Cairns' Characters

Cairns, probably the best time I had in Australia, switching to low budget accommodation or no budget accommodation (last blog) and parking my triathlon me for some days on a shelf, turning on the party me. I came to Cairns after my Sydney race on Tuesday 12^th April and had planned to stay until Sunday or Monday. It turned into the other Sunday and I changed plans 100 times while I was there.

My home in Cairns was beautiful, caring and lovely Travellers Oasis, a backpackers place with tons of charm, funny paintings all over the place, a small salt water pool and 3 different little houses where you find your 3 bedroom dorm for a quiet sleep (or more intimate rooms if you pay a bit more). Not too big and not too small. You also find two kitchens, several bathrooms and showers and for triathlon weirdos like I am a storeroom where you can let your bike without any worries.

It is totally easy to meet people in these places, everyone is travelling alone; and Cairns has a special atmosphere, a small city with a beautiful climate and good vibes. I met loads of people and spent some more time with the following special characters:

Ben half Italian half American, 37, lives in London. Ben is an engineer working on projects as a freelancer, travelling for several months in between. He lives in London, good dancer, fantastic to characterize people around with. He doesn’t understand why women love the Twilight character Edward ;)

Jakob (twenty something), Denmark, bachelor finished, master to initiate. Very handsome fellow, good runner, but lazy ;)

Lewis (twenty something), Canada, studies engineer. Healthy guy, good dancer and quite mature and funny. Travels for several months as well. I’ll probably re meet him on Fraser Island.

Scott, 23, from some boring village near Cambridge/United Kingdom. Worked in retail in a stationary shop with mostly 50 year old women. A massive talker and so incredibly funny, that he should run a comedy show. Cooks all his meals, doesn’t tan (British skin) and should focus on his legs as well in the gym.

Scott was my first contact at Traveller’s Oasis, we shared a room, and now he’s working there for free accommodation. I might be wrong, but I think this guy has talent. You can’t imagine how funny can be a story about a flight with Air china and a meal on Taipei’s airport where he got served an egg which was actually brown, not white anymore, out of this ridiculous british mouth, I love it!

Scott, keep on writing your journal, you’ll need it for you show!

John, 31, Wales/United Kingdom. Works at Travellers Oasis, philosophy: work 4 years, travel 4 years. Laughed a lot with him, he liked seeing me messed up in Cairns. Anything you want to know about trips and information around Cairns, ask him! You might also see him dancing (on tables?) @ The woolshed ;) I didn’t see him by myself, but I’m pretty sure you can have a big night out with this mate.

Tobbe, 21, Sweden. One of the most relaxed and easy people I’ve met. He wants to study photography. So sweet. I actually have no idea if he has a girlfriend, but girls: watch out for this one, he’s a catch!

Marius, 26, Norway. Marius is a social worker, good photographer and I saw him as a philanthropist. He loves his job (I hope I can say that one day too). He was good for me in the way that he made me see again that it is not important how fast I swim, bike or run or if I have abs or not. I mean, I know that it’s not about that, but in this sporty world I moved for quite a bit in the last months it is easy to lose focus on what really counts. You see Marius and see this bad guy image, big piercings and tattoos, but behind that bad boy image you find a beautiful, lovely and caring person who has perfectly found his place in the world I think. Something I’m still looking for.

I am so happy that I met all these people and they made my time in Cairns unforgettable. I had great days and big nights out, got messed up, drunk and danced on tables. I needed that for my mental health, even if it’s a bit difficult right now to get back into a normal training routine. It feels a bit like leaving Cairns was the end of my long holidays; it was definitely one of the best parts and I want to come back. Maybe next year, race Challenge Cairns, store the bike and go for diving and party. Or just come back without a bike, to enjoy the city, the reef and the people. You’re gorgeous!

PS: I have to mention another character: "goon", supposed to be wine, but there are some ugly ingredients in it...

