Damaged by Alpha Car Hire

I break records in a month. If it hadn´t been by my disastrous experiences I wouldn´t be able to perfect the letters of complaints. I don´t remember to have written so much letters in my native language but in English this task is more stimulating and challenging.

First letter was sent to Alpha Car Hire Claims Department. My mates and I hired a car from FortitudeValley´s office.

After reading the letter you will be able to guess how shocked I was when Alpha Car Hire staff called by phone to let me know the company would charge me $1,000. Still now I am waiting for an answer from the company.

In second place, I shamefully confess I bit the hook of an advertising concerning how to blog. I accepted the terms because first month was a free trial. You will agree with me. It was an unduly tempting offer for a surfer. The following day I checked the course and immediately applied for the cancellation, seeing it didn´t seem a big deal. The website replied me I was unsubscribed but it didn´t send me any confirmation by email. It works so. The following month I spent an hour to find out who had paid $39 to and half hour later I was sending my second complaint letter. I thought it was the procedure but the author of the course diligently answered me the next day. He was puzzled reading the attempt of complaint letter and in his own words ´There's no need for any more than a normal email with a request of the money back´. This is a story with a happy end.

When I look my head back I see Sir Rasmsussen was right. With an email it would have been enough but the recent bad treatment of Alpha Car Hire staff in my memory got me very angry.

I sent third complaint letter to my Business Diploma teacher regarding to the lack of interest and motivation of one of the teamwork´s members. That is an euphemism. Being quite honest he skipped his duties and meetings. If I had to judge my first experience in workteam I would say he was not the only cheeky and stubborn member in my team.

I promise this month I will repress my impulses and avoid following Pringle´s moto ('Once you pop you can´t stop') if it´s possible.   

The Star guides your Movements or it should

Dream less, play with prospect, lose the fear of heights. In fact forget there is a very steep hill, think there is way to be walked, a guide to be followed if you want, and it doesn´t matter how long it takes whenever you count on a plan to cope yourself. Keep with you a compass for those moments in which you get lost, remember what reasons led you to start the marathon. Run but breath. It´s painful but pleasant. Why don´t you stop being so negative and focus on the best? Delight yourself with your achievements. I mistake but learn. After falling down, I stand up. Be surrounded by reliable hands, just in case you are unable to stand up by yourself. Ask for advise, share your views, 4 eyes see more than 2, don´t be scared of being honest, be in touch with the nature, we come from there. To learn you would need to be humble and accept you are ignorant but in a constant learning stage.

Keep on your way to achieve the star. You are not talking in a dream. Wake up!

A matter of Perceptions

It happens to me that I feel I live in other dimension quite more times than I'm aware of.  Or it's a matter of perceptions, such as the following short story. 

Not only she didn't answer my messages, but I paid 20 bucks for a ticket without drinks. No sooner had I reached the bar than I paid 7 more dollars to have my nerves under control and recover my self-confidence. It always tends to come after some drinks. Don't be in panic, you are alone in a new club crowded with people who look for people of the same gender. I pretended to dominate the situation with my costly beer. Hardly had I finished drinking when I inspected the dance floor only to make sure she wasn't there. On no condition was I encouraged to dance alone. Not until a shela approached me while I looked at the mass of dancers from my seat for dull and drunk spectators. Enjoy the weird atmosphere! It seems to be the slogan of the night after standing up by Redlipstick. That woman took my hand to dance but I didn't gave her desire. Only after accepting her apologise she sat beside me. Such was her inebriation that I gave up asking her name. Had I known what would happen little after I would have refused to dance with her. The fact is that I was abducted by her charming of tireless dancer. I thought, as had either sober person done, that she was completely interested in me. So mistaken was I to my surprise. We performed sexy dances and approaches for a while. You know the perception of a drunk is just perpendicular to the reality. So wasted I was. Scarcely had I danced a couple of songs when I realized she was flirting with other men. It's high time to leave the club but my curiosity held me prisoner fifteen more minutes. Far away the dance floor pretending to talk by phone with somebody, I spied her movements. She looked like to be finding me because she stopped dancing and kept an eye on me while I had my imaginary conversation on the phone. 'Too late darling', I told to myself.   

10 Features of Crazy Australian

This is a first list with ten notes about Australian lifestyle from the Spanish view of a potential conqueror. I'm quite sure I will write a second list as soon as it is possible. It's well-known how alcohol lovers are Australian and generally speaking it's said they are crazy but this statement is hardly ever backed by clear reasons. I would like to shed light on this issue, my own light tough.

One of the statues in George Square which
reminds the cooperation between Australian
and New Zealanders during II World War.

