Reflection on experience

This post was originally written on August 7, 2006. I believe it's all still true a year later...

********

I have officially been home for a month now. I kept getting asked what my feelings were about my experience. I found myself lacking the words to know how to answer that question. Even now I’m not quite sure I know how to answer it.

I think there were questions in my head that I needed to resolve when I first went to Australia. Those lingering questions were more or less answered, but don’t by any means have definitive closure. They are just what they are – answers.

I also set out to get a degree that would allow me to change career paths. I was so unhappy professionally in Kansas City. I enjoyed paying my bills and having some money leftover at the end of the day to have some fun, but I was still working 50-55 hours/wk to do that, sometimes more! I wasn’t in love with anything I was doing, I was just loyal to those who helped me out and gave me a chance. I knew I was stuck in a rut and I needed a big change. I looked at schools in the US, but everything was so expensive, so Australia’s allure grew. School was less expensive, though I still don’t have my Masters, I got enough of what I needed to get the ball rolling. As soon as I finish my internship and get the paperwork sent in I’ll hopefully get my final credit and get that Graduate Diploma.

I wanted to see a new part of the world. Boy, did I ever! It wasn’t the country I expected to see though. I always thought that I would have all this time to travel and see Australia. Truthfully, I didn’t see nearly as much as I could have, but it was more expensive to travel domestically there than I had anticipated. Also, my desired travel partner had a larger class load and responsibility than I did, so that didn’t work to our advantage. Instead, I found a different partner and some helpful dorm-mates who sponsored my trip to India and Sri Lanka. I also visited Thailand with suggestions given to us on what to do and got to hang out with a friend I hadn’t seen in ten years in Singapore. I spent ten days in New Zealand with my parents. I may not have seen Ayers Rock, but I made it to the icons of Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. I saw tons of amazing stuff in and around Melbourne. I saw things this year that I never knew I would see with my own eyes. I had experiences in my friends’ homes that will never be duplicated. It was an amazing addition to my time there.

As for what I am taking away from the experience… Melbourne was a great city, but it wouldn’t have been what it was without the people. My thank you list is as follows: My friends at Grad House made my transition to Oz so incredibly fun. My gals (Steffi and AK) who I love so much that I was fortunate enough to surf with, talk with and have many hilarious times with. My travel partner and awesome friend Kim with her capacity to take each experience in stride and be my balancing half was a true treasure! My housemates (Angelo, Fi, Mauricio, Sab) who put up with my cleaning fits and crazy ways to deal with things and taught me so much about share-house tolerance and patience. To Robi for the great gigs and Ti Amo dinners, grazie! Hutchy, thanks for being you and for being exactly what I needed – forever I’ll be hot for teacher. To my classmates for being supportive and inspiring – especially the “Making Shit Sing” crew! To Steve for being my shoulder to cry on and for the unsolicited advice (ok, a lot of it was solicited), the dissertations, the dinners, videos, soccer nights, the touristy drives, and many hugs – you were an amazing find. Thanks to Lucy for letting me steal Steve and crash on the blue couch so often. And most of all, thanks to Aidan for being you … ten years older, better, and forever my friend – we’ll do it better next time.

I have a list that grows each day of little things I miss about being there… but my time there had to come to an end. The government said so! I was just getting it all figured out when I had to leave, as it happens. But that flight no longer is a deterrent. I look forward to doing it again someday and seeing more and revisiting whoever is still around. And anyone who happens to come to the US some day, please know you always have a place to stay with me!

In the end, I guess my reflection comes down to… Australia is what I needed and I’ll forever cherish my time there.

Last Looks

I took a lot of walks in my last few days in Melbourne. Here are some of the sights I passes each day...

The fountain of remembrance - a fountain for each person killed in the Bali bombing. It's in the park just opposite my tram stop. I walked through this park many times on my way to the library at the Uni of Melbourne.

The view from the Yarra River, which cut the city skyline in half. It was a beautiful, romantic walk in the evening. (Photo by Angelo.)

Flinders Street Station - the main city train station where people "meet under the clocks."

Federation Square and some of the skyline

Part of my campus facing the building where most of my classes took place.

The alley between the tram stop and my house in the city was decorated with stencils from the print shop housed inside the white walls.

I believe this photo was actually taken by Angelo - but it shows the tram lines near Melbourne Central.

