L'Auberge Australienne

Yo!

What's happening? How's everybody doing? Personally, I'm doing amazing. Writing to you from the UWA business school, I'm sipping some premium white tea, and blasting Gareth Emery's newest podcast (a monster!) in my headphones. Basically, I'm in the ZONE right now haha.

All right so there's been quite a bit of change in my life since my last post. Basically, I got kicked out of my house and had to scramble to find a new place to live. How crazy is that eh? Fortunately, as is often case in life, what initially seemed like a bit of a disaster turned out to be one hell of a blessing in disguise.

Let me tell how this happened.

As some of you know, I had found a house nearby the Uni, and I was living with 2 girls and 1 guys. Claire, one of the girls, didn't drink, didn't go out, and basically was pretty boring. Lauren, the other girl, was actually quite cool. But she was also a lesbian Australian football player, and while I fully respect that, she just hung out with a different crowd than what I was looking for. Finally, Nathan, Lauren's twin brother, was an all right guy, but he mostly hung out with his long-time girlfriend and made no effort whatsoever to help me meet people and get integrated.

Overall, my living situation was all right, but not ideal. We didn't fight or anything like that, but I could already tell that I was never going to become good friends with these people.

One morning, Claire told me "Phil, we need to talk".. with a weird tone. You know, that tone, the one that indicates that you're about to have an unpleasant conversation. We sat down, and basically she told me that her and the others had talked, and that they came to a consensus that they didn't feel like I fit into the household. And that they wanted me to move out within a week. Boom. Just like that.

At first, I was a bit shocked, and humiliated... I mean, I'm far from perfect, but I had been trying hard to be a good housemate. I was friendly, I cleaned after myself, I wasn't loud when they were sleeping... And here I was, halfway around the world, getting kicked out of the place I lived.

I went for a run to clear my head, and over the next 45 minutes, I realized that this was not a setback, but rather an opportunity to make the Australian Dream even better. I got back home and got busy. Started looking at websites, sending emails, making some calls.

That same night, I went to visit a house even closer to the Uni, in a neighborhood called Nedlands. The house itself was quite old, but it was spacious. It also had a massive backyard, and 5 guys, all UWA students, lived there. One of the counters in the kitchen was full of big tubs of protein powder and other supplements. A real boys' house!  I stayed there for about an hour, chatting with the guys, and really felt like there was a good vibe in that house.

The next morning I woke up, and it was clear-cut in my mind what I had to do. I texted Gabe, the guy in charge of renting out the room, and told him I wanted to move in. He texted me back a few minutes later, and said I was in. Boom. Just like that.

So now, let me explain to you why this post is titled "L'Auberge Australienne". As some of you might know, my favorite movie of all-time is called "L'Auberge Espagnole".

This movie changed my life. Like, it actually changed the course of my existence.

The movie is about Xavier, a 24 year old Frenchman about my age. His life in France is fine, but he wants to do something exciting and crazy. He wants to live it up. So he decides to move to Barcelona to do his Master degree in Economics. He flies over to Barcelona, doesn't really know anyone in the city, and his spanish isn't all that great either. He initially has a hard time finding a decent place to live, but he eventually moves into an apartment with 6 other students. One from England, one from Belgium, one from Spain, one from Italy, one from Germany, and one from Denmark.

Over the course of the movie, they all become really good friends and have amazing adventures together. When Xavier returns home to France at the end of the movie, he realizes how much this experience has changed him as a person, and he even ends up ditching his career as an economist for the government (on his first day!) to pursue his true passion: being a writer.

I saw this movie when I was 17, and trying to figure out my future. It really struck a cord with me, and inspired me. I realized that I wanted to live something like that too. I wanted to have crazy experiences, meet people from around the globe, and to do so I had to pack up and leave. That's what lead to my decision to move away to Vancouver for school, even though I didn't know a soul in the city, and my English wasn't all that great

Ok, so I still haven't told you why I named this post "L'Auberge Australienne". Although, I'm guessing that by now you have a feeling of where I'm going with this...

As I mentioned earlier, the house I moved into last week is comprised of 5 guys + me. Well, to put it simply, let's just say that amongst us 6, we have a solid representation of Planet Earth, and a cast of pretty interesting characters :).

Here's a brief description of my 5 roommates:

Gabe is from New Mexico, USA. He spent 4 years in the US Marines and is now completing his degree in Sports Science. He has one of the best "Game" I have ever seen, and he's teaching me a few new tricks every day :) He's also into spirituality and we've already had some very interesting conversation on that topic (how funny is it that the 2 topics we talk about all the time are how to seduce women, and how to be a more mindful and enlightened person...)

Berny is originally from South Africa, and he has lived in Australia for the past 10 years. He studies mechanical engineering, owns 3 cars and he's really into tuning them up. He also knows just about everybody at UWA (well, mostly the cool kids) and has already introduced me to a bunch of his friends. He also has the unusual talent of being really good at cutting hair. He might or might not have given me a bit of a fauxhawk 2 days ago haha!

James is a local, born and raised in Perth. He studies engineering as well, and really looks like a hobbit haha. He's into trance music, which is awesome as we will certainly be hitting up a few good DJ shows together.

Nish is from India. I actually haven't met him yet (he's been home writing his thesis) but he has been described by the others as "the craziest Indian dude you'll ever meet", and a "mad genius". He is infamous for going to bars stone-cold sober, and approaching as many as 100 women in one night. He also apparently makes some amazing Indian curry chicken, and loves to cook for everyone. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to meeting this guy!

Last and not least, John (aka Johnny), from China. At first, I wasn't too sure how he was going to fit in, given he comes from such a different culture. However, I have been pleasantly surprised. In is own way, he's one of the funniest kids I've ever met. While he knows very little about Western culture, he's really keen to learn about it and to fit in. We're helping him with his english, and he's teaching us to cook some amazing Chinese food. We advise him on how to meet girls at school, and he makes us laugh to tears everyday. Because he is so new to this whole culture, he often gets confused or asks the funniest questions. He also really likes goon, which the guys have him believing is a drink made by the Aboriginals. Whenever he pours himself a glass, he shouts "Aboriginals' favorite!!!" in his thick Chinese accent.. Priceless!!!

The man himself showcasing his DJ skills!

I have been in this house for exactly a week now, and it has definitely been the best week of the Australian Dream. We're not just a group of guys sharing a living space, we're a group of guys sharing an experience. It's not just a house, it's a home. We're all happy to be here, we all want to make the most out of the experience, and we want to live it together.

We don't even own a TV, and it made me realize how unimportant they are to everyday happiness. We have a massive kitchen and there's always at least a couple of us hanging out, chatting, making some food, DJing like John in the picture. Everything is quite communal, we share food, we help each other with the cooking, etc. And it's SO much better that way.

Yesterday, Johnny, Berny, James, Gabe and I were hanging out in the kitchen, and talking how crazy/amazing this all is. As recently as 50 years ago, this would have been totally unthinkable! A Chinese, a South-African, an American, an Australian, and a Canadian sharing a meal together (Mexican food prepared by an American!) and having a great time doing so.

Over the whole course of humanity, we are among the first generation of people who have the opportunity to do this kind of stuff. This is something truly special.

7 years after first seeing L'Auberge Espagnole and being astounded by it, my dream has finally come true. Sharing a house with other students from all over the world, and having an experience of a lifetime in the process. We've also already had a bit of crazy adventures together, but those stories are for another time, another place... :)

Have a great week, and if you are looking for something to do one night, rent/download L'Auberge Espagnole. I guarantee you'll enjoy it, and who knows... maybe it'll change your life too!

Adios!

Phil