Another action-packed week! There seems to always be something to do, a place to see, or an event to attend around here. It’s really quite exciting, although I admit I’m looking forward to having an hour or two to myself to just sit back and enjoy my Stephen King novel!
I’ve settled in pretty well at the Unilodge and I know my way around the main city areas. I love walking along Swanston Street or strolling through the campus. Grocery shopping’s become a surprisingly fun experience in itself, especially when I try different shops and stores to find some cheap food. I usually go to Woolworth’s (a major chain here), although I plan to visit Aldis soon. My personal favourite is the Thresherman’s Bakery, a quaint bakery/café/resto about two minutes away with super cheap baked goods, bread, and sandwiches after 4PM. And people who know me know I love my baked goods.
Yesterday I visited the Queen Victoria Market, which is a HUGE fresh produce market as well as an enormous flea market-like area. I’d say it’s even bigger than the Mathers flea market in St Eustache! It’s become one of my favourite places in Melbourne so far, and I think of it as a cultural experience in itself. They’ve got rows and rows and vendors and shops selling everything you can think of, including delis, bakeries, butchershops, liquor shops, a huge area filled with stalls of vegetables and fruits, and then an entire separate section with stalls for clothing, electronics, souvenirs, you name it! You can spend hours walking through the stalls with vendors everywhere calling out their special prices and offering you to try some of their food. I’ve actually bought some food to make a beef stir-fry tonight, I’ll see how it turns out. I’ll have to go back again next Sunday.
I’ve also had the chance to explore a suburb of Melbourne called Moonee Ponds, about 20 minutes by train from downtown. I was invited by some new friends to a delicious BBQ at their share house. The area is probably more representative of a local neighbourhood, with shops and trams that run along the major streets. The houses themselves are designed differently than those in Montreal, I’ll be sure to post some pictures of them eventually.
Another highlight of the weekend was Brunswick Street. It’s a trendy main street away from the downtown core, loaded with boutiques, bars, clubs, and cafés. I had a great time at Perseverance, a club/bar with a dance floor. The 90’s music theme was neat, although the Spice Girls tracks were a little unnecessary! Bimbo’s is another one of my favourite hotspots, with an inviting atmosphere, couches on the main floor, an outdoors terrace with hanging lanterns, and delicious $4 pizzas (including the Belgian chocolate pizza!)
On a more serious note, last week was Week-O, or Orientation Week. We were given more opportunities to meet other international students, explore the campus, and enrol in our courses. Unfortunately the uni has started using a new system, and everyone has been having problems with the student ID card and fixing their timetables. Some people still can’t register in their classes, even though today was the first day of school. Luckily I’m not one of them, although I had to wait in a queue of about 100 people a couple of times…
A few other fast facts (this is getting long and I’m getting lazy :P ) :
- I’ve now met people from Finland, Germany, UK, Malaysia, France, China, Mexico, many different states in the US (the majority), Norway, Belgium, locals from all over Australia, and even a few Canadians from McGill
- I visited a restricted medical museum with a large collection of perfectly preserved human body parts (the ones in silicon were especially creepy, especially the hands and faces)
- I plan on joining the Mountaineering Club, Ultimate Frisbee Club, and the Engineering Music Society
- The cheapest 6 inch sub at Subway is $5. No $5 footlongs here.
- Starbucks is considered to have poor quality coffee. An average price for a coffee here is $3.
- There are no pennies or 1 cent coins in Australia.
- There’s an AC/DC Lane downtown. I am serious. If that’s not epic I don’t know what is.
- The courses I’m taking here are called Fluid Dynamics, Design and Processes 2, Dynamics of Machines, and Australia Now.
I’ll try to post more soon! In the meantime, you might be able to catch me online some days around 10-12PM (12-2PM local time)
Cheers,
Sean
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