Saying goodbye to Grad House

Also on July 2, my friends at GH prepared a last meal/potluck for me. Udeshika made her awesome spicy cabbage. Prashanth made an egg-frittata like concoction. We had salad, rice, fries, fruit, desserts... and lots of fun conversation. It was a super night and a great way to say goodbye to my friends and former housemates.

(left: Udeshika putting out the spread)

(Clockwise from me: Prakash, Krish, Udeshika, Para, Prashanth, Nas, Kim, Leena)

American-Australian relations - July 3, 2006

I spent my last full final day wandering the streets of Melbourne where I met up with Hutchy to buy a couple souvenirs. Being something of a local music connoisseur, Hutchy and I went to pick up CDs of bands I wouldn't be able to locate at home. Three CDs later we headed for dim sum in Chinatown. It was a great way to end my time with him.

Later that evening, the American Consulate hosted an event for ex-pats, Australian officials and special guests. My friend Bob's uncle is the Consul General and so I was invited to attend as Bob's guest.

After we finished the event, Navin, a Fulbright scholar at the event, as well as Steve and Andy joined Bob and me to head to my favorite dumpling spot. We enjoyed the steamed dumplings and soups before saying our goodbyes.

Steve drove me to Aidan's house, my refuge in my final days in Australia. He also took me to the airport the next morning, after a quick stop at Kim's house to leave behind useful things for her that I could not and did not want to take home with me.

Steve waited with me at the airport and we talked as I waited for McD's to switch the menu from brekkie to lunch so I could have a cheeseburger - a necessary food item after our long evening and before starting my long journey home... I only had a couple dollar coins left, so I couldn't afford much, but I had enough to get the burger. It's sad now to think back that McD's was my last meal in Aussie... too bad it wasn't a kangaroo burger.

Footy - July 2, 2006

To ensure I had the full-on Melbourne experience, I could not leave without visiting the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) for a game of Australia's beloved sport: footy aka Aussie Rules Football. Aidan had never been either, so I bought us the tickets and he provided the transport to the city. We grabbed a tram in the rain and proceeded to suffer through the chilly, misting air to watch the semi-barbaric game with men in tiny shorts, no padding, and a broken leg on field after a collision. In short, we had a blast cheering (for the winning team, of course).

Coldplay - July 1, 2006

Kim and I took a last night out on the town together. We started our evening with the only decent nachos in town - Hard Rock Cafe. Sad, but true... good nachos were not to be found in Melbourne. Those Aussies need some Mexicans to come to town and give them a dose of yummy queso and salsa! I digress...

From here we caught a taxi to Rod Laver Arena to see Coldplay. I had advanced purchase tickets putting us in the front row. Problem is, when it said "best available" was general admission I couldn't believe it, so I went with the front row instead... would've helped if I would have paid attention to the set-up. However, we were above the court area so our view wasn't obscured and it was still totally enjoyable as we screamed and sang and laughed. Awesome!

He finished our night by heading down some alleyways to some cool bars. I cant remember the first one we stopped in, but we headed to the Croft Institute from there - a cool bar that looks like a chemistry lab downstairs and played fun dance music upstairs where people were grooving.

Kim and I got our drink on and relived our glory days and lamented our last days. It was a great final night out with her.

Loveshack!

Aidan and I took another excursion to just spend the day together on the beach. We started off heading toward Brighton Beach where I had heard about these little colored beach houses. He had never heard of them, so we meandered our way to Brighton and parked and then walked along the beach trying to locate the shacks. No luck, but it was a beautiful view of the bay.



So as we headed back to the car, I called my friend Ben who lived in Brighton and asked for some directions and just as we wound our way back down the road, we could see them. We found parking and walked down to them and just sat and watched the waves and talked. It was such a gray day that the colors of the houses really popped against the sand and the gray sky. This isn't my best pic (above), but it covers the most area so you can see how many of them there were. Just lovely! The pic below is a great desktop shot, in my humble opinion.



Aidan and me - pretty close up. EEK!

Footy at the MCG

Melbournians love their sports and coming ahead of all others is Aussie Rules Football aka footy! The Melbourne Cricket Ground doubles as the footy field in the cricket off-season. And the MCG lights can be seen all over the city. So here I was in my last week of being a Melbs local. I really badly wanted to go see the MCG and the sport for myself. I bought two tickets and dragged Aidan out with me on a rainy day. We had awesome seats and the fans around us were die-hards! We learned cheers, yelled a lot, laughed a lot and really had an enjoyable time. Funny enough, Aidan had never been to a game at the MCG either, so I'm glad we had that memory.


