Ormond Residential College. The Melbourne Welcome Program is for study abroad students, so I got to meet a whole bunch of new people from all over the world, plus our group leaders who are all from Australia (mostly). Ormond is a residential college, which basically means its like a dorm in the US, plus its like Hogwarts with a high table in the wood paneled dining hall. I forgot to take pictures, but it was incredible. It looked like a small castle. There are some classrooms within the Ormond Campus for tutorials and things, but its mostly residential.We arrived on saturday the 14. Kate, Cari and I walked there together, and managed to both leave late and then get really lost on the uni campus. But we did finally arrive in one piece, and got our Melbourne Welcome t-shirts, and joined our groups. We then did a scavenger hunt on the Uni campus and in Melbourne City (downtown is called "the city" here) designed to help us learn where all the important things are, as well as how to use the trams. It was definitely a learning experience - this whole looking right when you cross the street thing is hard! That night I stayed back from laser tag and went to bed, because I was feeling a bit sick, and then next day I woke up with a nasty cold. So I skipped out on the beach day and napped in my room, as well as ventured onto Lygon Street (good for restaurants and cute clothing stores) to get some lunch, and then headed to bed early.
On Monday I went to the Melbourne Museum and spent about 2 and a half hours there, and hope to go back. I could have spent a lot longer there! It was really interesting, with a whole section on Melbourne and indigenous culture. Then in the afternoon we went to the Melbourne Zoo. We saw lots of animals, including kangaroos, echindnas, emus, and platypi! I want to go back there, too! On Monday night we had an Australian themed party, which was tons of fun. I wore an Australian flag as a sarong, and we danced this dance that we learned the first day of orientation. I may have to show it to you all when I get home - its to the song "spin me right round". (or whatever its called).
Yesterday, we went to a cricket match at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds,
which was really boring. I have no need to ever go to another cricket match. It was a long and boring few hours. Then in the afternoon I went "necessities" shopping, which was interesting - prices are really different here. In the evening we had a formal sit-down dinner, which we had to dress "cocktail" for, and it was fancy fancy fancy! Then we all went out to a club/pub afterwards, and danced the night away. (If dancing the night away means staying out til 12:30. . . )Now I'm back at RMIT, and its so lovely to be here and have space of my own! I'm about to head out grocery shopping, since my meagre pantry contents do not look like they'll make dinner. I have all day tomorrow off - I think we're going to go to the market to get some fresh fruit, veggies, and meat - and then on friday I (finally) officially enroll in the uni and meet my advisor. Oh boy!
Oh man, I should have thought to warn you about the traffic. Melbourne was the worst for it, beyond even the standard everything's-on-the-wrong-sides problems. To quote Past Me:
ReplyDelete"I swear the preferred method of crossing the street is to stand on the curb for a few seconds, then dart out randomly and pray that you don't get hit. Some intersections don't even provide pedestrian crosswalks or traffic lights, seemingly assuming that there's no need for them since everyone will be utilizing the dart method anyways."