The Melbourne Welcome

So I disappeared for a while last week to participate in the Melbourne Welcome. And you know what? Deciding to join this program was probably the best decision I had made in the entire planning process for my trip to Australia. Honestly, I think every international student should have grabbed at this opportunity to meet loads of great people and get an in-depth sneak peek into all things Melbournian. Not to mention it became a mini-frosh in itself! :P

Pics are now up online up on Facebook, spanning until the end of the program. Check it out!

I spent about 4 days at Janet Clarke Hall, which is a cozy residence college north of the Uni surrounding the sporting centre and fields. Students stayed either here or at Trinity College. Both are beautiful buildings inside and out, with Victorian-like (I’ll have to ask Katherine!) architecture and huge courtyards. I swear it’s like something out of Harry Potter, and I’m really not exaggerating. There’s even a head table in the mess hall for the Principal and Tutors (which I had the honour of sitting at during the formal banquet!). The food was exceptional, which was only one of the things I’ll miss from my stay there. There’s also a common room with a large screen TV, pool table, ping pong, and couches. I had taken over a resident’s room, which was cozy and nicely decorated single bedroom with antique furniture and an extremely comfortable bed.

I’ve always wanted to live in rez, and despite my short stay at JCH, I’ll admit that my time spent in the college was a very humbling experience in itself.
The entire program consisted of city and campus tours, visits to tourist attractions, ice-breaker activities, and an awesome introduction to the nightlife in and around downtown Melbourne. We got to visit major streets and malls including Swanston Street, Melbourne Central, and Lygon Street. Our stop at the Eureka SkyDeck Tower was definitely a highlight. With 92 floors, it’s the tallest residential tower in the southern hemisphere, and it gave an incredible view of the entire city. We also walked through some of Melbourne’s hidden alleys, filled with hidden restos, bars, clubs, cafés, and artwork decorating the walls. It’s interesting that even the hosts themselves discovered new and exciting venues they had never seen before, even if they have been living in the city for years.

On that note, I’d also like to mention that every single one of our hosts did an outstanding job of introducing us to the city. They are extremely friendly people that I’m very glad to have had the pleasure of meeting, and I hope to continue our friendships during my stay!

Some other highlights of the week included visits to the Botanical Gardens (with an inspiring and informational tour by a member of the Indigenous community), the Melbourne Zoo (pics to come soon, this had to be one of the best zoos I’ve ever been to, and not just because I got to see kangaroos and a cassowary!), the Ian Potter Art Museum, Brunswick St, bowling, and a football clinic at the training centre for the North Melbourne Kangaroos. I’ll talk about the sport, and my visit to the MCG, in my next post. I even got to participate in an exotic Australian food tasting, which included kangaroo sausage, emu, duck, and crocodile! Delicious.

And then there’s the nightlife. After four nights straight of parties, I can tell you that we were all exhausted. But it was completely worth it, and I had a great time. We toured some of the well-known (and not so known) bars and clubs such as Cookie, the Randy Dragon, Turfs, and my personal favourite for the final party, Puggs. The local beers are all pretty good here, albeit expensive. (A case of 24 can costs between $40 to $60! No wonder everyone was buying “goon”, which is pretty much cheap boxed wine) I particularly liked Snakebite, a mix of beer, cider, and raspberry.

More to come soon! Orientation for school starts tomorrow, it’s time to get serious.

...Well, maybe just a little!
Cheers!

-Sean