O-Week!

This past week has been a whirlwind of meeting new friends, exploring the state of Victoria, and getting a LOT of free food. Last Friday, I went on a trip with RMIT to the Great Ocean Road. People hype this place up a lot, and I agree that it is a must-see for anyone visiting Melbourne. We departed CBD (Central Business District) Melbourne at 7:30am and didn't get back until 8:30am, so it was a looooong day.

I had the opportunity to see some more koalas and to bask in the beauty of the Twelve Apostles. I made many friends from around the world: Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland... the list goes on! It was so nice to meet people with the common experience of being new to Melbourne. They had only arrived a week prior, so I have once again been crowned "tour guide" (a nickname given to me in my first year of uni lol). The ocean road was breathtaking and I do not think pictures can do it justice...so you just have to come to Australia!

The next day, I got on another bus and did it all again! This time, I went to the Grampians National Park. It was beautiful and reminded me a lot of home. It brings me a lot of comfort to be in the forest or near the ocean on weekends. Sometimes the city can feel like a bit much. We did a hike down to Mackenzie Falls and visited the JAWS OF DEATH! Duh duh duh! They are just cliffs, don't worry. I had a brief run in with the tour guide who told me that there aren't many Aboriginal people left in Melbourne because they died of disease... I quickly corrected him! Working in an Indigenous focused job means that people will confront you about your practice and I cannot tell you how many times I've been asked if I have ever met an Indigenous person (Hello, I am one!). These conversations can be draining, but in the end it is nice to have the chance to educate people.

On Sunday, my host family took me to the William Ricketts Sanctuary. Basically, a white dude made a punch of sculptures of Aboriginal people with a Jesus/Christian infusion. No doubt, he appreciated Aboriginal peoples, way ahead of many people of his time. But there was definitely some peculiar philosophical stuff going on that needed to be contextualised.

Later in the week I went to trivia, where I witnessed a guy eat a whole block of blue cheese. Some times you really don't know where an evening will take you. I really appreciate that you can go out for drinks and then end up seeing something like that!

On Thursday night I went to the Moonlight Cinemas in the Royal Botanical Gardens. My friends and I watched A Star is Born. It was my first time seeing it, and I was thoroughly impressed, especially with Gaga's performance. I didn't really think Bradley Cooper's voice was that spectacular. But who am I to judge? He's Bradley fricken Cooper.

This weekend it is supposed to be 38 degrees Celsius so I will be at the beach.

Talk soon,

L