Days 18 and 19

Song currently playing: Maroon 5 Moves Like Jagger.

Current time: 4:20 PM.

Mood: Fantabulous, yet somehow expectant.

 

I want to give a very special thanks to Tom Roberts before I delve into my adventures from the past two days, who may or may not recall telling me that he reads my blog daily, no hourly, and finds it inspirational. So, in the spirit of Tom, I will try, note the word try, to be more consistent with updates.

Here it goes.

Day 18

I think I have expressed, in a variety of ways, including absolute horror, snide comments and the feeling of adapting the fetal position, just how expensive things are in Australia. But, it may come as a surprise that to native Melbournians, these prices are normal. In fact, they may seem like bargains simply because the pay scale is so different.

But to poor international students living off of a small budget—well, let’s just say we turn to the streets and internet and do what we do best; give out resumes!!

I spent three hours job searching Tuesday and still only sent out two applications. Now, you may think two is quite a small number and is in no way practical, but honestly, I never expected there to be so many limitations when trying to find a job. First, you must find out whether the position is part time or full. Once that hurdle is cleared, you have to make sure the job can be worked around your classes (which are already dispersed in a haphazard manner). THEN, you must consider a haunting prospect that has consumed man’s mind for centuries—location, location, location!! Is the job close enough? Can you use public transportation to get there? Can you get back in time for classes?

All of this ultimately leads to the question, “Eh, who needs a job anyway?”

Needless to say, the job process is moving fairly slow. Since my tutorial alternates every other Tuesday, I was left with a whole day to myself. I consequently decided to bite the bullet and buy my “readers” for classes. They are like workbooks in the States, except they include all the selected readings you need for class. So, you can’t really get away with not buying them, ya?

35 minutes later.

Oh, and I’m telling you, I think queuing is particularly relished Australian custom. Ok, so it may not be JUST Australians, but there are queues for everything! Want to get a bite to eat? Sure! The line’s over there. Want to get postage stamps? Sure! The line’s just out the back of the store. Want to use the bathroom—wait, I’ll stop there, because I’m pretty sure women’s toilets are universally known for their “queuing.” (Which drives me absolutely insane; men are so lucky.)

Back to me buying readers that read right through my budget, I came back to the Unilodge to grab dinner with Tom, Flo and Shayna. Now, you have to realize the way we go about things. First, someone states, or writes in this case, “Hey, we should grab dinner tomorrow night!” at which point everyone agrees it’s an awesome idea. This then progresses to someone quickly googling “cheap food in Melbourne” that leads to a list of 10 or so restaurant links on Facebook, which leads to several comments on the restaurant ultimately preferred, which leads to meeting everyone in the lobby and proceeded to walk in the crisp Melbourne air toward a restaurant no one’s ever been to before.

That’s how we do.

While on this journey, I did hear a funny story and decided to share since it goes to show how cultural differences can get you in trouble. Apparently, there was a Irish girl who was studying abroad in the states who couldn’t get into a bar because she said, “Where’s the crack?”

What Americans do not know is that this is a common Irish phrase that simply means, “Where’s the party?” or “Where’s the fun at?” (Also, crack is actually spelled craic, if anyone was curious.) Poor girl. And here the bouncers are thinking she’s looking for a dealer. But now you know.

Don’t offer drugs to your Irish friends if they ask you for crack.

So, we ended up at Shangai Dumplings (Shanghai Dumplings.) where, of course, we queued for another 15 minutes of our life. But trust me, queuing goes a lot faster when you’re with good company and the wait, my friends, was well worth it.

<><> <><> <><>

Evidence of good leftovers.

This little treasure gave us 15 fried pork dumplings, still steaming on the plate for only 8.50 AUD. It was delish. I really couldn’t have been more pleased. Unfortunately, we were seated on a bar that faced the queuing line we had just endured and consequently, I was left with a plate full of amazing food in front of me that people just on the other side of the glass began salivating over. And yes, I was that awkward person whose food was served first, so I politely waited for my friend’s food to be served while Asians on the other side of the glass proceeded to eyeball and make grabbing motions toward my place. Terrific.

But hey, I had seven dumplings for lunch today. I’m not complaining.

DAY 19

Today, I woke up to my phone ringing and was further confused when I saw it was an unknown Australian number. Bleary eyed, I managed to work up enough morning time courage to call the number and was taken aback when a man with the most Australian accent I’ve heard yet answered the phone. He hesitated as well so I’m sure I must’ve sounded the most American he’d ever heard.

