Welp, I feel as if i have officially transitioned from a tourist exploring Melbourne to someone who is not a full-fledged citizen, but hey I’m getting there. I’ve nearly been here for two months and i can now find my way around without using google maps (for the most part). I know the market schedule by heart and am officially starting to get into the thick of things with school work.
Over the past couple of weeks the weather has slowly started to get cooler with a couple warm days here and there. With that came the end of the summer night market, the end of the many beach days (we still make an effort to go for sunsets though), and the end of wearing shorts every day. On the one hand, this is good because the transition to fall means I get to look more like a Melbournian because they never wear shorts! But it also means leaving behind warm weather and the fact that wearing shorts in march never gets old. So you may be wondering what have I been up to the last couple of weeks? Well, school has started to pick up and i have had an essay to work on, and other smaller assignments piling up behind that. Nevertheless, we have still been able to have some fun days exploring the city and of course making it back tot he beach for the warm days and many sunsets over the water.
Last Thursday was one of the last very warm days. It reached 27 degrees Celsius and was sunny, so of course, that meant we had to head to the beach. This time we looked for something new and headed to a beach called port Melbourne. It was not busy at all, had softer sand than St.Kilda, and the water was just as nice (maybe a little colder). It was perfect (other than the ants) but we stayed all day and watched the sunset over the docks. It was also only a short bus ride out of the city so who knows, if another nice day presents itself maybe it’ll be time to head back there.
The other day I went to my first AFL (Aussie Football) Game! It was new and exciting and nothing like anything I’ve ever seen before. It is a mix of rugby, soccer, and football as the ball looks like a rugby ball and it is a very aggressive sport but you can also kick the ball and throw it basically like a football. Luckily I made an Aussie friend so she came with us North Americans and helped explain some of the rules. The game was very close and the team I chose to cheer for (they were the underdogs) came out on top after being down by 5 goals with 15 minutes left. Tickets were very cheap for a sports game so hopefully, I can find time to head back for another one before I leave AUS.
A couple of days later my Birthday came and with that came warm weather as well! I turned 21 on April 2nd and celebrated it in style with friends. The day started out by going out for brunch with a friend from class because I had gotten a surprise present the day before when my Professor had canceled my only class of the day! That meant more time to sleep in and enjoy the day. After brunch, I got to rest as my friends had class then when the evening came it was time to go out for dinner. We went to the Royal Standard Hotel, a small bar/restaurant very close to our house that has cheapish food. I got chicken wings and they were very very good, other people got things such as chicken parm and pizza. They had a large menu though ranging all the way from small apps to large steaks! After dinner, I went back to our house with some friends where we hung out, had some yummy cake, and watched some horror movies (sorry Kyle and Karley). I woke up the next day to many birthday messages as back home it was officially my birthday so I can officially say this was one of the longest but best birthdays of my life.
The past couple of days have been spent focusing on school and just hanging out with friends. We have officially passed the halfway mark for school as week 6 just passed and there may seem to be a long while to go still but i think till ass quickly. In other news the Melbourne night market comes back Wednesday, April 10th and this time is themed around European foods so that should be interesting, and in a couple of weeks reading week happens and I plan to go to Sydney and Cairns so can’t wait to get to that part of my adventure! Till next time.
It's All About The Journey 