1 G'day [mate]. You can leave this country whenever but if you come here it's compulsory to know the meaning of this word, not only commonly heard in the streets but also in the workplaces. It's the Australian manner to say hello, independently on the hour. Train how to pronounce G'day or G'day mate if you don't want to get upset each time you hear this expression.

2 Sporting life. Thousand people run, walk quickly and cycle every morning, afternoon and evening, from home to workplace and vice versa and at any time. That's the visible and healthy side of the Australian. The other side reveals they hold a high rate at overweight and obesity.

3 Memories of Fallen Soldiers. Consequences of II World War had a big impact on Australian's lives as this country participated in it with the ally block. Brisbane is crowded with statues, squares and inscriptions which remind fallen soldiers and show the popular concern about a war that keeps in the memory. ANZAC (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day commemorates fallen soldiers in conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations in Australia and New Zealand each 25^th April.

Mates walking barefoot in Main Street.

4 Walking barefoot. Don't get shocked when you start seeing people walking around barefoot in the street. Many of them like to be in direct touch with the ground, so keep calm.

5 Charities. There is a general concern in the Australian mind about helping people less fortunate. That's the case of homelessnesses, people affected by natural disasters (typhoons, tornadoes, floods), disabled persons, war amputees... Aboriginal people tend to ask for money with unequal luck because of their alcoholic addiction which make them keep out of the society.

The proceeds of this car park are destined to charities.

6 Lemon&Lime Bitter, Vegemite, Pavlova, XXXX. They are Australian products you should try if you come here. First it's a combined drink of lime cordial, angostura, soda and a slice of lemon. Second is a dark pastry based on yeast which is spreaded on the bread. Pavlova is a typical Australian cake made of meringue and covered by fruits such as strawberries, although its name is in honour of a Russian ballet dancer. Australia and Russia are in dispute about origin of the recipe. The most popular beer is XXXX but the prices of the spirits and beers are almost prohibitive. Spirits are bought in shops specialised in its trading because supermarkets are not allowed to sell them in Queensland State. It's a cool experience to come into the cold-store chamber of the shop to pick up your favorite drinks. BWS (Bottles Wine and Spirits) and Cellarbrations are the most popular shops.

7 Bet's World. They are mad at watching sports and what goes around it. I mean drinks but, over all, gambles. Probably it explains the success of Horses Races. Sports such as Rugby, cricket and soccer are as well very popular. Casinos and Betting shops are in abundance in the city. 

8 Sumptuous Lifestyle. Cars, boats and luxurious houses are shown with relative tranquillity in one of the most safe cities.

9 Fights in clubs. The high rate of alcoholic drinks consumption is followed by aggressive attitudes in clubs, where I have seen violence scenes that dis-encourage me to hang out frequently. They aren't the biggest beer drinkers regarding a list of 2010 I have met by chance on Wikipedia, but they hold eight place, which is not bad.

10 Mad drivers. All the fury of a driver is expressed when they leave out the car and start shouting inappropriate words. It can happen if they get stuck on the road because many of them get desperated easily. Australian people who are got on their nerves can look like dangerous apparently but their behaviour is basically an spectacle that last a couple of minutes in the animal kingdom. 

Stronger than Cold Weather

Cold seems determined to spend a season at least in this portion of land despite the recent sunny mornings. I don't remember when it was the last rainny day. During the previous month I have been working at a inconstant pace while I received several job offers. That's how it goes sometimes. 'This is my month!' I told myself. Most known mates are back to their mother towns and, not surprisingly, I'm more concerned about making my way in this removed island.

I feel more confident and able to speak English but I sometimes feel Spanish is necessary, as a outlet, to express my feelings. 

It's early to understand all is happening around me because, at present, I get on learning new things everyday and not always they goes by enough slow to get them properly.

This is a big country compounded by a mix of nationalities, so there are many people in my same situation, learning English and trying to get a great reason to live or spend more time here. They work hard day after day to upgrade and leave behind their current positions because many of them work in areas without connection with they studied to

I see there is a fierce daily challenge in the city as if it grew at two speeds. On one hand Australian versus second generations of migrants who talk English perfectly and develop qualified jobs. On other hand migrants who are from undeveloped countries and able to work for over 12 consecutive hours each day at any price in the most extreme case. They don't have any competitor in certain areas opposite workers who are losing their jobs because they aren't as productive as those former. I'm referring Asian people, but students are also becoming the new cheap labor cost because they generally must work to pay their living cost.

The disappointment or desperation to get an appropriate job which allows to save money is what makes most students leave this country when they finish their study. But there's another hidden reason, the nostalgia of the family and friends.

Cold reminds many of us there are important people wanting us to return back home. Whether or not they are close to us we will enjoy a beautiful sunrise tomorrow.

