Mildura

We're here in Mildura having completed one day of grape picking. Oh my god. Actually, it wasn't that bad in terms of work...just like being back at one of those pick-your-own farms near Granny and Grandads'. The trauma came when we calculated how much we think we earned from 5 hours of work: about $30 each...ie. not enough to live on, even. eeek. The going rate for grape picking is 63 cents per bucket...and the buckets aren't that big, but they're not THAT quick to fill, either. We're going to have to either get aLOT quicker at it, or resign ourselves to not earning any money. Hmmm...

Employment was very uber-casual indeed - we just hopped in a mini-bus at our hostel at 6:30am (yeah, ouch) and were taken to this farm somewhere outside Mildura - across the Murray river into New South Wales. There we were pointed in the direction of a row of vines. No one aside from one of the guys from our hostel, who's already worked there for a week, gave us any instructions/tips...the farmer didn't even speak to us! I'm missing all those orientation presentations, with Powerpoint slides, that you get with office work!!

Anyway, I was outdoors, in the countryside, in the sunshine, all day, and there was a gorgeous sunrise...so I'm not feeling too downhearted, yet. It's definitely different. Plus you get to chat while you work (probably one of the things hampering productivity). Today (saturday) is the day off, but we'll be working tomorrow, sadly.

The hostel is nice - not the cleanest, tidiest, or best equipped, but it's friendly and there's a great garden. However, we think my bed has bedbugs - I am COVERED in bites, and they REALLY REALLY itch...ooooowwwwwww....