Today, today...

We went to see 'West Side Story' today at the Adelaide Festival Centre. Jon got free tickets from work and I wasn't particularly excited because I have no interest in theatre at all but I hadn't seen 'West Side Story' so I went in with an open mind... It was okay. The second female was brilliant but the rest were all a bit dull. They sang and danced pretty well but their acting was a bit patchy and the Australian/American/Latino accents were not so good. There was this weird long dance scene where everyone wore white and at the end the two men that had died came on in blood-stained whites and there were flame-lights lighting up all their clothing and then the happy music stopped and everyone ran away. It was a bit secondary school. And I came out still not really liking the theatre. But it was really nice to spend a day out though, doing something different and free. I've been a bit down lately and maybe 'West Side Story' was pretty appropriate really. It's because I realised that when it comes to working in Australia it doesn't matter what I've done, what experience I have or how many qualifications I have. Finding work on a holiday visa is like wearing a sign saying "I am not worth anything, you can ignore my applications even though I have years of experience because I am not Australian". It sounds silly and dramatic but it's true. I'm in the second-choice bin because of my nationality and as an English person it's something I never considered would happen to me. I think in England we still feel like Australia is ours, something we built and engineered, they have our monarchy and until recently they had a lot less money, power and influence than us. We thought of them as a younger sibling but they think nothing of us. To them we exist so they can beat us at the Commonwealth Games and the Ashes (although not this year...) They don't need us or want us. They don't need or want me either. I thought it would be so easy, everyone says it's easy to come to Australia and find work but you know what, the Australians don't like it. To an Australian I am the foreign worker, not the English comrade. I am coming over to earn some money and then take it home with me and they don't want that. And it makes sense. I don't like that people move to my country and do that. But right now I don't know if I'm a Shark or a Jet. So I'm applying to the jobs the Australians don't want and it's difficult to do, especially when the interviewer asks why I want the job because I don't. But we're muddling through regardless. I'm getting more interviews, Jon is now starting at Burger King too (a different branch) and the money is slowly working its way to us. And I know how it feels to be an immigrant. It's such a strange world.
But today was a good day and they are making more appearances now. Still, roll on the next eight months, I cannot wait for the next flight out of here! Ironic how I'm working at the airport...
Sophie