Nostalgia can be a funny thing sometimes. In the moment certain periods of life can feel stagnant or unaspiring and often you don’t know the true value of that moment until it’s passed.
Now I find myself looking back on that time doing my farm work in the South of Australia and feel a pang of pride as I think of what I achieved and the awesome memories I made. It certainly wasn’t an easy time but with all the loyal, lifelong friends I made along the way, somebody always had my back.
I certainly wouldn’t rush back to those brisk cold 6am mornings stacking rocks on that stone wall, but the whole experience really pushed me out of my comfort zone and revealed my true character. Determined to earn my second year visa in Aus, not much was going to stop me.
Going back to see the wall a year and a half on was very special and I was astounded at how much it had developed and grown. The concept of stone walling is very simple yet takes much patience and an eye for detail to achieve the aesthetic desired. The unique benefit of these walls is that once built, they last an extremely long time and are almost indestructible as the structure can move and adjust with the earth’s gravity.
Given our hard work and long gruelling days spent on that wall, we were very proud to carve our names into one of the rocks…we’re a little part of Australian history now!
Dani Aneka 