Long story short, he was calling to confirm a little escapade Wendy, Shayna and I have been planning. I’m sorry, but I won’t reveal where we’re going until this weekend. If you don’t read the blog regularly, I’m telling you, Sunday night’s post will be worth it, simply because of the pictures. How’s that for incentive?

<><> <><> <><>

Where I wait before Biology classes begin.

I attended my second Biology lecture today and learned a little on Australia’s receding rainforests. I know I talk about them like a hairline, but honestly, the tiny dots on the continent that do represent these fleeting ecosystems are surprisingly limited. It’s sad just how quickly they’re disappearing. This class makes me want to forego everything I have planned in the foreseeable future, put on my boots and grab my sign that says, “Save the rainforests!”  I just feel like there is so much that is lost when what’s being lost is nature. There is such a feeling of transparency when it comes to creation; I don’t see how we don’t feel a deep sense of loss when it comes to cutting into trees and building mass shopping complexes.

But that conversation is for another date. I think Avatar pretty much covered anything I have to say on the matter.

So, after being inspired by an Australian botanist, I headed out to have coffee with a friend from Melbourne Welcome. Needless to say, the caffeine and company were both delightful. There really is something to a familiar face, even if it’s only familiarity.

My next detour was the Post Office, simply to check in on the cost of postage. I politely asked (after queuing for about 12 minutes) how much international stamps were.

1.60. Each.

Oh. Ok.

That’s about how things went down. Also, just in case you’re wondering, Australian stamps require you to lick the back of them to stick them on. Though the pictures are a lot more entertaining than the States’ (dingos), I think my tongue prefers postage stamps as stickers, thanks.

Finally, after my senses were temporarily overwhelmed by a neon pink “Hello Kitty” tram parked on Swanston St., I made it back to the Unilodge to gather my wits and prepare for the Mystery Dinner. And let me tell you, I was hungry enough to eat anything they gave me, even Hungry Jack’s, because I was Hungry Jordan.

You don’t want to meet her in a dark alley while coming home.

I piled into the small Unilodge lounge with about 14 other people and waited around for someone to tell us what exactly we were going to eat. After about 10 minutes of anticipation, I was sadly informed that we were going to eat pizza. Now, for those of you who don’t know me well, you have to understand that I don’t eat pizza. I know. I’ll give you a moment to process that. And yes, I do know how strange it is to not like the most universal food known to mankind. But it’s ok; you guys will get over it. I know I have.

Yes, so my spirits were dashed that I had gone through all the trouble to get excited over food for it to end up being pizza, but as I said before, I was starving and the possibility of a free dessert and drink along with the pizza was a most scandalous thought indeed. While walking to the tram, taking the tram and awkwardly figuring out seating arrangements, I ended up talking to two Asian guys—Terrence and Andy. (Sorry if I botched the spelling; I can’t even spell American names right.) They are both architecture majors from Hong Kong. So Melbourne is relatively small and slow paced in comparison. This blew my mind as Melbourne is both very big and fast paced to me. Well, actually, that’s not true. I think all of Australia has an almost “laid back” feel to it even if tons of people are walking past you, but I simply attribute that to Australian culture.

Anyway, we had a good laugh over the fact that they were stuck at Melbourne Uni when RMIT has all of the crazy architectural designs. They were pretty jealous. If I was majoring in architecture, I would be, too.

<><> <><> <><>

Pomodoro's Pizza Restraunt on Longsdale St.

We ate dinner true Italian style, meaning it took around three hours to make all of the pizzas. We had 5 rounds of different pizza, and you will ALL be surprised to know that I found some that were not only edible, but actually not bad. (But this account may be biased as I was about to pass over from starvation.) One of the pizzas had chicken and roasted potatoes and peppers on it—so basically, it wasn’t even what we would traditionally call pizza. As such, I loved it.

And finally, my favorite part. I finally tried tiramisu. It’s like a biscuit dipped in coffee with whip cream and chocolate swirled on top. I’m sure that was a terrible description, so let’s just leave it as “a cup of awesome.” (Zims, I’m sure that’s all I have to say for you to understand.)

<><> <><> <><>

Cup O' Awesome.

Yea, so I was ridiculously full and as such, decided to walk back instead of taking the tram. Fortunately, I had the company of Andy and Terrence and the walk took little to no time. Funny how whether or not a walk is arduous or not seems to depend on the company kept. Go figure.

I arrived at the Unilodge in no time and decided it was time to give an update to you lovely people.

I hope you are all well. I think I may do my class readings now. Maybe.

Probably not.

Cheers!