This is an stopover

I don’t like to leap to conclussions hastily. That’s the reason why I was delaying the publication of this post while I'm watching how everything around me is too informal since a long time ago. Who has changed so much? The world is more dynamic but, are we more informal?

We take part in a world in continuos motion, we will visit tens of countries and know thousands of people along our lives and we won’t have enough time to give many of them constant explanations about what we will do and why in the future. Many of them probably won’t demand explanations; we surely won´t meet most of them again. Of course we will never get to know their deep behaviour, and they and we will be misunderstood many times.

‘How time flies! It seems as if I had arrived at this unknown country yesterday’, I whisper sat close to the window of the plane which will lead me to a new continent, where I will know new people, cities and landscapes, where I will experiment new and old feelings, so lucky that deja vu, as if the life was certainly an wheel unfixed. If you travel with me you will see my smile reflected on the window because for all this time I have been a lucky person. And the best is to come. This is only a stopover, but one I have enjoyed.

Interview with Gareth Morris, teacher of English at Brisbane

Gareth Morris is an English teacher in Brisbane for over five years, but  he has previously been teaching in Japan and Taiwan. He is from Shrewsbury (United Kingdom), the same town where Charles Darwin was born. Probably if Evolutionary Theory explained the capacity to survive of the humankind depending on the rate of happyness Gareth will be adapted to Brisbane. His love is shared among this city, his girlfriend, sports, and open spaces.

Q. Along your experience as a teacher, could you tell me where the students more disciplined are from?

A. Japanese are the most hardworking students. They always do their homework before the following class. If you have a look here (library) you will see most of students' nationalities are from Japan. That´s the best indicative.

Q. What´s the biggest handicap you have found to teach English?

A. Grammar and vocab is always difficult to be taught, above all in the lowest levels of English.

Q. Shrewsbury, Tokyo, Taipei, Brisbane... What’s your favourite city to live?

A. I choose Brisbane, because of its lifestyle, the quality of the weather, the opportunities to do outdoor activities or the simple fact of breathing fresh air.

Q. Tell me, which romantic place or places of Brisbane would you recommend to the newcomers?

A. The Cliffs in Kangarro Point, next to the riverfront, are an ideal place for a picnic with champaigne and smart cheese.

Q. Do you prefer Australian or British gastronomy? (Suggest a Restaurant of Brisbane)

A. Australian cuisine is more modern than British. 
It´s a fussion of Asian and Western style cookery, which I like more. Tukka* is my favourite restaurant. It´s located at West End. In Tukka you can eat Australian and native food, for example, emu, cocodrile, kangaroo, berrish, seeds...

                                                                    *Tukka is a distorsion of “tucker”, which means  food in Australian slang.

Q. Human being tends to associate cities with smells and sounds. What sounds Brisbane to?

A. For me the sound of Brisbane is the sound of the wild animals like the possums and kookaburras.

Q. What´s the most you love about Australia?

A. I love watching sports, and in Australia it’s possible to attend matches almost every weekend because it´s accesible and cheaper than in my country. I like watching football, rugby, criquet, tennis, horse races...

Q. Which 5 adjectives describe better an Australian?

A. Lucky, noisy, agressive, accepting and funny.

Q. Why would you stay in Australia?

A. My girlfriend -she was the main reason to travel to Australia- and the high quality of life are enough reasons to stay here.

Q. Why would you leave Australia?

A. If  any member of my family got sick I would come back home obviously.

Recommendation to newcomer students

Get outside and leave your residence, go to the beach, do barbies, explore new natural places... 

There are many pending places to be known.

"Australians are Quiet and Used to Living Relaxed"

Today, more than ever, people feel the need to travel overseas. To find a job, learn a second language (English in most of the cases) or get a degree is enough excuse to leave behind the hometown and venture to live a new experience in an unknown country.  František Časar, come from Humpolec, a small town of Czech Republic, is an example of it.

Q. What was the main reason to travel to Australia?

A. In first place I came to Brisbane to improve English, but additionally the chance of knowing Australian culture and people from different nationalities attracted me. 

Q. You could have chosen one of the big cities, Sydney or Melbourne. Why did you decide travel to Brisbane?

 A. One of my friends recommended to me Brisbane, and judging by my experience I can say this is a nice and strategic city, located near the beach, The Great Barrier Reef and other landscapes which deserve to be known.

Q. What place or places of Brisbane would you recommend to the newcomers?

A. It´s compulsory to visit Fortitude Valley, above all in the night because it´s very lively as a result of the crowd of people meet in the streets and clubs.

