people, aptly called "My Place". 
The first night we stayed there, we were over run by Germans, meaning English felt like a foreign language, I didn't hear much of it until later in the night. Anyway I spent much of the night talking to a group of backpackers which included a French Canadian named Aundre who spent the last 2 years living and skiing in Whistler, an English guy by the name of Scott who actually worked at the hostel 8 years before, 2 Dutch guys named Paul and Derick (Paul was just traveling in Australia for 3 weeks before hitting Thailand, Dereck left the next day for Brisbane so unfortunately I didn't get to know him as well) and a couple of German girls, who's names I cannot pronounce or spell. We didn't party, there wasn't loud music, it was just conversation, which was just nice. At 2am everyone else packed it in, I filmed and edited a movie that I hoped to get up the next day, as you have seen from my last blog, that did not pan out. Anyway, next day was spent in the state library using their internet. Anyway that night we came back to the hostel and joined the BBQ and drinks that was put on by the Hostel. Everyone had to where a hat as part of the Christmas spirit. I got a santa hat, Chris got a funky wig. 
We met a guy named Tom from Milwaukee who was wearing a red cape and a purple Victorian hat, by the end of the night we were calling him King Tom. We also started talking to a pair of Germans who didn't want to talk their native language. (This last comment might need some explanation. Because over half of the hostel were from Germany, they had kind of split themselves into a group that could not be joined by anyone who did not speak German, which kind of segregated them. The pair said that they came to Australia to meet new people not just ones from Germany. It should also be noted that everywhere we go in Australia we run into Germans by the ton, they jokingly said that they were preparing to launch a surprise attack on the capital shortly. There is enough of them down here they probably could.) Anyway we hit 2 bars that night meeting lots of cool people and having a very good time before we returned to the hostel around 1:00, where we found part of the group we lost earlier that night and once again picked up the conversation where we left off. At 3 only 6 people remained awake chatting on the balcony, King Tom, a Dutch girl, Scott, a very Drunk German Girl, me and Beyonka. Now Beyonka was by far the must interesting person I met this Christmas, and here is why. Beyonka is originally from Brazil, but she moved to Florida with her parents when she was a Teenager. But she never liked America, she was to Brazilian, America was it was to materialistic, so when she was 22 she moved back to Brazil, but she didn't like Brazil anymore, she was to American, it didn't feel like home anymore, so a couple of years later she moved to Prague for 2 years, but she didn't like the feel of that either. So she went and saw her family back in Florida for a month before joining an old friend to go to Australia. For the last 3 weeks she has been traveling Australia with 5 other people in a Ford Falcon station wagon. They have been traveling, sleeping, and living in that thing for the last month. Me and Chris are only 2 in a frigin SUV, and sometimes even that feel crowded. She talked a lot about that, and how it was really driving her nuts. She was at the hostel because she needed some room from them, and especially from her old friend who is kind of a control freak. He was at a mates house with everyone else from the car except Tom (It turns out King Tom also needed some time away from the crowd). She simply said, she needed some time alone, which I could totally understand. I have needed some time apart from my traveling co-part, I usually go for a short wander in the evenings, usually around the same time that he picks up his guitar. We are still individuals, and we are most definitely different in ways that only 2 months together in the same car will bring out. The next night I asked Beyonka a question, I asked her, then do you actually have a place you call home? She said no, not really. She has been traveling so long, she felt like the main character in the book the Alchemist. This guy traveled all over the world looking for something, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he didn't find it out in the world, he found it when he returned home. I was curious because I have always had a home, it has never changed, it has always been there, and I was curious what her thoughts on home were. Beyonka actually fascinated me, she was a riddle wrapped up in an enigma, and I think she understood that, because she felt that way about herself. Of all the people I met this Christmas, Beyonka is one that I will always remember, in her I saw a leaf on the wind, and the stone on the ocean floor. On Christmas Day Chris, Paul, and I went to the beach in Glenalg 
where we met some of the other people from the hostel. The ocean was warm and comforting, the sun wasn't, as I came back slightly resembling a lobster. In honor of Christmas a couple of us carved a replica snowman out of sand, though in the end he looked more like Buda, but it was the thought that counts. That night at the hostel there was more mingling and good conversation. Of all the hostels we could have stayed at, I think we picked the best one. It is strange I will remember Adelaide not for it's city skyline, or it's parks, but for Christmas and the people I spent it with, I still missed everyone at home, but I will say that I had a wonderful time with everyone I met, and I am so glad that all the stars aligned just right so that I could have met them all.
