I had so much desire of working on a part time basis while I’m studying here in Adelaide. I have 4 free days in a week and doing something productive is a good way of spending my time. Plus, I get to earn my own money. It’s a win-win situation for me. :)

So I applied for many different jobs like retail assistant, baby sitter, carer, library assistant, cleaner and more. I’m not too fussy about what job to take, it doesn’t really matter as long as I enjoyed it and I get paid. What’s great here is the dignity of labor. People here are paid for the hard work and are not criticized of what kind of job they take. Everyone’s equal here.

So I was hired as a domestic employee in a nursing home near our place. It’s either they put me as a cleaner or as a kitchen assistant. What I like about it is I will be working in a nursing home where I can observe activities of personal carers, a job I’m aiming to have as this can give me experience to becoming a nurse.

Today I was assigned to work in the kitchen. This was what I prayed for, something light and familiar for my first day. My shift was from 4 to 7 pm where my duty was to serve dinner to the residents. For 3 hours I felt like I was Flo from Diner Dash. My favorite computer game turned to reality right before my eyes!

I was nervous since last night until the moment I have worn my apron at work. The next thing I knew, I was preparing sandwiches with margarine, others with cheese and gherkin. I don’t even know what gherkin was, it looked and smelled like pickles to me. Then I poured water on 30 glasses and placed them on the dining hall together with the utensils. I said my friendliest “Hello!” to anyone I came across. I was on a Bianca-trying-to-get-a-good-impression-on-her-first-day mode. Haha!

Then I started plating the food. This part felt like I was one of the contestants in Master Chef! My superior and I had to move fast because dinner time was at 5pm. There were pureed carrots, potatoes and other vegetables. There was tuna cooked in white sauce, fish and chips, the sandwiches I made, soup and more. I realized how lucky these elderly people were to live in Australia. I’m pretty sure none of these foods would be served to them if they were in the Philippines.

My superior served the food as I did the dishes. Good thing they had this industrial dishwasher that cleans plates for only a minute. Made life easier! When I was about to wash huge trays of food, I asked Louis (my superior) where to put the leftovers. She said, “Oh, you have to put it in the bin.” My heart ached and remembered all the starved people in the world. :(

“Sorry, Lord.”, was all I said to myself as I threw the food in the trash. People here value the importance of hygiene and they didn’t want to take the risk of serving spoiled food. It’s great and disappointing at the same time.

At the end of the day I successfully washed 30 sets of spoons, forks, knives, plates, bowls, glasses, cups and saucers. Add with it all the things we used in preparation of meals. Whew! 

This was definitely an experience!!!! I am so proud of myself and am looking forward to more hard work in the future. This is one of my Down Under experiences that I’ll always remember.

Thank you Lord for helping me survive this day! :)

Great job Biancs! <3