Q. What is the Australian's feature most pay your attention?

A. They are easygoing, quiet, and are used to living relaxed. 

Q. Now, we go back your mother town, Humpolec. Who's the person you most miss from your town?

A. My sister and my best friend.

Q. And what´s the meal you most miss?

A. Goulash is one of the most popular in my country. It mainly contains beef, onion and paprika.

Q. Why would you stay in Australia?

A. Because it´s a chance to find unusual job oportunities, the Australian economy is strong and the weather is very nice in comparation with Czech Republic.

Q.  Why would you leave Australia?

A. I oftenly feel homesick. Between Australia and Czech Republic there is a long distance.

Q. If you had to leave this country tomorrow what
you would like to do before?

A. I would like to know Melbourne, because I have already visited Sydney.

Q. And what would you miss most from here?

A. The accent of Australian and expressions such as "G’Day mate" or "Howaya?".

Q. In what way the learning of English is changing your life?

A. For me it´s being a big challenge to improve my English and now I feel more self-confident. It´s really helpful to find a job in countries where English is highly demanded.        

Q. What´s your next destination after Australia?

A. I will visit New Zeland. 

Q. In what country do you imagine yourself settled with your family?

A. In Czech Republic with my girlfriend Kača.

A recommendation

I would recommend Australian people to visit European countries 

because it’s a chance to know historic places with charm.

A big Life to Enjoy it

Life conceived to live it and not to work, that's a big life to enjoy it. I thought in Cultural Center while i saw the big wheel spinning on its axis. Cultural Center (Brisbane) is near to Bus Central Station and beside Brisbane River. A place full of life. To be sincere, the best place I have visited in Brisbane for the moment. Its quite and at the same time its crowded of people. How can I explain this contradiction then? This contradiction is in armony with this area, where you can have a bath in South Bank Beach, walk along the row of restaurants, take away and coffe shop, to cook (banned to drink alcohol) free on the electric BBQ (barbies are called in this city), available for the public. Later on I will write about slang in Brissie, colloquial name for Brisbane. This place is ideal to spend a nice day with friends, family or for romantic dates. You will find the Concert Hall and the Piazza, a center of performance where young people learn choreographies. If you arrived at here you will be able to listen to the music from a female artist who plays splendid double bass. Almost a dream, with a difference, I never cry in dreams. As if that wasn't enough along september Brisbane Festival celebrated one more edition: theatre, music, dance and opera from Australia. According to the Premier of Queensland, Campbell Newman, it has involved an annual investment of $5.22 millions. This edition closed tonight with a magnific explosion of coloured fireworks. Sunsuper Riverfire says goodbye until next year but I am sure its a good way to start a new life here. I am feeling privileged living here. Good luck.

Chinese lanterns in the entrance to Brisbane Festival.

Fireworks to close Brisbane Festival 2012. Sunsuper Riverfire. 

An attraction of the Sunsuper Riverfire.

View of Parkland.

Other places to visit in Cultural Centre: Nepalese Pagoda, Memorial Park (in memory of fallen soldiers for I and II World War in Vietnam, Korea and Japan), Museum.   

From Brisbane with all my Love

Brisbane River.

Story Bridge.

First 31 hours I have spent out of home haven't been bad at all, taking into account the number of stopovers. Appart from an unexpected happen, solved on the way to the aeroplane, and a stopover at Singapor airport, I was able to know more lavatories in a few hours than in 28 years. I have been sleeping 5 extra hours yesterday and three more today, after walking around Brisbane river. Along my walk (for 6 hours) I found different animals. I drop you some postcards from Brisbane with all my love. Here you can see crows and doves, but also iguanas and wildlife, such as you can see in the photographies. It´s not time for comments because currently all is being anecdotic. For example, the taxi driver who brought me from the airport to the backpacker since where i am writing now this post. I am sure I helped him more than me. His GPS didnt know the street where we were going to, I had to look up a map I got at the airport to find the street and then he checked it at Yellow Pages. “Do you know if my neigbourhood is dangerous?” “All Australia is dangerous. In your suburb you´ll find people are drunk, a lot of pubs, streaptease…”. (Bad life you would be here, dear Sepu).

Ibis.

I was quieter since I left the cab (australian taxi), after paying 45 australian dollars and take out my suitcases by myself. Without saying goodbye, ¿true my appreciated taxi driver? Remember it.

My family didnt trust arab airline, and after all, it has been my best experience. A box of presents: blanket, toothbrush, toothpaste, food each 5 hours, and drink each 2 hours. Moreover, every passenger has a  personal screen to watch movies, serials, play... Never ever  I have eaten so much for being on a seat. 

Answering a repetitive question what most of you make me, I will tell you Australia has been since its birth a country of inmigrants, with a strong presence of asian continent. If you are asking me how about australian women?, I will answer you, dude, ¿do you like asian fellows?