16 hour days

I’m on my way back to Cairns, after another 4 days on Reef Encounter, my big boat. The first two days I wrote about in my last post I’ve been to the boat as a passenger, this time as a hostie, or better: cheap human resource. Right now I think maybe I should live on a diving boat, every time I’m staying on board of one for some days it breaks my heart to get off.

The offer is: you work on the boat and get accommodation, food and diving for free. Good deal! Because you don’t spend any money and you safe the money you normally spend on your diving, which is not the cheapest hobby.

The day starts at 5:30h, washing glasses from the last night, ordering the sofas, setting the tables for breakfast, prepare cereals, juices, bread, spreads etc for later. Empty bins, clean toilet, start laundry cycle, clean outside windows of the boat… At 6ish the first passengers show up to have a coffee before the early morning dive, at 6:30h everyone goes diving (that’s a guaranteed one). After the dive serving breakfast, than having breakfast and cleaning breakfast, means: washing all dishes, cleaning the saloon, drying dishes, ordering everything. Good fun though, the boys put on good music and we had some sweet kitchen parties.

Talking about kitchens: I have to admit that you can’t get the quality manager out of the girl. 6 years of audits, normalization, indicators and HACCP (hazard analysis critical control point) made me laugh quite a bit about the conditions we worked in. And so did the risk prevention (not existing).

Anyway… after breakfast preparations, first dive at 6.30, the early morning dive. It is my favorite dive, everything is waking up, during the dive it’s getting brighter and the colors and life of the reef is changing. And it is a beautiful way to wake up.

Diving in Queensland is extremely controlled, I’ve never seen so many restrictions, 40minutes maximum, and the night dive is limited to 30minutes and 10meters. As hosties we were  not allowed to dive with computer, we had to follow the SSI tables which are even more conservative than the PADI tables. If you burn your tables you’re not allowed to dive for 24h. It happened, Marius failed by 0,6m one day. At the end of the day it’s not too difficult, dive sites are not as deep, the deepest dive I’ve done these days was 18 and something meters.

The dives are the only free time you have as a hostie on Reef Encounter. 40minutes of relax under the water, which actually tires you as well. But it doesn’t matter, I just kept going. All day long. Cleaning rooms, doing laundry, cleaning the boat, more laundry, setting tables, serving food, cleaning dishes, cleaning the kitchen, chopping mushrooms, peeling onions, cleaning again and again and again…..

We were lucky that we could enjoy many dives these days, because it depends on the amount of work to do.  The first day I did 2 (could have done 3, but I was too tired), the second day 4 dives, the third 3 and the last day only one.

Let’s go on with the schedule: after the dive it’s breakfast time, means: eat quickly and clean everything afterwards. I stayed in the kitchen some days to help out a bit. I can’t help but compare my former work and organization with the boat. During my stay on the boat we were round about 50people eating lunch (passengers who came on the boat in the morning and the ones who leave after lunch), Marius and Tobbe told me that yesterday they had 80 passengers eating, so 2 shifts. They have one cook on the boat and no helpers. And the kitchen is tiny, but he does an awesome job!

Pretty soon after the kitchen jobs the new passengers come on board, together with the food supplies, which have to be stored. And we had to show the passengers to their rooms. Other jobs are waiting too, refreshing rooms, laundry, cleaning stuff… With a bit of luck another dive at 10.30, after that lunch preparation, lunch serving, and same procedure as before.

In the afternoon the rooms of the departed passengers had to be changed. A dive break at 3.30pm.

And then: same procedure, dinner preparation.

Night dive at around 7pm after dinner and after the nightdive desert, the 4^th kitchen cleaning in the day.

It was exhausting work. We had sometimes 5minutes to sit down and just do nothing, but very rarely. Diving is tiring, so is the work. I faced my quality manager me a couple of times! The boat and schedules are pretty well organized, but there is a lot of improvement work to do. I got very upset one day with the sheets: We had 7 rooms to change; they are on 3 different floors. The sheets are supposed to be stored in every room, but most of the cupboards were empty, so I took the sheets from the wheelhouse where we were folding the linen and towels. Some of the sheets are marked with a D or S for double and single, but not all of them. It takes a lot of time then to find the fitting sheets, the wheelhouse is like the 4^th floor, the boat is moving all the time, I got smashed a couple of times by the cupboard doors, it is hot, I wanted to do an efficient job but couldn’t. I haven’t counted the times I went the stairs up and down to get all the fitting sheets and towels in the rooms. But I remember that I was really really glad to hear the 3.30pm dive call. After the dive everything was fine.

