Belén is an English teacher and translator from Argentina who spent two years in Australia on a working holiday visa, living in Brisbane, Tasmania, and Adelaide. In this episode, she talks about what it was really like navigating life, work, and language in a country she'd dreamed of visiting for years.
She was ready to go in 2020 — and then COVID happened. She waited three years, finally arrived in June 2023, and packed more experiences into two years than most people manage in a decade: au pair in Brisbane, strawberry picker in Tasmania, cherry packer near Hobart, cafe cook and barista in Adelaide, sandwich artist at Subway, hotel housekeeper, and eventually ESL teacher at a private English college.
The conversation covers what actually helped Belén's English improve most (hint: it wasn't the classroom), the moment she realised she'd absorbed Australian politeness habits and was saying please at restaurants back home, the challenge of being locked out of conversations when her partner's friends spoke only French, and the heartbreak of having her visa expire knowing she desperately wants to go back.
What You'll Hear in This Episode
• Why Belén waited three years before finally making it to Australia
• What the 88-day farm work requirement for a second-year visa actually looks like on the ground
• Which jobs gave her the most natural English immersion
• How Australian politeness norms felt completely foreign at first
• What it felt like to be locked out of a conversation in a language you don't speak
• The emotional reality of leaving Australia not knowing when you'll get back
• Advice for teachers and migrants who want to move to Australia
Connect with Belén
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbelenbarberisLinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/mb-barberis