Stadium View - look at the multiple stands!


We walked down 10 rows to get this pic during half time. It was cool and rainy and a guy broke his leg playing that day. The guys only play in these little short-shorts and a sleeveless jersey! Not much protection. They get knocked down and get up again - a true showing of 'suck it up' on the field!


As we left, I turned to take a quick photo. This is obviously just a partial view, but it's the closest to the MCG I had been to that point - so you can see up close just how massive it is!

AK 47 and the Hutchy HQ

This happened a few nights before Steffi's and my going away party, but I forgot to post about it.

AK was the first of our girlie group to leave for home in Sweden. We kicked off her going away party at a male strip show. It was pretty funny. The food was kinda gross and the drinks were just so-so but the dancers were hilarious ... and a couple of them were actually pretty cute.

As soon as it was over, we dashed to Trader Bar to meet up with the rest of her crew to watch the stock market crash to buy drinks at a low price. The Lady UN was definitely in full swing representing Sweden, the Netherlands, Poland and USA.
My pretty drink!

I went with AK and her Swedish and Dutch friends to Chapel Street to a club, but ended up taxi-ing home about 30 min later. Not my scene ... but I got a call from a friend on my way home so altered my route to St Kilda for a house party and danced and sang until the wee hours. I think I might have gotten 3 hours sleep?

Bye Bye Love

Steffi was having a going away party and so I tagged along and made it my city good bye too. We met up at the Provincial Hotel and then made our way to Bimbo for some dancing after the PH closed for the evening. Good times. I miss my Steffi!!

Miss these peeps!


Ah.... the girlies


Playing with light effects

World Cup

The city got it right! They put up a huge screen on Lygon Street at Argyle Square – right where I live – for the Australia v Italy game. Lygon is famous for it’s Italian restaurants and habitants, so it made perfect sense. People were in the streets holding both flags because their loyalties were torn and confused. Unfortunately, the Socceroos lost in the most horrible way – a poorly called PK in the last minute. There was no way to recover. But the Italians still celebrated. I left after the point was scored to walk back to my place and hide from whatever madness was going to ensue after the win/loss. I could still hear people running and screaming down the streets an hour after I got home and was lying in bed. Well done, Socceroos. Way to get yourself on the scene. Everyone is proud you got so far and sad you lost how you did. But from nothing to something, it was good stuff!


(Bob and I also watched the Aussie v Brazil game at Transport and then a few days later saw the US game at the Charles Dickens followed by the Aussie v Croatia (I think) game at 5am!)

At Transport with Bob


Charles Dickens' crowd


Watching the big screen on my cross street - LYGON!


A very fuzzy view of the crowd watching the game in the sectioned off area of Argyle Square.

Secret Garden

After nearly a year in Melbs, I still had not meandered through the beautiful Botanic Garden. It was Sunday and I could use a Sunday saver to get down there, so I met Steve for a coffee and a walk. The mocha I ordered was made poorly and was left mostly untouched –grrr! But Steve and I made the most of the “arvo” and had a good look around the gardens. I can see why this was Steffi’s favorite garden. It’s huge and beautiful, even in the winter.

I like to climb trees


A quiet pond on an overcast, winter's day


Jumping up and down because it's fun

Yarra Warra

I met a nice fella (Julian) at the film’s debut and he offered to take me on an outing to the Yarra Valley. I took a train from the city to a zone 2 station where I met him. We drove through the countryside and to Yarra Warra Winery and Museum where we had a nice look around at the contemporary art collection and then had a sample of the wine. Unfortunately, it is winter so the grapes are gone and the vines are dry, but the area is still beautiful. It’s amazing to think that this kind of scenery was so nearby and I almost didn’t get to experience it. If I ever come back to Melbourne, I’m going to have to have a car for taking some lovely road trips!

The Winery and Museum


Sad little grapevines... all wintery and withered.

Lights! Camera! Action!

Our film’s debut (along with 12 others) occurred at Loop in the city – a multifunctional bar with large screening room. It was a great turn out. Steve, Bob, and Aidan all came to support me and my film. It was really well received in general. Perhaps it was due to the fact that it was last and many people had been drinking heavily, or perhaps it just really kicked arse. Then again, combine those two with the fact that as soon as I heard the opening line of “feedback, you f*ckers” I screamed, which started other people hollering. Pretty funny really. Fun times were had – and here are the people who helped make the night great.