The hostie job is challenging. But I was very lucky to have 2 super hosties on my side to work with. I don’t want to imagine what it is when the co workers are not as good as mine were. We had 2 young girlies for 2 days working as hosties, but honestly: they didn’t do anything or at least not a lot. I know I’m very demanding when it comes to work, I like to work with compromised people who show interest in what they are doing. Even if it comes to basic jobs like we did on the boat.

Work motivation doesn’t come from money. In this special case what I got was dives. But I belonged to a team I liked and had a lot of fun. I worked harder than I did in my real job, it was physical work and I’m not used to it. I’m glad that I have a good fitness; otherwise I don’t know what would have happened. My legs were sore in the evening, but a strange kind of pain, too many hours without sitting down and too many days without exercising.

Maybe I was so sad because it is a long time that I’m not belonging anywhere, no friends, no group, no team, no work, not even a country. It feels good to belong somewhere. I loved these 4 long days. 16h of work and diving. No money spent, no money earned, but an awesome experience, beautiful diving and maybe some new friends.

Underwater love

The Great Barrier Reef. Since my Padi open water diver in 1993 (!!) I always wanted to come here. I’m diving since I’m 15 years old, not so much anymore as at the beginning of my divers career, but every now and then. I’m lucky to be able to say that I’ve dived the most beautiful spots in the world, the red sea, the Maldives, the Phillipines, Thailand. And there was one missing: the barrier. Now I’m here, nitrogen is floating thru my veins, a simple gas and a sweet drug for those who have experienced the underwater world.

Diving is a passion for me. Or better, a deep love. I’ve been diving for a long time and many of them in difficult moments. It always gave me the peace and the fun I needed and it still does. And it’ll always do. I have so many beautiful memories of it and even if I had some scared moments when I was struggling with fear, I’d never give up on it.

Memories: Today I took a compass for the first dive; a long time I didn’t dive in a buddy team without instructor (last time in 2005) and with a person I don’t know at all and my buddy does only have the open water course. And I remembered the advanced open water diver on the Maldives and the battles with the orientation lessons. Damn that was funny. I still can’t believe that I actually have pretty good skills under water with the compass and with general orientation. When I think back, I never got out on the point I started.

At the beginning and many times we were 3, my dad, my brother and I. I can’t think of a better buddy than my brother. We had so much fun, unforgettable how I tried to explain him that I had a bad hangover during the dive, or him, standing on the ocean ground, simulating (or not) that he was peeing in a toilet that was standing there, shipwrecked.

Jumping into the water it like riding a bike. You don’t forget. At least I don’t. As you might have read before, I’m riding my bike a lot over here. Mostly I know more or less the pace I’m going on my bike and during my runs. The same happens with the depth during my dives. And it’s good to know that I can trust the perception of my body.

There is no insecurity under water, no fear, no worries. When I jump in the water I’m home, the ocean is hugging me, I’m feeling free, happy and time stops. Nobody is talking; you only hear some very particular noises: the bubbles of your own breathing and the crackling of the reef.

There are different kinds of dives:

The normal dive, you see nice coral, the normal fish, and just enjoy floating and being there.

The dive some details get your attention: On my first dive I saw this couple of beautiful rabbitfish, swimming very close side to side and they made me smile, just because they were so cute.

