◉ 078 | A head full of lice

We moved from Croatia

to Australia.

Soon after,

we felt Perth wasn’t

the city for us.

We decided to move

to Melbourne.

We’d already moved

to the other side of the globe.

How hard could it be

to get from the west coast

to the east?

We loved our Honda

and didn’t want to go through

another car loan.

We could put it on the train

for $700

and fly to Melbourne.

The same train service

from Melbourne to Perth

cost $2,000.

Of course I asked why.

Most goods went west,

I was told.

Going east,

the trains were pretty much empty.

It was a long way to Melbourne.

About 3,400 km

if we went straight there.

A round trip

would’ve been too much.

But we knew

this was a one-way trip.

We’d flown into Perth

from Europe.

We were in Australia,

but we had very little idea

what the rest of it looked like.

Let’s see the real Australia,

we thought.

So we drove across

the Nullarbor Plain.

Luka was four.

Jakov was one.

A DVD player

with two screens

was a smart buy.

Eight days of wandering

and 4,200 km later,

we arrived in Melbourne.

Maja had found us a place

in Brunswick West

where we stayed

for the next two weeks.

It was a magical place,

somewhat spiritual.

The owners left us a note

saying we could use the PlayStation

and jump on the trampoline

in the backyard.

Not a bad welcome

to the east coast,

we thought.

We’d quit our jobs

back in Perth

and the money

was running low.

We couldn’t find work.

We couldn’t find a place to live.

We couldn’t afford

a few more weeks

of short-stay accommodation.

So we called

teta Marija and barba Krešo.

My uncle had given me

their number back in Croatia.

We were roughed up

from our voyage.

They took us in

and gave us everything

we needed at that moment.

A lot of warmth.

And Croatian food.

Soon it felt like

we were part of the family.

And what did we give them

in return?

Four heads full of lice

we’d picked up

in that magical place.

We had to tell them.

P.S. Teta Marija and barba Krešo—we are forever grateful.