A very Autumn Easter

Even though I'm on the other side of the world to my family, friends, and home country, I don't feel that far away. I guess it's mainly to do with being able to keep in touch with everyone easily, and culture-wise Australia isn't too different to England.

Pancakes, Pokemon, and surfing

Pancake Day
I've only been celebrating pancake day since my coursemates came over to mine to cook some in my second year of uni. Since then, pancake day has become a tradition for me and I enjoy cooking them and especially eating them. This year I had pancakes for lunch and dinner and they were delicious.

Happy birthday Fairy Elephant Blog

February the 8th marked four years since I first posted on this blog.

When I started blogging, my main aims were to keep a record of my study year in Malta and to improve my writing (especially as my dissertation was the following year). These four years seem to have gone incredibly fast and I'm glad I have my posts to look back on and remember all the things that have happened since I first pressed 'publish'. I don't know if my writing has improved in quality, but I definitely find it a lot easier to write now. But more than anything, I have found a hobby that I really enjoy.

Fairy Elephant Blog has seen me through graduation, several jobs, travelling Europe, and is now with me for my year in Australia. I look forward to finding out what adventures we'll be having next.

Whether you've been here from the start, or this is your first time visiting, thank you for reading my blog.

Happy birthday Fairy Elephant.

J :)

Perth (Australia) * A coffee in every city *

A coffee in every city is a travel post series giving an overview of different areas, including things to see and do if you visit. And of course the most important thing when exploring a new place is where to find a decent cup of coffee. This is just my experience of these areas and this post does not contain any #spon or #AD material.

Perth, WA, Australia. Picture source: Google Maps

From October to December last year I spent ten weeks exploring Perth and the surrounding areas. This was a nice time to visit as it is the end of Spring and the beginning of Summer, which really messed with my head, seeing as it's the complete opposite in Britain. The weather was warm and there was a lot of things going on for Halloween and Christmas.

Letter to my January 2018 self

Dear future me,

I can't believe it's 2017 already, this past year has gone crazy quick and I suspect you're saying the same about 2017 going fast. I've been wanting to do a goals or resolutions type post, seeing as it is the start of a brand new year but I don't really have any at the moment. Then I saw Musical Bethan's video Dear 23 Year Old Me, and decided to write a letter to you and ask you how the year went instead. 

I assume you're back in the UK, seeing as your Australian visa runs out in October and I would like to be home for my birthday and Christmas this year. Was Australia everything you hoped it would be and what were the highlights? Did you go to New Zealand and the Fiji Islands? How about Bali or somewhere else? Do you have any trips planned soon? 

Are you living at home? Or have you moved to Cardiff yet? Have you got a job? If not hang in there, I'm applying to jobs at the moment and it worked out then didn't it?! Please tell me something works out. I hope you're smiling and saying YES you found a job you loved, or even just any job at all. 

How's this blog doing? Next month (for you) it turns five! Did you post as much in 2017 as you intend to at the moment? Is your Instagram game still going strong? Are you still watching YouTube? What books did you read that will stick with you for years? What did you learn over the past year? Are you still interested in Myers Briggs? Do you have any new skills or talents? What podcasts would you recommend I listen to? I know, it doesn't work like that.

What's the world like in 2018? Is the UK still a part of the EU? How is the USA doing? Has the real world caught up with the corner of the internet that treats people equally and with respect, whatever their gender, sexuality, race, nationality, physical abilities, mental abilities, the list goes on and on. I really hope so, it's about time already.

Now that you're back home I hope you've kept the same spirit you have when you travel. I hope you have confidence in your immediate and longer term future, even if you don't have it all figured out. Don't choose a path just because it seems easy or it seems what is expected of you. You've made it this far following your own heart and mind. You may not have a career plan but you know exactly what you do want from life, you just have to go for it. I believe in you.

From the Sunday the 8th of January 2017 you,

J :)

2016 round-up

The past two years I've done a picture round-up post showing what I got up to. You can find them here: 2014, 2015.

This year has gone by so fast. It feels like only a few months ago I was making the 2015 round-up post. And yet again so much has happened. This year saw even more travelling, which was kicked off with a trip to Bali and Amsterdam at the end of March. I started a new job working at festivals and events which was challenging yet rewarding. It also meant I got to see more of the UK and managed to see Frank Turner at Reading Festival again and this time he played Four Simple Words, which made me very happy. At the beginning of October me and my sister Amy set out on our current adventure travelling around Australia. Just before Christmas I celebrated my 25th birthday by climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge and finally I ended the year watching the Sydney NYE fireworks.

Here's my highlights from the past year:

Jan: Burned my old uni work and school work on a bonfire; Mar: Got paid to defend the VIP carpark from people in massive cars at my first event; Mar-Apr: Trip to Amsterdam and Bali; May: Busted gig with support acts Wheatus and Emma Blackery, then a trip to Watford with my bffs to visit the Harry Potter Studios #hufflepuffpride; July: My childhood dream of becoming a pokemon trainer became a reality; Oct: Started my Aussie adventure in Perth; Nov: Met a quokka at Rottnest Island; Dec: Survived a quarter of a century and climbed a bridge.

J :)

Off to Kalamunda we go

After exploring Perth for over a month, including a stay in Fremantle Prison (The Spookiest Halloween), and without much luck on the job front, it was about time for a change. I convinced Amy that we should look into finding work in exchange for accomodation by signing up to Helpx. Through there we found a lovely couple to stay with in Kalamunda and so off we were on our next adventure.