One of my personal favorites are nudibranchs, tiny little snails with pretty colors and hard to find (they are between 1 and 2,5cm). I could also stay at an anemone for a long time and just observe the clownfishes, or enjoy a beautiful coral garden, landscapes like from another world, with decent colors and weird forms…

And then there is the stunning dive, the complete one, where you have everything. You never expect it, it happens when you less expect it. Beautiful coral, fancy rare fish like sharks, turtle, napoleon, topped with good visibility, a good buddy and everything is perfect. My first dive of the last two days was almost like that. The last one was. We went thru this amazing coral garden, like a labyrinth, never knowing if the next way was a dead end or if it would get us further on. A tiny firefish on the way (they are common in the red sea, over here I’ve seen only one in 6 dives), clowns, 2 nudibranches and last but not least: A white tip reef shark and a napoleon.

I don’t have words for how I feel there. It just makes me happy. It’s an escape from the world that we know and be part of another world where it doesn’t count at all who you are, what you do or where you are from. It’s just the water, the reef and you.

I’ll be back there on Monday, the bike and the running shoes will sleep for some days. Working on the boat and getting accommodation, food and diving for free, what else can I ask for?

Jules' Tiger, a race report

Sunday 10^th April, my first race this year and a big one, the Dextro Energy ITU World Championship in Sydney. Not a big one because of the length, but the organization and participation, I don’t know exactly but heard about 2500 participants.

And the first prove of my physical (and mental) form this year and the results of the aussie training camp with the good ones. It was a bit complicated to know something about my form, on the run I knew, but on the bike I didn’t. In the swim sessions I went either very bad or quite good, depending on the level of fatigue, so I didn’t know a lot either.

As usual I didn’t sleep very well the night before the race, the alarm rang at 4 a.m. Quick breakfast and then with a taxi to the finish line, to walk down to the transition area where I had racked my bike the day before. It was still night, when I passed the illuminated cathedral, I’m not a very faithful person, but it caught my attention…

It was the first race I went completely on my own, without friends, club members and no one I knew and there was more than one new experience. I’ve learned to train in a much more aggressive way during my stay in Australia. Mostly on the bike I got angry so many times and I learned how to transform that in power, instead of frustration and weakness.

The other day, still in Noosa, talking with Jules she told me that she had found her inner tiger again, referring to the moment of the animals’ attack, when all the energy is focused on one object, the claws extended, the sprint, the jump, the growling. I knew what she meant. And I was ready to race; ready to try how fast I could go, taking the risk to blow up, but anxious to race and to put all the effort in every km. No pre race hug, no good luck wishes, just concentration and music to push myself.

My wave was the 17^th out of 24 and started at 7.44 a.m. (transition area closed at 6.15h). It was a deep water start, brilliant conditions, no wind and a sunny morning. And a beautiful scenery, Sydney’s skyline illuminated of the morning sun, the opera house in front of us and so the harbor bridge. I was ready. Wetsuit closed, entering the water by the stairs and the 15meters to the imaginary start line between 2 red buoys. I situated myself a bit on the left, in the front line, heard “1minute to start” and then: the start. Very clean, I found a good line towards the first buoy of the M course, but not the perfect feet. But I didn’t care too much, I caught some nice feet every now and then. My main attention was in my stroke, don’t relax, pull, keep the cadence, until I reached the stairs of the swim exit. This look on my garmin was really surprising to me: 24:20 In my last test I have done a 27min something time and it pushed me.

The transition was quite long and uphill with stairs at the beginning, keep pushing I said to myself, overtaking a bunch of people on my way to the rack between number 12 and 13. Catch the bike and out for the 40km. Right at the beginning I could overtake more people thanks to slight uphill and good legs. They were burning, but as I’ve learned, it doesn’t matter. Keep the chain on the right and push. Jaime, my trainer told me by mail the day before the race: you better hurry on the bike; otherwise there will be heaps of airplanes passing you. No airplanes. I was riding with a lot of confidence, even in the curves and downhill I didn’t really recognize me, no fear at all. At the start of the second loop and the uphill after a U-turn I met him:  Jules tiger. Get out of the saddle, maintain cadence, take advantage of the hill and leave competitors behind. I growled and laughed about myself at the same time. I never enjoyed a race as much as I did there.

