I'm Back!!!

Only temporarily. I am in McDonald's again, stealin their internet. Well, for a 6 piece nuggets. SO I will post the entries I made while I was gone! I can't get internet in my room still. I purchased it, but something in the building is messing up. Arrgghhhhh!!!! SO, the whole story is in these. Thanks for reading guys! I am so glad I can communicate with you in this way. I always want you to be updated on my life, because it's pretty crazy right now. Here you go!

July 17, 2010

Friiiiiiiiiiiiiick. Another night with no internet. I am gonna kill some people. But I did move all the rest of my stuff back to my room at UniLodge, and I found my way to Big W, a.k.a. Australian Walmart, and I got, let’s see, a hair dryer (YESSSSS), forks, knives, and spoons, a plate, a bowl, a mug (all matching, of course), and a big non-stick pan for 12 dollars. Why yes, I would say that is a steal. Seeing as all the other pans there were sooooo expensive! I couldn’t believe it!! What do you cook in if you can’t afford those pots and pans??? I have yet to get a pot. And a trashcan. And groceries. I got some yogurt for breakfast tomorrow. Other than that I have no food… when I went to the grocer store today, it was soooo busy! The lines were going into the food aisles! I have seen some long lines, like at Target, but never that long. It was crazy. It was the same at Big W. Luckily, this really nice woman working in the cosmetics section let me check out at her little register.
I went with this girl I met at the welcome program, Monika, who lives at UniLodge. Yay! Now I know two people here! Haha. I really gotta work on that. She seems a little … hmmm… distractable? She’s not very good with directions or figuring her way around. She seems a little unsure of herself. I met her yesterday and we went on a tour of the Melbourne laneways together, as well as wandered around the Queen Victoria Market. The laneways are really cool. They are like little tiny streets with restaurants and cafes running along them, with outdoor seating in the street. I got a mocha at DeGraves, which seemed to be my host’s favorite café. She looooves coffee. I think she likes to be “hip”, haha. She sort of dresses hip, and she always made sure to point out where the hip people hang out. Does hip just mean cool here? I can’t tell. Anywho, the mocha was tasty num num. They all serve their coffee in small proportions. Cute little cups with saucers, and you are supposed to sit and sip it and chat about all the hip things you do, like not brush your hair. Haha just kidding.
We also went down a lot of graffiti alleyways, where graffiti artists are commissioned to just decorate the walls. It’s usually just graffiti, no shops or restaurants down these streets.
Next we went to Queen Victoria Market, the biggest market I have ever been to. It was crazy big. And everything looked so good! They had everything, mean, poultry, fish, veg, fruit, sandwiches, bratwurst, EVERYTHING. And then they had another section for clothes and knick knacks and touristy Australian things, like mini boomerangs and koala backpacks. I think I’ll go back tomorrow, because I need to get groceries. I checked the fridge I am supposed to use, and it is super stocked up. I hope there’s room for me. I think there are only about 5 rooms that are supposed to use that fridge. How can they have so much food?? Maybe they are doubles or triples. Anyway, I’m hoping Victoria Market will be easier to shop at than that crazy grocery store.

That night, we had a final party for the welcome program at a pub called Pug’s. It was Aussie themed, so we were supposed to wear a scarf or hat or shirt. Some people went as far as tying a flag around their shoulders. Actually, the actual Australians did that. Seems like they don’t get much of a chance to act sort of like a tourist and get a shirt that says “Melbourne”, so they went kind of overboard. I wore a tee shirt! It’s bright blue and says “Australia” in Aboriginal painting style lettering. It was the smallest size they had, and it was still super baggy on me. But it was 5 dollars, so I’m not that upset. ;)
The party was fun! I actually hung out with some people from my host group and then a couple people they knew, and my host, Jiali came with us! It was fun to be with her in a more casual setting. She didn’t have to act like a tour guide.
The pub was fun. There was a good-sized dance floor, and everyone wanted to have a good time on the last night, so a lot of people were dancing. Of course I was, because I loooove dancing. I met this really crazy, fun guy from Mexico named Javier. He was really fun to dance with. Maybe because he’s gay, honestly. Hahaha! We just danced however we wanted. I think any Australians that were there probably thought we were crazy, because they just do more of a shuffling around and call it dancing. I think that kind of explains why the Australian guy I met in a club in Los Angeles a couple years ago was so interested in me. I danced with him like I would dance with an American guy, I didn’t think that it would mean anything! He really liked me right away, haha. But he was really cute, so it all worked out in the end. :)

