Today, I started off my morning sitting in LA traffic – but that didn’t phase me one bit! I had an appointment at the Los Angeles Australian Consulate in Beverly Hills. There are only 7 Australian Consulates and Trade Commissions in the United States, and luckily I have one right here in Los Angeles! When I walked into their offices, I was surrounded by beautiful Aboriginal Art pieces on the wall which made me feel instantly at home. I studying Aboriginal Art at UQ in Brisbane, so understanding the background and history of these great paintings make them so much more unique.

I had the pleasure of meeting Karen Ann Lanyon, the Australian Consul-General. Karen was eager to hop on Twitter and start following me on my campaign for Best Jobs 🙂 . She was thrilled to hear about my Wildlife Caretaker campaign and wished me the best of luck! She made it clear that I should keep the Consulate in the loop this week if I should make it to the Top 3. 

I also had the honor of interviewing with Deborah Bowman, the Deputy Consul-General. She just moved to Los Angeles 6 weeks ago, so she is ‘fresh off the plane’ from Australia as they say.

Deborah feels like SHE has the Best Job in the World! Not everyone can say that about their profession, so it pleases me that Deborah really enjoys working for the Australian Consulate and is passionate about her job (‘love your job, and you never work a day in your life‘). The Deputy Consul General was very eager to hear more about my journey to win my dream job of being South Australia’s Wildlife Caretaker!

We connected INSTANTANEOUSLY when I mentioned I had previously lived in Brisbane for a year studying at the University of Queensland, Saint Lucia. She used to live and work in Brisbane as well! We chatted about our favorite places to visit in the city: the amazing farmers market they had on Sundays in front of the casino, taking the City Cat up and down the river, and enjoying the botanical gardens.

Her husband is an environmentalist, so she is already quite knowledgable about the Australian ecosystems and native wildlife. Deborah shared with me some great home stories about Australian wild animals which they sort of ‘adopted’ at their home in Canberra. We truly had some great conversations!

I came prepared with a couple hard-hitting questions for Mrs. Bowman to answer – check out our great interview below:

1- How many Australians live in California?

There are about 10,000 Aussies that live in California at the moment. 

2- What is your favorite Australian activity?

Bush-Walking! My husband is an environmentalist so we love going in the outback and exploring nature. 

3- Do you have a desired Australian cuisine?

Well, let me just say that I love cooking. It’s one of my favorite things to entertain and have people over to cook for them. I have tried all of the Australian ‘specialties’ : crocodile, shark, kangaroo, etc… I’d rather host some friends over and my own dishes though 🙂

4- What’s your #1 activity to do in South Australia?

My grandfather used to live in South Australia, and now my cousins live there. I’ve always loved going to the beaches in South Australia, they are beautiful. We also love to bush-walk down there as well. 

5- Favorite Australian native creature?

The Wombat – my grandfather’s house in South Australia was surrounded by stunted gum trees, which made for beautiful silhouettes in the evening time. And once the sun went down, a wombat would come waddling up to the house from on the gum trees to investigate my grandpa’s trash haha. 

6- Best advice to give a soon-to-be Wildlife Caretaker in South Australia?

Be yourself and keep up the great campaign!