I made it through the bike course without any problem, had pushed away my concerns about a flat as soon as they popped up (streets were not in a really good estate). And there were plenty of flats around.

Next transition, no problems, racked the bike, helmet out, shoes on, cap and gels in the hand and out to the course. Again, the same uphill as on the bike, taking advantage of it, overtaking people. Every time I heard someone coming from behind I just had a look if it was a girl, no girls.

I still felt strong and I was decided to do exactly what Jaime had told me: the first 5km at 4’40’’, then you keep going the same pace, or you blow up. After 2k I passed the finish line area, going on the first of the 2 laps of the run course, from there on downhill to the opera house, going fast and focusing on the uphill that was waiting for me. And I started chasing J’s, my age group letter. More J’s on the hill, and more runners in general. Second lap,  4k left. One “J” passed me, but she was way too fast, I couldn’t go with her. Besides her, chasing more J’s, lots of them still on the first lap. I remembered myself some years ago and it felt great. The last 2k flying, I heard someone cheering my name I guess it was a Noosa friend who lives in Sydney, I had seen him on the first km of the running course. On the second Iap I definitely had found Jules tiger and converted him into my own.

I always loved the moment I cross the finish line, but this one was different. It was the perfect race. Everything had worked perfectly, I had worked perfectly and finally I had the confirmation of the last weeks and month of training. It is worth it, more than that. It sat me on fire for more. Maybe I’ve never competed before. I’ve done a lot of triathlons but I think that was the first one I really competed. Thanks for your tiger Jules ;)

A massive difference was in the 4^th discipline of triathlon: Nutrition. I had asked Alice (a specialist as well) what I should take during the race. It was way more than I would ever have taken in an Olympic distance race. But it worked. Another fault (and perhaps one of the most crucial) I committed in the past and won’t commit in Austria.

I spent the rest of the day watching the elite girls (with a shower in between and getting rid of my bike) and the boys. Actually I ran into Keith, an Irish friend who was staying in Marbella for a while in 2009 and training with us. I knew he was living in Sydney, but that wasn’t planned at all. So much fun watching the race with him! Unfortunately the elite men had really bad conditions for racing, the water had become quite choppy and on the bike it started to rain hard, loads of crashes and a stunning race of Javier Gomez. He came off his bike, but caught the first group again and did an amazing run. There might have been another tiger involved ;)





Influences...

I’m back in Sydney, for the first race of this season, ITU Dextro Energy Worl Championship Series on Sunday 10th april.

I’m staying again at Alice house, which picked me up from the airport last night. She went on a sailing race this morning, so I accompanied her for breakfast in the park next to, and then to the yacht club where they started the race. I cannot help but think of my “Papa” with all these sailing boats around. He was and is again a sailor, loves the water and enjoys to race. Actually he was sailing when I was born, but I don’t know if he won???

Around midday I put together my bike (again) and headed over to Centennial park to spin around a bit. While I was riding one lap after the other, my mind went around the people who I think made me what I am. People who are in my life since I can think (and before) and those who were in it and left it again, but left their undeletable footprint. (just for the record: the order doesn’t mean more or less important, it’s more a chronological thing)

My dad: the sailor and always sportsman, competitor and challenger. When I was younger I always achieved NOT to get into a competitive situation, I made a lot of sports, but none of them a competitive one. There was ballet, gymnastics, climbing, karate, later gym stuff like aerobics, I was skiing, but switched to snowboard as soon as I could, some tennis almost not to mention… He is the one who thinks in the categories better, faster, longer. I hated it. I always tried to be or do the complete opposite of that. Until I quit smoking (and I was a bad smoker for those of you who only know me for the last couple of years). He’s responsible for my love for traveling and diving, he took us to this other world in a rough phase of our life. I still enjoy the peaceful  and calming noise of the bubbles under water.

My brother: He was and is always on my side no matter what. He shared the most important fates with me, although we faced them everyone in his very personal way. We did so many stupid things together when we were still living in Rückersdorf, we shared friends (he knew the cute boys from the sports club), holidays, parties… He signed in as well when I signed up for my first Ironman distance. We raced 3 together, in 2008 we missed crossing the finish line by only 20 seconds (dammit). We are preparing Austria, on the opposite sites of mother planet, but very united. He is one of the biggest multitalented persons I know.

