One of the crazy things I did in Australia: Sleeping on the street in Geraldton
I took a bus from Perth to Geraldton and arrived in Geraldton at around 10 pm. When I got off the bus, strong winds at night made me cold. Hence, I put on my black coat and then kept walking alone on the sidewalk with my both large and heavy grey backpack. I had no plan and I didn’t know where I would go at all. I didn’t reserve any accommodation for the night because I wanted to save money. While I was wandering, I was thinking that perhaps I could go to McDonald’s to stay inside until the next morning. I followed the Google map to get to McDonald’s which was closest to the place where I got off.
It was at about 10:30 pm. Few staff were working and some customers were ordering meals. I chose a seat which was in the corner of the restaurant. I was too tired to think about what to do next. I felt very lonely, so I called my mom via Facebook Messenger. ‘Mom, I arrived in Geraldton already and I am inside McDonald’s now,’ I said in a tired voice. ‘What hostel will you stay tonight?’ My mom asked worriedly. ‘I won’t stay any hostel tonight, and maybe I will stay inside McDonald’s until tomorrow morning because McDonald’s is open for 24 hours (I was totally wrong at that time.).’ I said positively. On the other side of the phone line, there wasn’t any voice from my mom anymore. I knew my mom gave up convincing me to change my mind, since she completely knows I am a stubborn teenager. Five minutes after I hung up, I asked one Asian couple who sat next to me whether this McDonald’s is open for 24 hours. ‘No, it is only open until midnight but the drive-through is open for the whole day.’ they told me. I was so surprised because McDonald’s is open for 24 hours in Taiwan. I chatted with them for five minutes in Taiwan Mandarin because they are from Taiwan as well and also have worked in Australia for about five years.
After they left the restaurant, I carried my backpack again and walked out of the McDonald’s to plan to start looking for a safe and comfortable place to pass that night. Across from the drive-through of McDonald’s, there was a row of small shops. I found a place, where I could see the window of the counter of drive-through, on the corner of the small shops. I sat there and used my sleeping bag to cover my whole body except head in order to make me warm because of the strong winds. Suddenly loud voices from drunk people reminded me that the Asian couple I met in McDonald’s told me that it was very dangerous to sleep on the street because there were a lot of drunk people wandering here. Thus, I was so terrified to try not to let them know the place where I was staying. Across from me, there were few people who were still working in the shop. It made me feel a little relaxed. If someone had attempted to attack me, they could have come to save me after hearing my powerful screams. However, I saw them looking at me in the shop and I guessed they might think I was a dangerous and homeless person. At that night, time passed quite slowly. I tried to keep my eyes open until sunrise in order to watch what was going on around me. Nevertheless, I was so tired that I fell asleep at approximately 3 am. During my sleep, I woke up several times and then fell asleep again. I didn’t sleep well at that night……
Australia (1)