A Journey to the Edge of the World: My Path to Australia
A Journey Through Time To Australia 🕰️
The Journey to Australia didn't begin the day I landed in Melbourne, but long before – in all those small moments of decisions, conversations with my parents, and things I stumbled upon while browsing online. There's something funny about how life leads us to places we never planned to go. Here's a collection of stories about how I suddenly found myself heading to the other side of the world – from the moment I told my parents to my first encounter with the sea of Australian abbreviations and terms.
📍 Playa del Carmen, Mexico | 11/26/2022
Australia, I'm coming!
How to tell mom another chick is leaving the nest
I got a work visa for Australia!
"But it's very far away," my mom said. She already sees me settling there, getting married, having children, and her remaining far away from me.
"Bit of an exaggeration, no?" I try to bring her back to earth. "I'm just going for a year or two, you know me, I won't stay there."
"You say a year or two like it's nothing." She's already missing me, and I haven't even left yet. This was the hardest part of my decision to fly.
How do I tell my mom, who already misses her son living abroad so much, that now I'm leaving too?
She always said she understands life—chicks need to leave the nest, it's the way of nature. And yet it's hard. I was afraid to tell her because I hate seeing her sad.
Before my flight, I took advantage of quiet moments to ask my parents several times: "Are you sad that I'm flying?"
Both gave the same answer, despite not being together for years: "Both happy and sad. I'll miss you very much, but it's nice that you're fulfilling yourself and following your dream."
The goodbye wasn't terrible because we knew we'd meet again in a few months. We planned a vacation together, which gave us a sense of relief.
I knew I was coming to Mexico for just a few months. I bought a flight from Tel Aviv to Cancun, and a return flight in January from Cancun to Germany. From there, continue to Thailand, and then to Australia.
I feel like Phileas Fogg, just without the hot air balloon.
📍 Tulum, Mexico | 01/05/2023
I ended up in Australia by accident
How a random Facebook post changed my life
It's really happening. I have a flight ticket to Melbourne on 1/27. Oh my god.
The truth is, I ended up in Australia by mistake.
Before flying to Mexico, I was searching for Facebook groups of travelers in Mexico, and suddenly a group of travelers and workers in Australia popped up. Interesting.
The first post in the group was something like: "Hey everyone, I'm a bartender who wants to move to Australia, I understand I need a work visa, and would appreciate advice and details."
Coincidence? Of course not.
I read the responses, and among them was a link to a site that explains everything about working visas in Australia. I plowed through that site like I was possessed.
I read every article, went into all the sub-sites, and suddenly realized this is what I want, and look, I can even do it.
The visa parameters require:
✔ 12 years of education
✔ Full military service
✔ 18,000₪ in the bank (to prove financial capability)
✔ Under 31 years old
Wait, what! I'm 29!!! How did I not know about this before??? I guess now's the time to see.
The site says you can get a visa at any time, it's valid for a year—a period in which you need to arrive in Australia. The moment you land in Australia, a one-year period begins in which you can legally work and travel.
If your foot steps in Australia one day before you turn 31—all good. Lucky.
"But wait, what if I want to stay?" After all, you can extend the visa for a second and third year... I'm thinking too far ahead.
And what about New Zealand? I'm already on that side of the world, won't I hop over to visit hobbits? I guess everything will work out when I get there.
"Calm down, it's still far away." The possession ended.
Before I flew, I thought about whether I should skip Mexico and fly straight to Australia. After all, I have a 'time limit' here, and Mexico will always be Mexico.
No. I won't give up on Mexico. My soul insisted. And I'm so glad I listened to it.
📍 Melbourne, Australia | 02/02/2023
The Australian Way
How I discovered that relocation isn't just a scary word, but also a maze of letters to decipher
Everything here is in abbreviations, acronyms, and collections of English letters that sometimes make up entire sentences.
On one hand, I knew what I was getting into. I read online what people who did this before me said—what to do before, during, and after arrival. On paper, it all seemed simple. "It's exactly like returning to Tel Aviv now, I would look for an apartment, look for a job, and start over," I always said.
I didn't think about the small details. That I'm actually doing a relocation (wow, what a word), that it involves a lot of bureaucracy and can be challenging. Like opening an account with the tax authority, which shouldn't be too complicated either, except I need to read the information several times and search Google for what each acronym means.
Before I arrived, I opened a bank account online, and the website said that when I arrive, I'll need to present my passport to verify my identity, and also a TIN number for the country where I pay taxes. I followed the link, and reached the Israel page, to find out what this combination of letters is. Turns out it's my identifying number with the tax authority.
How do I know what my identifying number with the tax authority is? I try to read a whole page with words I don't really understand. Maybe I should ask for help? I closed the page. I'll deal with this later.
I moved on to other tasks, like RSA—an online course you must pass if you want to serve alcohol in Australia. It's not exactly a bartending course, but more about identifying when not to serve alcohol, for example to people who have had too much to drink.
Yes, there's responsibility towards society here. Giving bartenders the ability to use judgment—that's revolutionary. I remember that in every bar I worked at back home, I encountered people who were too drunk, and who definitely shouldn't drink more. They could barely speak or walk, but I wasn't allowed to tell them no.
On the first site I saw, the price was 114 dollars, and it said: "With us, you'll get an official certificate, beware of fake sites." Shit. I don't like being warned about forgeries, it's already suspicious.
I asked the Facebook group of bartenders living here, and they recommended another site, which cost 18 dollars (that's what I remembered it should cost). Here too, I encountered abbreviations marking the regions in Australia. Oh, that's something I must learn.
Okay, but where is VIC? (Victoria state, where I am). I sent an email to explain why my state isn't included in the course. I received a response with more acronyms—I turned to Google again. It turns out I can take this course and do a separate completion for my state.
I went back to the TIN, took a breath, and read again. At the end, it said that for individuals, this number is the ID number. That's it?
Maybe I'm too stressed about understanding things, afraid to make mistakes, that I don't even see the logic in things? After all, I'm not the first or the last to come work in Australia.
Relax.
My journey to Australia was full of randomness, coincidence, and spontaneous decisions that rolled into one another. I discovered that a big part of the journey isn't the physical distance, but the emotional and mental distance you need to travel. From relocation that seems like an intimidating word, to a reality I live day to day. And understanding that everything is simply divided into small steps. Step by step. In the day, month, past year, I'm learning that sometimes, getting to a new place is just the technical part. Adapting to it – that's a completely different story.
Your support helps me keep experiencing new worlds and sharing them with you through my words. Sometimes, a single cup of coffee can make a difference.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
Who Am I? | The Journey Through Time | The Daily Journey