Blessing in Disguise
Finally home and what could I do? Just get on it again. I was going to do my farm work, I was determined to stay in this country, I had so much more to see and give.
But this time I would choose more carefully where to go. The closer to the city, the better.
I had an ad put up on Swedish People in Sydney to get some help and started looking for jobs that people could recommend. By going with someone’s recommendation I knew that the place wouldn't only sign a Second Year Visa but they were also going to be legit, they wouldn't treat people bad or exploit them. Sadly that can be many peoples story down here, so you’ve got to be sure you don't spend 3 months or more doing work for someone who's going to screw you over in the last minute. (Excuse my language) But sadly that can be the truth.
This time I decided that I wanted to work with one of my biggest passions, dressage horses. My ad led to a recommendation of a place down in Melbourne. I spoke to the guy, a typical salesman, and he tried to convince me how great his place were when he told me he had two stables. One with 30 horses and a second one with 70 horses, I wasn’t born yesterday, so I knew this was not going to be an easy walk in the park, which he wanted me to believe. I should give him credit for being so upfront and honest with me, he told me straight away that I wasn’t going to get payed, I would work 6 days a week but I’d have my own room and they would give me food.
This would absolutely be manageable and there are actually people agreeing to do this, but for me, who had been in this industry for so long, all I could see was how easy he would get away with cheap workers. This was an easy way to exploit people. I would also have to pay for my Visa myself, which would be $440.
This subject is something I can go on and on about for hours. After growing up in the horse industry I knew just how tough it could be and how easy it is to exploit young girls and boys without much experience. Straight away I felt that this place was not going to be right for me, I would have to work my butt off for nothing.
Luckily I was contacted by a Swedish girl who was leaving her current farm work, a cross-country stable. Honestly this was not at all what I wanted, especially after my previous experience and I wasn't really that excited. I still didn't want to do the farm work but my desire for staying in this country was much stronger. Tanja gave me a push and I decided to go for a trial day.
Straight away I fell in love with this little place. It was 25 acres, they had about 7 horses at the time, a gorgeous house and there was an amazing energy to the whole place. I came to call it "little paradise".
This little paradise was located 3h outside Sydney by train, so I knew that if I wanted to go home for a weekend or anything, it wouldn't be far to travel.
Little did I know about the amazing people I would meet along the way, some of them becoming really good friends and family. What a journey I would undergo within myself and how much I would grow throughout this amazing experience.
This was a beginning of something new and exciting.