Australian Adventure!

Mario Fernici* is a young Italian national who recently travelled to Australia for what is known as a ‘Working Holiday.’ Today, six weeks after his arrival, he shares what drove him to travel this far away from his homeland, what his first impressions of Australia are and what he hopes to achieve during his time here.

What made you want to come to Australia? Before this I was living and working in the U.K. where I met a lovely Australian girl. Shortly into our relationship, she revealed she wanted to return to Australia and that she would not be renewing her U.K. VISA. I did not want a long distance relationship so I decided to follow her. Although living in Australia had never been a dream of mine many of my friends had either travelled here or dreamed of coming so I thought I would try it.

What are your first impression of Australia? Australia is a very big place with big things. Wide roads with large cars, big homes with big rooms, even big washing machines to do lots of laundry! Australia seems much more American in style with suburbs that flow into each other and separated residential, business and industrial areas. This is very different to Europe where places are divided up into distinct towns, villages or regions each with their own houses, factories and businesses scattered around each other.

What do you hope to achieve during your time here? In the U.K. I was always working, working, working. Now, I hope to have a better work/life balance whilst still being able to afford a decent lifestyle. Melbourne has a great restaurant scene which is fantastic for me because I am a pastry chef. I hope to find a good job I enjoy doing, where I learn new things and build on my professional skills. Of course, travelling around this beautiful country would also be a bonus!

The Working Holiday Visa is granted by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection Australia.

A. S.

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