My mom: her days seemed to have 36 hours. She was always away but always there. And I miss her every single day.

Frau Seiler, my second mom: the responsible for my organized wardrobe, that I know how to iron, cook and clean by being hours and hours on her side, talking to her and observing. She’s the person who grounded me. Hard-working, caring, loving and never complaining. I loved playing at her parents’ farm in the granary and I loved sleeping at her place, they had a heated blanket. She took me to the country fair, to harvest sherries and plums and made the best cakes and Christmas cookies I know.

Nanni, my dad’s youngest sister. She asks you the uncomfortable questions when you need to decide something. She made me feel what “home” is when mine broke apart. A challenging conversation partner and I love the memories of our smoking, drinking and chatting nights until 5am. Man we smoked a lot! I admire her way to manage her family. They are for me the perfect family, not that they were perfect, but the way they face problems and work them out together is.

Micha: he always knew what he wanted and went for it. He had big influence in the way I faced my studies and career. Always thinking in what comes next, the next step that takes you to the next goal. He went abroad for studies, internships and work to enrich his CV and so did I. He supported me in so many different ways. And I love him for that. We had the biggest dancing nights together, loads of crazy driving and awesome holidays. He formed my preferences for movies, TV shows (but NOT startrek) and music.

Pablo: He infected me with the cureless triathlon fever. He showed me how to run faster, he was on my side on my first half marathon and marathon. We shared so many unforgettable moments and finish lines. And he was my couple, housemate, training partner, colleague and best friend and he loved me so much. We had it all. But all was still not enough for me and I’m deeply sorry for that.

And there are all my friends who shared and still share moments and memories with me and I’m looking forward to be a bit closer to some of them again. And I’m sad to leave some of them behind, but I’ll be back ;)

The Experiment

Besides all the training I’m getting back to the roots of educational sciences, but in a practical way. I’m on a self experiment (for the record: I’m writing this with a mischievous smile on my face). As I reported in my last post I feel myself pushed to socialize, meet people, go out, do things, I can’t just stay at home watching TV, that’s definitely not what I came here for. Actually I’m getting angry sitting at home staring around and surfing on the internet. So I grab my purse and go out.

 Isn’t it you the person who most often stands in the way?

Setting:

Single traveling girl, settled (but not really) in Noosa, Queensland.

Actual situation: contacts in Triathlon scene. 24h on her account every day. Average training hours: 3. Sleep: 9h-10h. Food intake: 1h. Internet surfing: too much. Free time to fill: 10h.

The idea is simple, go out and meet people. The first attempt was reported in the last post. That was Wednesday. Thursday was filled with a lovely evening with Jules, upcoming triathlete (racing for Germany this summer, yeah!!), funny and simply adorable.

Friday, free afternoon and nice weather, I start the experiment, grab my stuff and head down to main beach. There has to be people to meet. I’m pretty aware of my shyness, but convinced to win this battle. It might be my german pighead, but I have to get over it.

The experimental ground is Noosa Main Beach. I sit down with an alibi book and observe my surroundings, looking for an opportunity to prove myself. Again, everyone around is with somebody. Young families playing in the water, couples working their tans, the lifeguards just don’t fit in my experimental concept, actually one of them is asleep, rough night I think ;)

Some pages of my book later the Swiss Triathlon guys walk by and take a dip in the ocean after their run. I know one of them, knowing is too much to say, I met him having coffee one day with Belinda and Justin. I just let them go; they probably go to bed early, so not the target group. I turn around and spot a single person. A young guy sitting on a stair, head phones on, looking around. He doesn’t seem to wait for anybody. I think I spent just enough time alone to see directly if someone is alone or not.

