In The Heart of Australia, Part Two

It was finally time to start working. I had zero experience working in a hostel before, but I kind of expected it was not going to be rocket science. My only public-facing job was at a big tech conference in Barcelona where I was at the registration desk. It was a fun and simple job: basically, all I had to do was put wristbands on the attendees and crack a few jokes. I only had one task.

It turns out that my job title at the Jump Inn was that of an all-rounder. What does that mean? Well, basically, you have to do whatever they ask you to do, plain and simple. I even had a small chat with them about the contract. There was a long description of tasks about what my job entailed, and at the end, they added something that read like:

And any other tasks the management team decides...

I tried to ask them to change it, but they said it wasn't possible. They said that if there was something I thought I should not do I could go and complain to the Fair Work office. They paid me minimum wage but my time there would also count towards my second-year visa extension. It was a means to an end, only a temporary job. They knew it and I knew it. In the end, it was a fair deal for both parties.

When I arrived I met Audrey, the owner of the Jump Inn. She was originally from Taiwan and co-owned the hostel with her husband, Alec, a true *Aussie* from Victoria. Audrey managed the hostel and Alec did all repairs, maintenance and construction that needed to be done. It felt like she was totally the brains of the whole operation. Like many owners/managers, she loved to micromanage absolutely every detail of the hostel and its workers. Officially, Andrew was the manager, but as it happens in these cases, I had the feeling he mainly followed Audrey’s orders. 

On my first day, I sat in Audrey’s office for more than an hour while she proceeded to give me a long talk and a lot of documents about what I had to do and remember at my job. It was a ton of stuff… Luckily for me, and really, for everyone involved, Danielle was there.

Danielle was a girl from Luxembourg who had been working there for the whole high season and was leaving soon. I found out I was to be her replacement. She was extremely talented, great at her job. Danielle enjoyed almost every minute of it, or at least it seemed like that. I remember her smiling at flocks of annoying German tourists while doing four tasks at the same time. But there was a reason Danielle was so good. She explained to me that in the past years that is all she was doing: travelling the world and working in hostels. She mentioned she intended to take advantage of this experience and someday own a hostel herself. 

Obviously, I was not as committed as her. This job was merely a vehicle for me to extend my visa. But I wanted to do great, at least be as good as her. Andrew & Audrey trusted in me without having the required experience, and I did not want to let them down.

Even if Audrey and Andrew were always there, Danielle was really the person who taught me how to do everything and what I had to remember. She even told me things that contradicted our managers, but from a logical standpoint, she was right so I absolutely tried to follow her steps even if they went against the official way.

At first, I was doing terribly. Like its title says, an all-rounder has to be on top of many fronts at the same time. The core of it was to check-in guests into their rooms. Trying to smile and be nice while doing other work at the same time was not easy. Also, some (most of the) people were awful, complete jerks.

Eventually, thanks to the enormous patience of Danielle and some tips from Andrew and Audrey I eventually figured it out and ended up doing everything by myself while progressively smiling more and more.

After two weeks of training, It was finally time for Danielle to leave. They organized a little private goodbye party in the hostel’s bar. I was hesitant to go as I had just joined the team, but I ultimately decided to go. That was a good decision because I got to meet everyone and have a chat with them. Most of the team was not Australian: they were from all around the world.

Apparently, Ainhoa had left a lasting positive mark in the Jump Inn. She told some of them that I was going to work there, so my introduction was silky smooth. Andrew, for example, really respected and missed Ainhoa's energy and work ethic. With Ainhoa’s background and having to replace Danielle, I had big shoes to fill. 

The party itself was great. Alec and Andrew were really into craft beers, so they brought some expensive bottles to share with the team. I got to speak a bit with Felix, with whom I really connected because we shared the goal of finding work in Australia related to our occupation: we were not backpackers. Like many German people, he spoke in a really precise and determined way; but he was also funny and easygoing. I was sure at some stage we would both manage our long-term goals.

I also got to meet Stephanie, a sweet, soft-spoken North-American girl who was leaving soon. She was a great friend of Ainhoa and gave some great tips as well as introducing me to most of the team one by one. Unfortunately, that was the only and last time I spoke with her.

Leaning into the bar were Andrew and Richard talking about football. I jumped in to speak with them. Finally, I was starting to make sense of Richard’s thick Irish accent.

We had to close the bar early because of the other guests in the hostel, but some of us decided to go out. 

It was my first time going out in Alice. We took a taxi: a big van which had an iron mesh between the driver and us. It reminded me of a police car. When I saw that taxi I assumed why the driver had to be protected: sometimes Alice locals liked to fight and get rowdy when they had a few drinks.

There was no proper club in Alice Springs: just some bars that looked like saloons from a Western film. Nightlife in Alice Springs was an eclectic free-for-all: a hard mix of backpackers, local cowboys, aboriginals and drunk tourists. Because really, what else can you do in the middle of the desert in the summer? Drink. A lot. Of course.

We had some drinks and went home. That party was a great bookend for Danielle’s goodbye and the beginning of my Jump Inn adventure.