Mel in Melbourne

City is cool as.

Flew in Thursday afternoon to be picked up by LA acquaintance, Matt, who turned out to be one of the best hosts ever! Right off we fed my undernourished self with some Grill'd. HOLY WOW. Puts American burgers to shame. This thing was insane: The Mighty Melbourne. "Grilled 100% lean beef, tasty cheese, crispy trim bacon, free range egg, a couple of slices of beetroot with salad, relish & herbed mayo." It was insane, I didn't even know what I was eating, and paired with some Aussie chips, did me in for quite some time. So off to the Aussie Rules footy match! I don't care too much for sports, but this is fun. Really, get you some. Rooted for the Melbourne Demons, of course, even though they lost (and often lose) by a bit; we're diehards. Aussie Rules is like soccer with hands. Players can run (in short shorts, mind you) all round the field, kicking, flailing, throwing punches, and just getting downright dirty as they attempt to get the ball through the poles. Between the inner two poles earning 6 points, and the outer two earning 1. Oh and I <3 Jack Watts. Look him up.
















Thursday night went out with Matt's mates to Eve Bar in the city, just a skip from the stadium. So. Fun. Aussies know good music....most of the time. The quaint, eclectic and chic club was jam packed with mainly locals bumping ecstatically to house beats. These kids know how to dance too. None of that American-style bump 'n grind, but just fun movin' and groovin' and showing the world what you've got. Funniest part: at one point the music takes a drastic turn and Oasis's Wonderwall is blaring throughout. What? Whaaaaat? Very random, I thought. Not the Aussies. They LOVE this song. LOVE IT. Literally everyone rushes to the dance floor to scream this old school tune at the top of their lungs like we're at a middle school dance and everyone is simultaneously rapping Baby Got Back. Such a hoot. Naturally, I joined right in on the festivities. "I said maaaaaaybe, you're gonna be the one who saaaaaaves me..." :)

The rest of the weekend took on a touristy feel with a trip to the beach, loads of wandering down the main streets of downtown Melbourne, a zoo visit, and two more nights out. Loads to see, an absolute blast, and many fun people. Here's a mini picture tour to give you a better feel:

Sorry to exploit you, Zaki, but you are the CUTEST dog ever! Matt and I dragged Zaki to and fro and all around the city. The 4-month old Poodle and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel mix stopped everyone, literally everyone dead in their tracks for a quick belly rub. 

A real 'roo! The zoo on Saturday was a blast from the past, complete with 'roos, wallabies, emus, koalas, and all the other typical zoo animals. Matt has this bizarre power to make the animals play dead when we walked by, so it was more of a dead animal zoo than a live one.

Rozie, funny fellow, is a prime example of a dancing Aussie. I mean, he REALLY had the moves. Ha!

The beers were itty bitty, but can't complain since they were free at Matt's friend's 21st. Yeah open bar!

Tassie!

So long, beautiful island! Tasmania is a world of its own. Literally. I arrived Monday night on an itty bitty plane at a one-runway airport to actually walk, yeah WALK, down the stairs, across the tarmac, to the one-room airport. I felt a bit like a celeb, not really, but it was kinda cool. Taxi it over to my friend Billy's house to skip over to one of the most beautiful little beaches I have ever seen. Seven Mile Beach. This house Billy is staying in is on Surf Road and literally a one-minute trek through the woods to discover a completely secluded and entirely surreal playa. Someone walks by every 5-10 minutes, dogs frolic and have the absolute time of their lives, and a random surfer or two is just down the shore. Spent the last 2 1/2 days exploring Hobart, a quaint town with a unique character of sailing, surfing, and...I don't have another 'S' word, but it was cute! Unlike any other place I have ever been. And far less touristy than Sydney. Much more local, not as international. And I saw a wallaby!! Wallabies should be man's best friend over the dog. For sure. Attempted surfing in chilly, chilly waters on Billy's newly owned board, gave it a good go, and I'll just blame the shallow water mixed with super smashing waves for my lack of standing. I'll be itching for round two soon, no doubt. But I did killllll it on the boogie board! When is the last time you boogie boarded? Go and do it. Best time you'll have since Chuck E Cheese's. My calves are straight hating me for running them all over the sand, the soles of my feet are all sorts of torn up from hiking on the orange rocks and splinters of shells at the point, and my shoulders and Rudloph nose are begging for some SPF 1000+ sunscreen. But spirits are high and a smile permanently on my face as I head to Melbourne this afternoon! More stories to come and loads of pics when I get back to home base, but for now just a tidbit. So hey, go out and get recreational today! You won't regret it.