This morning I moved out of Trinity College, back into UniLodge. I didn’t get much of a good breakfast, because I wanted to sleep in and most of the food was gone by the time I got up. I could really use a really delicious breakfast. Maybe I can find a breakfast place nearby.
It was a little strange leaving Trinity. I saw a few people from my host group on the way out, and it kind of seemed like the goodbye was more of a, “well, there goes another person I knew for a week and will never see again. That was pretty pointless and I guess I don’t care too much” sort of a thing. At least for me. Whenever I first meet people, I usually don’t get a sense that they really want to keep in contact with me and become closer. Which I guess sort of makes me not want to try to become closer with them. I definitely plan on making friends with more Australian people I meet, it’s just kind of sad to feel this way about people, even if I don’t care to have their friendship.
I came back to UniLodge with Monika and I helped her get settled a little bit I hope. She also had to run to the bank and get a bank check for her bond and rent, so I wanted with her for a bit, and then went up to her room with her to put her bags away. Then we got lunch at, guess where???

KFC!!!!!! Yum yum yum yum.

Honestly, it was a really good idea. We were both so drained from the week of nonstop walking and meeting people and leaving our home country that some good old-fashioned American grease was just the thing we needed. It was very different from an American KFC, though. They didn’t really do the buckets thing, and everything came with fries (well, “chips”). They had more sandwiches and even burgers. I am used to chicken strips in a box with mashed potatoes and gravy and a biscuit. Instead I got a chicken sandwich with fries and a couple fried wings. It was weird. But tasty.
We also went to QV, which I guess is like a mall. That’s where Big W is, and a food court and other stores and Woolworth’s, a grocery store chain. It’s right across from my nearest Starbucks.
Got that, Mom? Only a few blocks down. Hee hee hee.

I also tried to figure out my internet connection today. I got back to my room at about 11 am this morning and went on the computer right away, because I wanted to skype Meghan and Mom and Anna. I came back thinking I could get it as long as I got my username and password, which I did, but then it wouldn’t connect. … >:(

I was just SO fed up!!! Please, just let something go right and according to plan for once. I was so frustrated with not being able to talk to whom I planned. So I called Dad. I just dialed his number internationally and it worked from my cell phone. It was probably very expensive, but my Dad said it was okay, seeing as my general state of mind lately is on the brink of insanity and I may need some talking down from my parents. So it was really nice to talk to Dad, and then I called Mom after that because I didn’t want her to think something had happened to me because I didn’t talk to her on skype. I really, really, really miss my parents. It was so good to talk to them. They always make me feel so much better. I would love to talk to them every day. I’d like to text them, and I know it only costs the local texting cost for me, but I don’t want them to have to pay more to receive international texts. Hmm I’ll see.
After I talked to them, I called back the internet guy who gave me my username and password and he couldn’t figure out what the problem was, so he said he could come take a look at my computer after his shift is over.

I was like, “….ummmm….”

A random Australian guy, coming to my room, in a building where I don’t know anyone, where we would be alone together in my room??? ARE YOU SERIOUS? He said he couldn’t help me over the phone because he wasn’t a mac person and needed to look at it in person. And so I really wanted him to come, because I wanted internet so bad!!! But I was also afraid that this would turn into one of those situations where a blonde American girl goes to a foreign county, alone, thinking she can handle life on her own, and then one day goes missing, no one knows why, and then they find her 4 months later, learning she was shipped off to Vietnam to work as a slave or something. But then I thought, I have all the means to prepare myself for the worst of situations, and you know I was thinking the worst, and I really wanted internet, so I said sure, he should come look at it. And so he was going to come at around 5.
While I waited for him to come, I was SO paranoid. I started placing things around the room that would make good weapons, and I moved my suitcase closer to the door so I could prop it open when he comes, and I planned where I would stand so I was always closer to the door… it goes on. And then I started regretting asking him to come, and I wanted to call and tell him not to, yadda yadda yadda. But then I sucked it up and just waited for him.
It was good that I prepared for the absolute worst, skeezy, evil guy, because then when I met the guy, I was extremely more at ease.
He was just a regular guy! Kind of nice looking, Indian I think, not much older than me, and good at small talk. Never invaded my personal space and was very polite. And he figured out that the connection loss is not my computer’s fault, it’s the building. Which leaves me here, writing into Word again, at 10:30 at night in bed in my pj’s, waiting for the technicians to come fix my bleepin’ internet already!!! Let me have contact with my world!!!