It is similar to my sport, if you are into Triathlon, and I suppose it is the same in other sports, you identify your fellows if you see them during training, and outside of training too, even on an airport. There are certain aspects that don’t fail: shoes – mostly running shoes, if it’s thongs, look at the toe nails, they are in a bad estate. The piece of carryon luggage can be easily a small backpack from a competition. Scabs on the neck (wetsuit). Watch: Polar or lately more fashion, Ironman watch, digital, not analog. Legs: shaved? (Talking about men). You can also spot a finisher t-shirt or polo shirt, a bike bottle instead of a normal water bottle, and of course the topics they talk about. Triathletes love to talk about their sport ;)Oh, and the weird tan lines of cycling jerseys and pants or running tops (when female)…

But back to Friday. I keep observing the guinea pig every now and then, just to avoid a snap judgment. Still alone, still not behaving like waiting for someone. It starts to get a bit chilly out there. I put my clothes on and pack my book back in my bag and get a bit nervous. I know that this is a unique situation I HAVE to take advantage of. I stand up and walk towards him, and walk by. No courage. I keep going some more meters and stop. Here’s the thing: I can go home now and get angry with my shy me again or I can take a deep breath and take a risk and change things, or myself?

Second option chosen. Take a deep breath, walk over, sit down next to him, and look over. He looks back and takes his head phones off. I say: Hi, you’re alone here aren’t you? He: yes I am, just chilling a bit, arrived today… He’s Dutch, traveling alone too, but staying at backpacker places which make it quite easy to know people. 4 Month in Australia, 2 weeks to go. And there we were sitting and chatting for an hour or two, I’m smiling on my inside, because I won the battle. My very own and personal battle. And it was easy! We just spend the afternoon and evening chatting, grabbed some greasy noodles at a take a way place, ate them sitting on a bench of a bus stop. I wrote down his name and blog name, we hugged each other and I drove home, happy, proud and laughing about me.

During our conversation he said: well, now you have your recipe how to get in contact with, and he might be right, but this is not about finding a recipe. I did what I wanted to do. Next time there’ll be another setting, different people, and a new challenge. I don’t want to get stuck in a recipe or in one way to do things. I could try the same thing just to approve it’s working, but that would be boring. This is not a laboratory and I don’t have to run several tests about the same question.

I think I changed something by doing what I did. Since then it becomes easier. Perhaps the simple fact to have proven that I’m able to do what I’ve done changes how I see things? They say: things don’t happen just like that, you have to make them happen. And I did.

Things have changed since then. But not (or maybe?) because of my rad self experiment. As I mentioned before, I went out with Jules, I met her for the first time at a BBQ on my first weekend in Noosa, but haven’t seen her again. On Monday last week she showed up at the swim squad, we changed numbers and have good fun hanging out together ever since.

Actually, now that I’m thinking about it, I have approached to a lot of people this week; even if it was only to present myself to the girls I’m swimming in the same lane with for weeks now. Things change; sometimes it is hard work on you. Like learning a new language: At the beginning you are still aware of each new word you’re using and then there comes the point where you’re just talking, without thinking. Or learning a dance, a new IT program or to resolve Sudoku’s. You just need to get out of your comfort zone.

Today I bought myself a new pair of thongs, new shoes for the next steps. Looking ahead ;-)

PS: this afternoon the next trip starts, there will be more photos ;)

Back in Noosa

I’m back in Noosa after my 2 weeks adventure travel towards the south and west from my base camp here in Sunshine Coast.  Back in Noosa and back in normal training routine, after some days of only running in Alice Springs due to a broken pool…

Noosa national park

First here was food shopping, and I have to say: I love Australian supermarkets. At least the products, not so much the prices, but what can I do? Lots of local (!!) fresh veggies and fruit, even the normal products wear the label “Australian made”, so it’s easy to behave environmentally correct in this country. In general I see more natural products here than in Spain and not so many precooked and refined stuff. That supposes better dates in weight statistics, but no, I had a look on some numbers: comparing Germany, Spain and Australia, Australia has the highest index of obesity in men (25,6%), but the lowest in overweight (men and women). Spanish women lead in obesity (21,5%)  and overweight (32,2%), German men in overweight (45,5%). In children’s statistics Spain leads before Australia and Germany.