Delightful Delirium

I need sleep. I have been up now for a total of twenty......yes, twenty-four hours. But the sun is up (it is 7 AM) and I have a smidge of energy left, and I have no idea how. Last night a group of us went into the city for a night on the town. What a trek. We took a bus, after the first bus passed us at the bus stop without a second glance, to the train station, where we got on a train into the city, switched trains to get to Kings Crossing, then walked to the bar, Tunnel, I believe it was called, to get a stamp and then go somewhere else cheaper. This cheap place (the name is not coming to me right now) actually served pizza for free. PIZZA. Brilliant, US bars should follow suit. So after the first, cheap, pizza bar, we walk back to Tunnel for some killer DJ beats. Fantastic music. Naturally, I danced so much I can hardly walk right now and my feet are blacker than night. Clubs here stay open til 4 AM. So we stayed groovin' til 4 AM, of course. Unfortunately, the trains don't start running again until 5 AM. So we hiked it over to Mackey's (good ol' McDonalds) for some much-needed energy recharge. Apparently every Australian and their cousin goes to Mackey's at 4 in the morning. It's normal. After waiting it out until 5, we head to the train to board. After getting off the first train and heading for the second, we witness a very near fist fight, and sit on the second train for a solid 25 minutes for it to begin it's morning run. Upon returning to Parramatta, after much sleep-deprivation induced delirious conversation, we hop on the bus back to the Village and everyone heads to their king-sized mattresses, which are definitely dorm-sized, twin extra long mattresses, except for me. For some reason I am a bit awake, but soon to pass I'm sure.

Before the big city adventure, which was actually loads more fun than I'm making it out to be (public transportation is just such a hassle), we had orientation for uni. Bright and early yesterday morning, all the international students, and there are A LOT, listened to a dozen or more speakers drone on about every aspect of life at uni you could possibly imagine, and a couple entertainers. The first was an Aboriginal man who performed his tribal dance in full attire and paint. The second, a sort of 'Crocodile Dundee,' played around amusingly with a massive python and cute little alligator. Or perhaps it was a crocodile. All the same when it comes to the size of the teeth. Made tons of friends at the orientation and over a Lebanese lamb and falafel lunch. Stoked for the next five months here in Parramatta!

The day prior, that would be Thursday, Fian from England and I went into the city for a very touristy day trip. We trained it in to the city, took a free bus to the harbors, and walked around the Opera House/Harbor Bridge area. It was quite lovely. Fian had me saying proper words such as 'quite,' 'rubbish,' and 'massive' by the end of the trek. We both ended up with multiple blisters after the 15 or so miles of walking, but spirits were high. The Opera House is something else to see in person. It's quite brilliant. And that right there is a phrase that would definitely come out of Fian's English mouth. On the way home, we took a ferry from the harbor straight up the Parramatta River, and were dropped off just a few minutes' walk from our flats. It was a completely lovely boat ride minus the fact of The Horrendous Family. They were straight awful, and rather ruined Australia for me for just a moment. The Horrendous Family started with a Wild Child, wearing no shirt or shoes, sporting a bleached-blonde rat's tail, a sort of beer belly on a 6-year old, and Play Boy boxers. Classy. We saw the Wild Child first, and then soon understood his upbringing upon spotting the remaining 12 or so members of The Horrendous Family. They were unreal. They belong in some po-dunk part of Missouri where outsiders will never have to see them. I don't know who was the mother and who was the father, but there were  about 3.5 adults and the rest of the children's ages ranged from what looked to be poor, extremely premature baby to around twelve. The twelve-year-old was making the most bizarre dingo noises, while the younger children were recklessly holding their baby brothers and sisters up way too close to the edge of the boat, the man was loudly threatening to beat his wife when they got home, the purple-haired creature was shouting out to anyone who would listen exactly what was on her mind, the only semi-normal looking girl was spitting abnormally large amounts of mucus off the bow, cuss words were flying left and right, and they were ALWAYS in the way of EVERYONE. It was way too bizarre to even describe. But know that Missourians aren't the only crazy ones. They come in all shapes and sizes, even (sigh) Australian.

Typical, but still super cool.

Lots and lots o' walking.

The Interesting Ferry Ride.

It's been an entertaining and jam-packed last couple of days. I am delirous and most likely exhausted. I'm going to take a nap before attempting Bondi Beach this afternoon. Happy Saturday!

Oh and the toilets here don't swirl at all. They flush straight down.

