September 2009 – May 2010: After being just fed up with Germany (for the first time..) I chose to follow my dream destination when it comes to geography: AUSTRALIA. I believe that we all have an inner destiny and a wish for relocation, at least temporarily. For me, that was Australia in my mid to late 20ies and maybe for life or at a later stage of life again. I came back to Sydney for all of January 2012 and it is overdue by now for a next and additional trip or journey (added in Jan of 2024).

Down Under: “G’Day mate! How r ya? Wanna do a Barbie?” Sounds crazy, sounds a lil’ different English? Hell yeah, it is! I traveled to Australia to the wonderful city of Sydney. Yes, that city with the opera and that bridge where Kangaroos jump around. Nah, Kangaroos you won’t find hanging around in the city. But it’s easy enough to experience them in the widely untouched nature of Australia and within day trips you can spot them easily. And before I forget, the capital city is Canberra, not Sydney, but that does not at all affect the gravity of Sydney, the appeal it has to so many people from all over the globe.

DO IT!
So there was me, the German living in Australia working with Australians. YOU can do that as well, by the way. Quite easily if you’re maxed. 30 years old. Simply apply for a WORK & TRAVEL Visa HERE (Click here: https://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/).

It’s pretty much just pay and wait for the Visa to come – for the most countries. Don’t miss out on an easy and laid back chance to work and/ or study down under. Touch a roo, cuddle a Koala, be scared of spiders. It is awesome, as was my working experience, too. Some fellas claimed that a German has no humor! HAHA, they got to know the Sirk and my craziness soon. I worked on an IT Project of introducing new hardware and VoIP. It was e.g. funny to see that as soon as suppliers found out that I am German they switched from a “Hi Sirk” to a “Hello Mr. Kuehn”.  And I confused them more as I said Sirk is fine. Surprisingly people is just perfect as you can act differently than they think you do. At a company event, we were dancing and a Brazilian woman said to me that I can’t be German as I clearly dance Brazilian. Wow, thx 😉 And after that, I got involved in Sales & Marketing activities more often at work for Wilkhahn.

So believe me, with a smile and openness, honesty and willingness to contribute, you will succeed not only in the country of Australia. I spent a total of almost a year there, lived and worked in Sydney, traveled inwards to the Uluru (Ayers Rock), Alice Springs, K’gari: Fraser Island – I think it’s a sign of respect to use the native Aborigines terms of the sites visited, http://www.fraserisland.net, Cairns, Port Douglas, the Outer Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Canberra, and Wattamolla, my secret spot south of Sydney 😉 [Sadly nowadays not so secret anymore – they build a bridge and solid pathways to reach it, back in 2009 you had to make your way.]

Why is it so enriching to spent time down under? Cause it relaxes you, tannes your skin (if you’re using that super-high SPF that is as the sun is some radiant crazy thing down under), lets you see amazing animals, swim and surf in fantastic seas, work with people that speak English but are definitely not American or British which helped me becoming a fan of Australia easily. And do a BBQ with Australian beer like my fav: Coopers Pale Ale.

Why would you wanna go down under? Why have you been there? Or when will you go, finally? Tell me. No global experience without OZ..!

EDIT: I added more pictures from our epic travel in 2010 in the above gallery. Comparing to my many other and eypecially US trips, I can still say Australia is and remains forever in my heart and a true dream destination.

Best, Sirk

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