Meet Laurent in Australia

Introduce yourself 

I am Laurent, I am 24 yo, I have been travelling in Australia for one year already, I just started the second and last year. I aim at driving all around the country and seeing as much as possible ! I studied business and economics, but I have always been dreaming about travelling. Here I am ! Now I have few projects for synchronising my travel dreams and my skills : I’ll see where it

leads later!

Why and when did you make the decision to go abroad?

I decided to leave France around december 2012 and january 2013. I always wanted travelling and I did not know what to do after my studies. I thought it would be the best time to go abroad and to travel around the world if possible. Studies finished, I did not want to look for a job, I was fed up about going to Paris, even if I love this city and I really miss it, sometimes. It was quite boring and I was not full-blown. Since september 26, 2013 I left France, and since september 27, 2013, I am in Australia. One week before, I was in a classroom in front of two teachers presenting my last essay before graduation. One week

later, I met kangaroos in my garden. It was enough to know I made the right choice. I travelled the first year around this huge country in a 4 wheel drive car. I was living inside. Cooking, sleeping, I even used a solar shower ! I work when I need money, if not, I am visiting or I am hosting by Australian families who offer me shelter and food in exchange of few hours of my time working in their own business as a sheep farm or in their garden for instance. It’s an exchange, nothing about money and I do love this it ; it’s called HelpX ! By this way I am learning a lot of stuff about Australia and Australians and I am also having new experiences. Who could think I would work for one week with sheep ? And right now, I am in the outback, 120 km away form the first village, working in a property 5 times bigger than Paris, surrounded by the bush, kangaroos, deadly snakes and spiders, and the cattle I am taking care of !

What advice would you give to someone who wants to travel to this country?

I would like to say do not only stay in cities ! They are great, but Australia is a wild country, you must travel to live something very different, then discove the Ozie Bush life. Moreover, it could be hard to get a job and to set up definitely in Australia. A lot of companies want to employ permanent residents, so get information about jobs ability in your own field if you really want to work here!

What do you like about this country?

What I like the most is my way of life when I am on the road. I can wake up the morning just in front of the landscape I choose it the day before : mountains or oceans! Moreover, I am having great life experiences by doing things I never imagined I could do before, or just dreamed of : tomorrow I will start a muster. This is the time of the year where you bring all the cows to the cattle yards for counting them, cutting horns, making tattoos … We’ll use quad bikes, 4 wheel drive cars, and an helicopter for few days. It sounds pretty cool, right?

How did you learn to speak English? 

At school and university, but the big step was when I studied one year in Derby in England. I got more confident and so I was able to speak more easily.

It is often heard that French people are bad at English. How would you react to this statement? 

That’s bloody true. We have a terrible accent. Pronunciation is one of the big problem for me and I guess I am not the only one, am I? I am unable to pronounce some words, I have a strong frenchie froggie accent!

Is there anything that would make you come back to France?

Soccer ! I miss it so much ! Australian football is weird and not so cool. I might come back in june 2016, for the European Cup. Moreover, it will, be my sister’s 20th birthday, I already missed the event when she turned 18 years old. That’s one part of the deal by being abroad : you miss events with your closest relatives. For my part, it’s something I’ll take in consideration the day I’ll settle down!

Is there a blog or a website where we can find you?

Well if you want to see some beautiful landscapes, have a go on 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ecololot/ . You can also follow me here: https://thezelaurent.wordpress.com/

Anything to add?

Not much, I am already running out of time : too many countries to visit !