We came in on the 23 day of December, and left on the 26th day, something I might one day regret, I am wondering if we shouldn't have stayed longer, but I wanted to be in Perth by new years, so we must leave. Anyway we walked into this little hostel that only holds about 60 people, aptly called "My Place". The first night we stayed there, we were over run by Germans, meaning English felt like a foreign language, I didn't hear much of it until later in the night. Anyway I spent much of the night talking to a group of backpackers which included a French Canadian named Aundre who spent the last 2 years living and skiing in Whistler, an English guy by the name of Scott who actually worked at the hostel 8 years before, 2 Dutch guys named Paul and Derick (Paul was just traveling in Australia for 3 weeks before hitting Thailand, Dereck left the next day for Brisbane so unfortunately I didn't get to know him as well) and a couple of German girls, who's names I cannot pronounce or spell. We didn't party, there wasn't loud music, it was just conversation, which was just nice. At 2am everyone else packed it in, I filmed and edited a movie that I hoped to get up the next day, as you have seen from my last blog, that did not pan out. Anyway, next day was spent in the state library using their internet. Anyway that night we came back to the hostel and joined the BBQ and drinks that was put on by the Hostel. Everyone had to where a hat as part of the Christmas spirit. I got a santa hat, Chris got a funky wig. We met a guy named Tom from Milwaukee who was wearing a red cape and a purple Victorian hat, by the end of the night we were calling him King Tom. We also started talking to a pair of Germans who didn't want to talk their native language. (This last comment might need some explanation. Because over half of the hostel were from Germany, they had kind of split themselves into a group that could not be joined by anyone who did not speak German, which kind of segregated them. The pair said that they came to Australia to meet new people not just ones from Germany. It should also be noted that everywhere we go in Australia we run into Germans by the ton, they jokingly said that they were preparing to launch a surprise attack on the capital shortly. There is enough of them down here they probably could.) Anyway we hit 2 bars that night meeting lots of cool people and having a very good time before we returned to the hostel around 1:00, where we found part of the group we lost earlier that night and once again picked up the conversation where we left off. At 3 only 6 people remained awake chatting on the balcony, King Tom, a Dutch girl, Scott, a very Drunk German Girl, me and Beyonka. Now Beyonka was by far the must interesting person I met this Christmas, and here is why. Beyonka is originally from Brazil, but she moved to Florida with her parents when she was a Teenager. But she never liked America, she was to Brazilian, America was it was to materialistic, so when she was 22 she moved back to Brazil, but she didn't like Brazil anymore, she was to American, it didn't feel like home anymore, so a couple of years later she moved to Prague for 2 years, but she didn't like the feel of that either. So she went and saw her family back in Florida for a month before joining an old friend to go to Australia. For the last 3 weeks she has been traveling Australia with 5 other people in a Ford Falcon station wagon. They have been traveling, sleeping, and living in that thing for the last month. Me and Chris are only 2 in a frigin SUV, and sometimes even that feel crowded. She talked a lot about that, and how it was really driving her nuts. She was at the hostel because she needed some room from them, and especially from her old friend who is kind of a control freak. He was at a mates house with everyone else from the car except Tom (It turns out King Tom also needed some time away from the crowd). She simply said, she needed some time alone, which I could totally understand. I have needed some time apart from my traveling co-part, I usually go for a short wander in the evenings, usually around the same time that he picks up his guitar. We are still individuals, and we are most definitely different in ways that only 2 months together in the same car will bring out. The next night I asked Beyonka a question, I asked her, then do you actually have a place you call home? She said no, not really. She has been traveling so long, she felt like the main character in the book the Alchemist. This guy traveled all over the world looking for something, he wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he didn't find it out in the world, he found it when he returned home. I was curious because I have always had a home, it has never changed, it has always been there, and I was curious what her thoughts on home were. Beyonka actually fascinated me, she was a riddle wrapped up in an enigma, and I think she understood that, because she felt that way about herself. Of all the people I met this Christmas, Beyonka is one that I will always remember, in her I saw a leaf on the wind, and the stone on the ocean floor. On Christmas Day Chris, Paul, and I went to the beach in Glenalg where we met some of the other people from the hostel. The ocean was warm and comforting, the sun wasn't, as I came back slightly resembling a lobster. In honor of Christmas a couple of us carved a replica snowman out of sand, though in the end he looked more like Buda, but it was the thought that counts. That night at the hostel there was more mingling and good conversation. Of all the hostels we could have stayed at, I think we picked the best one. It is strange I will remember Adelaide not for it's city skyline, or it's parks, but for Christmas and the people I spent it with, I still missed everyone at home, but I will say that I had a wonderful time with everyone I met, and I am so glad that all the stars aligned just right so that I could have met them all.
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