Kate and the boys - Bob, Steve, Aidan (No, my arms aren't dark and hairy and disjointed - but it looks like it.)


Kate with "Fluffer" (boom) and Dave (director)


Celebrating our movie

Shriner Convention

Took myself out to the Shrine of Remembrance, a monument I pass frequently, but have never visited. Not a whole lot to say about it other than it’s a beautiful shrine and has amazing views of the city.

View from the inside


The city from the shrine


Australia's flag and sunset over Melbourne

Reasons

There are reasons I have not completed my Oz blog... the pictures will NOT post. So I have stuff to put up, but no pics will attach. I am in the process of fixing it. Be patient. Much to write. Much to show. And much to reflect on.

Return to Witch Mountain

I took a daytrip to the Dandenong mountains about an hour outside of Melbourne. I had heard a lot about the area. It’s amazing how different the foliage is even just an hour out of the city. The mountain area actually reminded me a lot of heading out to my house in Rogers, winding roads and the trees lining the path. It was really green and beautiful. Our first stop was to see the famous Puffing Billy – a train that goes through the mountains that used to be crowded with Victorians back during the gold rush times and such. We opted not to ride, but rather check it out and meet the train at a couple different points.

After meeting Puffing Billy, we went on to the top of the mountain to the observation area. Unfortunately, the weather was not participating back in the city. When we pulled up, I could see the city. But five minutes later, the city was hidden behind the rain and clouds, as was most of the area below (see boring pic below). So we just walked around; I made out with a totem pole; and then we left to see another lookout area.

I couldn’t figure out why Steve wanted to look at this valley, so I wasn’t really humoring him on the pics. I realize I look hairless with my cappie on, but it was a lot colder on that mountain than it looks.

I finally convinced Steve that I was hungry, despite our well planned out bad-for-us-snacks including sour cream & onion rice crackers, gummy worms, Cadbury chocolate, and ginger beer… so we stopped at a tavern and had some traditional pub grub like bangers and mash and a chicken parma.

From there, before we lost the sunlight, we did a small hike to Sherbrooke Falls. After getting my nice little shoes muddy (grrr!), we made it to the falls. They were cute. HA. Yeah, I said “cute.” They were the tiniest little falls, but it was a nice walk - would have been nicer if I had planned better and worn different shoes. Oh well.

We made it back in time to chill out. Then we griped about dinner or whether we should just continuing to eat the bad snacks – bad snacks won due to laziness. Then it was England v. Paraguay – a yawn of a game, but good on England for at least getting the points.

see pics HERE

Carnivale

Who loves the circus? I do! I went to the Ringling Barnum & Bailey Circus when I was a child. I loved the clowns. Most young girls want to walk the tightrope and do flips in the air, but heights and flexibility isn’t really my thing, and clowns always seem to have lots more fun. From this experience I joined a clown troupe at my church, had clowns all over my room, and I even researched the clown college in Florida. Alas, my days as a circus clown did not come to be, but I still love the circus! And lucky me, the circus is in town! So off to Circus Oz with Steffi I went. It was a mix of adult humor, clever music and stunts galore! Such a fun night. I got to eat “fairy floss” (aka cotton candy) and have a beer. Too funny. Me – a circus – and a beer?! That’s a grown-up circus experience for sure!

St. Elmo's Fire (cant upload pics for some reason)

I wandered the city by myself after meeting up with Steffi for some late brekkie at a well-known café called DeGraves, on DeGraves Lane – this funky little lane of small boutiques and street cafés. Melbourne is full of these little lanes and it’s great fun discovering the hidden yummies, cool togs and funky people wandering around in them.

After our excellent French Toast, I started to grab a tram at Flinders Street, but got sidetracked at Federation Square to see what the big crowd was about. SAVE VICTORIA’S FORESTS! Lots of green-friendly folks walking around with petitions while a great band got everyone dancing. There had been a guy living in a tree for a week on St. Kilda Road (a main road leading into town connecting St. Kilda and the city) to get interest in the event. I didn’t see him, but I saw the pic in the news.

Once I had jiggled my booty to a couple songs, I took off on the tram to Fitzroy Street and the Esplanade to check out the Sunday market of crafts. I was close to getting some art, but wanted to think more about it. So I kept walking and made my way to Luna Park, which I entered for the first time and saw, really and truly, for the first time a huge group of Aboriginal children. I can never decide if I think it’s rude to ask for a picture, or if I’m just shy about approaching strangers, but these kids had this dark skin; hair that nearly blended in with their skin color; wide, slightly flattened noses; and the biggest smiles. I have seen some here and there, but most have become slightly more European in appearance, but not this group. And they also weren’t dressed up like a tourist attraction. They were common day Aboriginal children. Just beautiful.

