With only three weeks left in South Perth with John & Vic before I move into Peppermint Grove with Jess for the remainder of my placement (3 months has absolutely flown by), it turns out there'll be a fourth person here in the apartment. The Billinghams' son, Jamie, is over in England visiting friends before spending Christmas in Bangladesh with his business partner (www.additionclothing.com - take a look), so his room has been on Perth Homestay since he left in the hope of attracting another tenant. Two days ago, Vic was contacted at short notice by a school in the Philippines that was sending one of its students over as a Visa had just been approved at the last minute. It was all a bit manic, as they've had pretty much the worst Typhoon in history over there, but after delays and rescheduled flights Vic left for the airport at midday on Saturday.
I'd had a very taxing morning of a cooked breakfast and reading my book in the hammock on the balcony when I heard the front door and the manoeuvring of heavy suitcases. I think I'd put the words "Philippines" and "school" together and pictured a 16-year-old, timid girl with glasses and a calculator, but Prachie is definitely none of those things. She's 23 and really bubbly and funny with great English. Most importantly, she's in Perth to go to cooking school in the city! John was quick to say that we'll be happy to help eat any practice she needs to do, so I can see the arrangement working out very nicely.
She needed to set up a phone and things, so the four of us caught the ferry into the city together, something I've never done with Vic and John before. On the other side, we hopped on one of the free buses into the main shopping district; Prachie was telling me that she was one week into a two-week holiday with a big group of girlfriends on one of the other islands when she discovered her Visa had been approved and she had to leave immediately. Gutted! In the phone shop, Vic and John reminded me of my own parents when they started pretending that their new iPhone cases were talking to each other in funny voices; can't take them anywhere. It was another scorching day and I was careful to keep my burnt nose out of the sun, so we had a little nose around some of the shops (I resisted splashing the cash because there are more important things to spend my wages on, like festivals) before I left the three of them to it so I could catch the ferry back home in time to Skype Mum and Dad. My Dad had to wangle an extra day off to take me to the airport back in August, so he was having to pay for it by working a fourteen-hour shift from midday to 2am. If his boss is reading this: Come on, he's an old boy now, go easy on him please?! As usual, it was lovely to catch up with them and hear that everything at home is still the same, something that always keeps my feet on the ground over here as it's easy to lose track.
We had a gorgeous curry for dinner (John cooked; better give Prachie one day off before she becomes full-time chef) and managed to get to know her a little better. She has three sisters and a little brother, wants to specialise in savoury cuisine (thank god: the last thing I need with summer coming up is pastries) and loves card games. That was all we needed to know before getting the Canasta cards out and starting to teach her how to play. With a 34 forecast for tomorrow, I hope that my Sunday will involved lying by the pool with a beer. Hope everyone's enjoying a typical English November!
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