Singapore teacher and former Hollandale farm kid Greg Reynen didn’t win The Best Job in the World contest, but as a finalist he got to visit Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

He corresponded with the Albert Lea Tribune via e-mail: “Hamilton Island was amazing! The locals said the weather wasn’t very nice, but I saw nothing but silver linings! It was a lovely change from the 90-degree weather I have year-round in Singapore, and seeing the beautiful islands, meeting the welcoming people, and experiencing the Great Barrier Reef are stories I’ll be telling for years to come!”

The winner on Wednesday of the global competition went to a British charity worker.

Ben Southall, 34, will be paid 150,000 Australian dollars — $114,000 U.S. — for the six months to watch over Hamilton Island and the Great Barrier Reef. He also is to shoot video, take pictures and write blog entries about the place. Basically, Southall’s job will be to explore.

The Best Job contest was a combination of reality TV, talent recruitment and global marketing. The Sydney Morning Herald reported Tourism Queenland paid about $1.3 million for the campaign, which many consider a bargain because of the worldwide exposure it has given Queensland, a state in Australia.

The main portal for keeping up with the contest is online at www.islandreefjob.com.

Reynen, 31, came a long way to get in.

He initially made the short-list of 50 out of a staggering field of 34,684 applicants. He then made the 16 finalists in April. On May 1, he and other finalists arrived Hamilton Island for an extensive interview process that included a swim test. Even if Reynen didn’t get the position, he got to enjoy the Great Barrier Reef. However, he worked for it.

“The interview process was very intense! We were kept busy from morning to evening with meetings, media interviews, activities on Hamilton and other islands, and we were assessed on all of it — media performance, how involved we were, how enthusiastic and engaged we were, results from psychometric tests, you name it.”

Reynen, a physical education teacher at a school that offers American-style education in Singapore, said he was glad Southall won.

His blog:

Greg in Paradise

His Best Job profile:

Greg Reynen

“Of course I’m a little bummed I didn’t get it. It was an amazing opportunity! But I am really excited for Ben,” Reynen wrote. “The 16 of us actually became quite close and I got to know Ben pretty well. I’m glad to have him and all the other candidates as friends. I’ve got 15 new couches to crash on — conveniently located around the world, and one of them is just near the Great Barrier Reef!”

He said all the finalists were talented but offered different skills. He said the media onslaught was a challenge for him. He was the darling of the Singapore media for weeks, and with being a finalist, he was in the global spotlight, too.

“I’ve never had that much exposure, so it was hard to get used to. I think I improved a lot over the few days, but it was pretty disconcerting at first,” Reynen wrote.

He plans to finish his contract at the Singapore American School, then travel. He would like to visit Southall. He said eventually he will return to Minnesota and start working with his brother in Minneapolis and visit his grandmother, Vi Kychek of Albert Lea.

But at the same time, he is open to pursuing any opportunities that arise because of the exposure from Tourism Queensland’s campaign.

“Stay tuned for more on that,” he wrote.

Kychek, he said, is the only relative he still has in Freeborn County. Many of his relatives have scattered across Minnesota and other states.

He said students at his school in Singapore “were tireless in voting for me” before the finalists were announced.

So what’s he up to now?

“I’m currently on an extended itinerary in Queensland, Australia. I’ve been able to visit two more of the well-known islands — Lady Elliot and Fraser Island. It’s been very go-go-go, but this kind of exhaustion is worth it. I’ve been very taken-care-of by Tourism Queensland, and everyone in Australia is very warm and welcoming. I wish I had paid a visit long a go!

“I’ll be heading back to Singapore on May 12. I guess even the trip of a lifetime has to come to an end.”