From Luna Park, I caught about 5 minutes of a street performer who was either American or Canadian from what I could hear of his accent before traipsing down to Acland Street to enter all the funky stores including a personal fave, Klein’s. My plan was to hang in St. Kilda and then grab a pastry from one of the awesome European bakery shops and watch the sunset on the beach, but I got called to Prahran by Bob for dinner and a movie.

So I grabbed a tram outside McDonald’s and made my way to Chapel Street where I met up with Bob and introduced him to my favorite Teppanyaki place – Kanpai! We had some chili, sizzling mussels and then a mixed teppanyaki with rice. Yum! Normally I crave them so much that I would just want to order a second plate, but I was pretty full. We went to the Jam Factory to check out what was showing and unfortunately, there’s just not much on right now. I don’t know how it’s possible that there are only like 6 movies playing in the big theatres right now. We grabbed tickets for Poseidon knowing full well it would likely be bad, but with Josh Lucas being easy on the eyes, ah, what’s a girl to do? But it was, indeed, not such a good flick – entertaining, but not good!

I rounded out my night by taking some the pastries and goodies I picked up on Acland Street to Steve. He had been studying hard for his exam, so I thought I would bring him something yummy to cheer him up. I finally made it home around midnight…

Overall, it’s funny sometimes how taking a day to get lost in this city by myself can really give me perspective on some things. Riding the tram in with the bay on one side and the city on the other, it makes me really happy. Wherever it is that I end up going next to make a life – I can see it having both of these things: water (bay, ocean, lake – if not the Thames) and a city full of life, culture, foods, people!

The Final Cut

We had one last editing session and got the final project cleaned up and ready for the big show. Here’s a look at the edit suite shenanigans…

Di doing the edits

The Hate

Dave and Dee showing their enthusiasm for the project.

Prison Break

Lately my life consists of showing people my room, trying to sell my furniture, packing my things, seeing what I can see near the city, and spending time with friends. Doesnt sound too bad, no? But the idleness is about to kill me. I feel like I'm just waiting around to go home. Plans for this month that I had got cancelled and since it was something making this month worthwhile to look forward to, I no longer have that... so it's just me. Yeah, yeah, whine whine whine. Ok, it's not all that bad. I have stuff I'm doing and want to do and again, I hate not having a car!!! Freedom is what I'm looking forward to when I get home. Then again, is it truly freedom I will get? I dont know. I feel like I'm 22 again, just graduating, and have NO clue what the next step is. I've found some really great jobs that I'm looking to apply for, but shall I hold my breath? No. And things are so spread out where I'm looking, geographically that is. I have focus and have 3 cities at the top of my list. Will any of these places make my family happy? Not really. But I wont share them til something materializes. What's the point? Save the knocking on wood. I need to do some traveling this summer to really check these places out to know if I really like them... two of the cities I've been to and the third I've only seen the airport. Lots to think about. I'm excited about the opportunities but I still feel so unprepared! I want so much in this life... and I want more than what I've already seen and had as far as jobs go. I want my dream. I know it can happen, but it's still going to take so much work to get there. But I guess, if I want it... that's what I'll do.

No other news. Like I said, I'm idle. Maybe I'll go take pictures somewhere this weekend.

Final Destination

Only 3 days left until I turn it all in and enjoy my last month here in Oz. It's gone by too slowly and too quickly at the same time. Some days I thought my return was so far away and now it's just too soon, but then again, not soon enough. It all depends on the day.

I've started showing my room and have given notice that I'm breaking my lease. We've met three people so far and have someone else coming by tomorrow. Hopefully one of these people will work. I need to sell my furniture and that's a major pain in the arse. Just add it to another thing on my to-do list. I'm shipping a bunch of stuff home on Thursday. I wont see it for another 3 months, but I just dont want to have to carry it all and not sure I'd have room to anyhow. So might as well ship it now to let it get a month ahead of my departure.

I have a few day trips planned with different people. My friends will be leaving as soon as their finals are done. AK leaves the 21st and Steffi on the 28th. Not sure what Kim is doing... think she wants to stay and that's in the works, maybe? Other than that, I really have no news. Wooptiedo.