I realized
that I couldn’t keep going
like that,
and I came to understand
my own limits.
So I decided
to take a proper break
for a while.
For my “revenge”
on the English
I had struggled with
in New Zealand,
I chose Melbourne,
Australia.
Melbourne was known
for its coffee culture,
and I also had
this quiet admiration
for becoming a barista.
The reason I wanted
permanent residency
was simple —
I wanted to be able
to stay somewhere
with stability.
But when I looked
at the list
of occupations
that the Australian government
was likely to grant
permanent residency for,
barista wasn’t on it.
That was when
I realized
that the category
closest to me
was chef.
12
