Digging a little bit deeper
I was so, so lucky to be able to "move" to a new country, on the other side of the world and to feel that I wasn't alone. I had Tanja and Kyle. Their support down here ment and means everything, without them I would probably not have been able to do this trip. Or I don't think I would have had the guts to do it.
As soon as I cracked the idea at home, that I actually wanted to go to Australia and had started planning for it, my whole family and my friends got so supportive. I've been blessed, I've always been surrounded by amazing and uplifting people and my family means the most to me. Without their support, cheering me on to do this, I probably wouldn't have left Sweden. Not for now anyway.
For me it was important when I started this trip to have someone or somewhere to go to, so that I wouldn't be or feel alone. But as I've learned now, after having been here for a while, you meet people all the time and everywhere. You connect with people and you start your own social network.
Before I got to Australia, Kyle texted me about his former workplace. They were looking for people to come and work during Christmas and because I had set my time frame on being in the country for 6 months during that time, it would suit me perfectly. I applied for the job and went for the interview as soon as I got to Australia.
I got the job. I was thrilled! Not only that one of my biggest dreams had come through, with some help from family and friends, but I had also managed to get a job! Also again, thanks to contacts and family. I was so thankful and grateful.
The job was in one of Australia’s biggest liquor stores. Australia has rules about everything, some is good and others, can sometimes feel a bit ridiculous. Anyhow, one of the rule is that if you're going to work with liquor, you have to have a license. Doesn't matter if you're working in a bar, liquor store or whatever, as long as you are handling liquor you need to have a license. To get that license you need to sign up for a course through something called RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol).
So, I went to do this license course. The course took off with a middle aged, English woman. She had been around, and probably seen more than she wanted to. It came across that she had been working in the restaurant/bar business for many years. Had had her own bars and so on. And now she was here, tutoring mostly young people, travelers and backpackers, what and what not to do when you get your license. For instance, serving a minor alcohol on licensed premises is $11,000 and 12 months imprisonment*. How "common" it is that you can get drugged by bartenders (both from females and male bartenders) and not always some random dude walking by. And of course how to conduct with that. Not really a "play-around-job".
I remember two lines this women wanted us to be very clear with
"Don't ever take your eyes off the drink that's being made in front of you, that you ordered."
&
"Don't receive any drinks from anyone, unless you've seen them been made."
The last line I've heard many times before, but the first one was a little bit of an eye-opener.
After six hours of making notes and listening, the day ended with a test. You had to use your notes and a book to find the answers for the questions, which wasn't too hard. So I finally got my license. I was ready to start my new job!