Everything about this is wild, huh? I still have a room to rent, but my 1.5 jobs are both gone; all pubs/restaurants/cafes were required to close as of noon today (or swap to delivery/take out only) so Potshot is gone and EDC (the diving/sharking outfit) is losing bookings daily and, realistically, they're expecting forced closures soon, too. So I'm back to being unemployed. This is less troubling to me than it might be, but it feels like half the town (and world, for that matter) is in the same boat. What I'm dithering about now is where to ride out this storm.
It honestly didn't even occur to me til yesterday that it might make sense to go somewhere else. Home is out of the question - I'm not gonna travel around the world, picking up bugs/viruses/distress the whole way just to deposit them on my parents' doorstep where I would STILL be unemployed - but it wasn't til I was talking with Anj that I considered Perth isn't. He "I told you so"d me for leaving Perth in the first place, but then considered my circumstances out loud with me, too. After we got off the phone I talked with M&D and generally caught up but my head was still here in Exmouth.
Then I left my bedroom and found out about all the pubs closing, about the states here in Australia that are closing their borders to all but essential travel, about the possibility that all domestic travel will be locked down with road closures, about the reality that there are only two ventilators in the local hospital, and began to consider whether being in a tiny, remote town is preferable to being in a well-provisioned (ostensibly, anyway) city during a global pandemic. What's a girl to do? Go snorkeling. Duh.
Tash, Ben, Carly (my new housemate who moved in on Wednesday, is completely lovely, and is also already considering turning right around and leaving), and I went to Turquoise Bay down in the Cape Range National Park on the other side of the peninsula from here. It was so beautiful - beautiful reef right off the beach and clear, cool water - and was a real balm in our distress and uncertainty. It helped that none of us was in cell range, so we couldn't find out what the hell was happening anyway - and it seems like the whole situation changes hourly. We packed lunch and beer and stuck around til 5:30 or so, gabbing about our lives, about our travels, and about what the hell we're all gonna do. Carly and I hung out at our house and another girl from EDC, Corinne, came over to join the discussions. We left things last night feeling rather like getting out of Exmouth is a good plan... but also, who knows?
For all that the global scene right now is hectic and ever-changing as governments and institutions cobble together plans to help minimize harm and try to keep people safe, I feel less distress than I did in the first days of being up here. But I also don't have any clue what my best move is here. Stay put in the remote desert outpost of great beauty and watery natural wonders OR return to the city that's become a home and is better provisioned with people, food, petrol, and medical supplies to support a population in the midst of widespread illness. Neither feels like the right or wrong answer at this exact moment, though both options have been pulling in a tug of war in my brain all day. I hoped writing some of this down would help clarify but not sure that's worked. Thank goodness for technology that has allowed me to have these conversations with friends back home, giving me the chance to sort through my thought process. One theme from Australia that continues to repeat itself is my feeling of gratitude that the world has so many beautiful people in it who allow me to call them friends. The family doesn't get much choice, but I'd pick them, too.
Y'all, the world is a wild and wooly place and I'm so grateful for faith that leaves me feeling confident that all will work out as it should. Until I sort out my next move, I'm gonna eat some tortilla chips, finish reading a library book that's due back on Thursday, and sit here in the air conditioning feeling glad that I don't have boob sweat going on. Every day is a good day to be alive. Stay safe and healthy, peeps xx
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