Time Travelling

I'm here, I'm here, I'm here, I'M HEEEEEEEEEERE!! Long anticipated, but recently very quick to come. What a whirlwind this has been. I don't know what time it is, where I am, what day it is, or my name for that matter. Took off last night (Monday night, I'm currently living in Wednesday) from LA at 8 PM after Jardin fought our way through some crazy stressful LA rush hour traffic that I definitely could have done without. But made it...somehow. Customs and security were no biggy d, and all the V Australia workers were so pleasant and adorably Australian! I really have this strange fetish with Australia that needs to be satisfied stat. The 14-hour flight was surprisingly bearable with loads of entertaining options on the screen in the back of every headrest. Only misfortune was my placement in the second row of economy class, directly behind the row of bassinets, complete with five babies who would all simultaneously sleep...then simultaneously cry. And kick. And scream. No harm done though.

After a couple hours in the airport rounding up the uni kids for the shuttle, we proceeded to the UWS Village where I met my adorable Norway boyfriend/girlfriend roommates, Petter and Susanne. We have another Aussie boy roomie coming back from holiday in about a week. Unpacked, slowly adjusting to the extreme humidity and quickly realizing my sad state of sweaty and unkept disgustingness. Plus extreme hunger and sleep deprivation. But no towels or sheets at the moment, so go to rent those and snag a bus with new friend, Patrick from Germany, to the mall, to grab some soap and other obvious necessities. Wandered around like wide-eyed children, finding ourselves lost to the point we could only laugh ridiculously. Obvious foreigners. I asked the cashier if the gold coin meant a dollar. She nodded, looking at me with pity. Moving on, ended up enjoying a much-needed bit of exercise by walking home once we stumbled upon the lovely Parramatta River. Not to mention dodging cars driving on the wrong side of the street. So now after a good washing, making of my bed (in which a 7-legged spider crawled out of my freshly laundered sheets), and registering for classes, I'm attempting a nap before going out for some grub tonight, since my last bit of food was breakfast on the plane at 3:30 am. It has been the longest day of my life. But spirits are sky high.

Cheers!

Even Australian monies are cool.

AUD

My whole life weighs 85 lbs.

Packed! Kind of. After two solid days of cleaning out my closet, I rid myself of seven trash bags chock full of clothes and narrowed down what to pack for five months, which is no easy task, let me tell you. Got it all to fit, no problemo, until mother dearest hits me with another of her stipulations: weight limits. Oh yeah...that. I'm allowed thirty-five pounds per checked bag. I was extremely confident that I had packed lightly and ignored madre's rants. WRONG. Waited to the last minute when we were about to head out the door to weigh the bags only to discover I was seven pounds over in one suitcase, and five in the other. Unpack. Repack. Okay, cool. Momma is rushing round the house, doing laundry, baking cakes, the usual. Derek is getting yelled at about homework in the next room. Dad is MIA. So typical.

Again:
"Melissa! Meeeeeelissa! Where are you?"

"I'm right here, mom, geez. What?" (I was literally RIGHT next to her.)

"Your carry-on, that can only be 15 pounds too."

Whoops. I had moved everything out of the checked baggage to my carry-on instead. So unpack, repack, repeat.  Dropped 15 pounds of stuff and we're out. Finally. I just needed to get out of that house so I wouldn't have time to think about what I could possibly be missing. Rush 'round town and head to STL.

My mother wonders what in the world I'm going to do without her.

1.

2.

3. Nothin' but a thang.

And It Begins

Goodbye, Springfield. I wasn't sure if I would miss you, but I may have been wrong. Last night was my last work night at TGI's and it didn't hit me until just now that I will really miss those people. The rando assortment of my coworkers has grown to become a weird sort of family I will definitely be a-missin'. The night prior, Saturday, my amazing friends and I conquered a total of sixty, that's right, six-zero $2 margaritas at Prima's. Mmm mmm mmm delish. I hadn't planned for a going away shindig of any kind, but as soon as I sent out a suggestive text, my friends all lined up for a night of reunion. I felt entirely too loved. Prima's couldn't even round up enough chairs to accommodate! And my roommates. Kayla and Sara, my two other halves, put up with my smelly feet and techno beats, crammed into an often-cluttered, two-bedroom with three of us, for six solid months. What a whirlwind of fun that was. They surprised me late last night with the sweetest note ever and an all-too-perfect colorful assortment of crazy bracelets. Awesome. They know me too well.

So this is the first of many posts to come over the warmer months, during my study abroad in Sydney and other adventures I will certainly find myself embarking upon. Although this trip has been long-anticipated, it hasn't actually felt real until just now. I underestimated my ultra supportive friends and family, for which I am entirely too blessed and oh so thankful. You all give me the courage to embark. I hope to provide you with a bounty of exciting, humorous, and entertaining stories from Down Unda! Stay tuned.