 I definitely see less overweight children here than in Spain and I’ve seen something I’ve never seen before: Sunscreen distribution in the girls changing room! Some 7 year old girls applying sunscreen (factor 30) to each other. They  grow up with the conscience of the ozone hole and too many cases of skin cancer… and the sun is really strong here! I’ve never tanned so quickly, even with factor 30. I think you can imagine how stupid the tan line on your forehead can look after a swim with a swim cap on?

Well, what I’m basically doing here is training. Swim, bike, run; every day. And I’m starting to harvest the fruits of it. It’s good to see how the body adapts (slowly) to what you’re requiring. And at the moment it’s the one thing I’m focused on. I was hesitating about do more traveling before the Sydney race, but time goes by quickly and I’ll stay here on the Sunshine Coast, training and doing some tourism around here. After Sydney I’ll go towards north, for diving and adventure. Still not sure about the final plan, but I’ll figure it out.

The “work” I’m doing here is quite physical, but also mental. I came to Australia to disconnect and find myself and I’m really finding myself. It’s interesting; it’s hard and annoying sometimes. During the training I’m happy, that’s why I’m getting up at 5a.m. almost every day, because it’s what I “have to do”. But later in the day I start to struggle sometimes by being alone so much. It’s easy to say: go out, meet people.  My first experience about that was in Melbourne when I observed people there. I do go out. And Aussies are really communicative people you can get into a chat with. It’s all about self confidence. My lovely friend Matt told me: don’t care what people think of you. And I try, but that’s me. I cannot not care. I’m getting better, but it’s a continuous internal fight with me. At the end I think this makes me stronger.

There’s no one who pushes me, no one who tells me what to do. It doesn’t matter if I do or don’t do something. But I do it. I’m pushing me to do it.

I went out yesterday evening. First try: a bar I’ve read about in the Lonely Planet. I find myself sitting at the bar with a drink, no people around at all, but the bartenders to chat with. They are kind of funny. The rest of the clients are from another generation than I am… Next try: surf club. My idea: cool, young, funny surf people. So I walk in there and…  what’s that? That’s so not the clients I’ve expected here! My dad would be comfortable here, but that’s not the plan! I start to laugh about myself. But I don’t give up and drive to the other surf club down in Sunshine beach, walk in there, thinking: all good things come in threes. I take a deep breath and put together all my self confidence and my pretty me and… NOTHING. I’m sure even in the local golf club are younger people hanging around. That’s unfair. So I went to the wine shop, got a bottle of red and went home with a Pinot Noir.

I’m becoming aware of what it means to have an established social network where you’re living. I had one in Spain and I’ll have to build up a new one once I’m back in Germany. But honestly, I think it will be easier there than down under, because:

If you are settled in a place you are able to build a stable social network, I experienced that in Germany and later in Spain. It takes time, but once it started you don’t even notice how it is growing. Over here I am one in a million who come and go. I have a different focus on things here than “my” triathlon people. I’m training and enjoying it, but there’s more for me to discover and to do. Go out e.g.  And for me, Triathlon is not a job, for most people here it is. I think I can’t just expect them to change their routines and care about an average age grouper girl that stays here for vacation. And I don’t expect it at all.

There are a few lovely ones who dedicate some of their time and make me feel a little bit important, or less unimportant…  I had a beautiful BBQ with them last Saturday.

I think if I wouldn’t have a social network elsewhere, I’d definitely drive nuts. The longer I stay here, more I’m looking forward to be surrounded by my family and close friends. I miss them, but t to know that I have them is my emotional survival kit.

Summary:

-          Friends are priceless

-          Family is grounding you

-          Most people are married or in a relationship

-          I don’t know if I want to get married

-          Australia has the most amazing starry sky I’ve ever seen

-     I'm getting faster

And

-          A good girl’s chat  is soul healing!

Special thanks to Jutta, Lu and Jules ;) you made my day!