July 18, 2010

Well today I am going to go to MCG, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, where they host the Australian Rules Football games. The stadium is HUGE. I looked it up in my travel guide, and it says it can seat 97,500 people. !!!! So I’m going to walk and take the tram over with a big group. Monika knows someone who’s meeting back at Trinity at 12:30 with a group, so we’re going with them. I hope we can find our way. I also need to find another tram ticket. I was going to ask the guy at the convenience store downstairs. Or maybe there’s a ticketing thing at the stop in front of my building. Ughhh I just hope I find one.

Last night, Monika came over and we kind of just hung out. Neither of us had internet, and we had our phones, but who would we call?? So we just sat and talked. I think she was lonely or homesick, it seemed like she didn’t want to be alone. I guess I’m pretty lucky in that I like being alone for at least a little bit of every day. If you’re used to people always being around you, coming here would be hard. I am really fine with dealing with things on my own. I like figuring out my own way, I don’t like crying in front of other people, and I’m especially not comfortable around people I just met. I would rather just comfort myself, on my own, rather than be comforted by a stranger. Well, unless maybe it was a cute Australian boy type of stranger. ;)

So this morning I am going to test out my new hair dryer! Woohooo party! Just kidding. But I am really excited to have it. Going outside in this weather with wet hair is truly uncomfortable. My head just about freezes off. And you cannot expect my hair to take less than an hour to dry on it’s own.

It seems that Monika is really not happy with UniLodge. She went to RMIT village a while ago, which is like apartments for students as well, but they actually have a nice set up, with rooms clustered around a living room and an attached kitchen and bathroom. And they all get tv’s in their rooms, how unfair is that?? And I think she said we pay about the same. They don’t have heating though. But honestly, we barely have heating here, what with the heater only heating 3 feet of space and turning off in 2 hours. I understand that she would be upset, but we already signed a six month contract. And really, it’s not terrible living here. I think the village has more American students, too. I would rather be around Australian students. It just seems like Monika isn’t being grateful for what she has, I guess. I don’t know. I just have this feeling that things aren’t going to be totally great here for some time, just because we don’t know anyone and it’s a totally new place. I feel like you're really supposed to stick it out in these situations.
Anyway, I have to dry my hair and find out where to get a tram ticket and lunch, so I will post after the game. Hopefully I will have internet by then!



Now:
So, I still don't have internet in my room. :( sad, sad day. But McDonald's is really very close, and it's open 24 hours so I can just pop down if I really really need it. It would be kind of scary on my own though. Tonight, I came with Monika, so it was really easy and I wasn't scared at all.
The footie game was awesome, but super duper cold. It started raining as we were walking there. It's really not that far, so the trams were easy too. I went with Monika, her friend Morgan, and Felix, who's Spanish I think, and Zack, who goes to Oxy! Yay! It was nice to see him.
So we were sitting up pretty high. The field was huuuuge and round, just like in the picture in my travel book. There were a lot of people, but they didn't fill up all the seats, especially the ones on the sides that seem farthest from the action on the field. I was behind a goal post. It seems like the goal is to kick the ball between the center goal posts. Simple as that. But you can't run with the ball, you kick it or punch it at someone, kind of like serving a volleyball. It was pretty cool The footie players were HAWT. Very large and muscle-y. They reminded me of rugby players.
Monkia and I left after like, an hour though, because it was totally freezing sitting outdoors and we needed to buy things. We went to the Target that's down here and Woolworth's for groceries. Monika got a quilt thing (that I think might just be a quilt cover because it was so much cheaper, but hopefully it works for her) and groceries, and I just got groceries. I didn't have much money with me, so I think I'll buy a comforter and space heater tomorrow and anything else I can think of. Orientation doesn't start until Tuesday, which I'm glad for. I'm still not entirely unpacked and moved in. Oh, and the Victoria Market is closed tomorrow! :( I'll have to go to a grocery store again. Which is sad because the market is sooo cheap.
OHMYGOSH Monika and I went to the market before the game to get some lunch, and I got this suuuuuper delicious ham and cheese croissant. They just heat it up and melt the cheese and serve it to you with a latte. It was perfect. I think I'm learning how to order. Ordering a latte is simple, you just say if you want one or two sugars. Mine was nummy!
Melbourne people are pretty nice, I'm finding. I am not shy about asking for directions or help, and everyone I've asked has been so nice. And they say "cheers" a LOT. It's so cute!!! Oh, but I saw some people cooking in my kitchen, and they didn't really say hi or anything. I smiled at them, but they didn't do anything. I was kind of like, "...hmph!" How rude. If we share a kitchen, shouldn't we be friends? I think so.
Oh, I bought a tram ticket today. It was just a daily and it was $6.80. Oh, my god, so expensive!!! In LA, it's $1.25 for a day. Zack said he got a monthly for... $109!!!! Agghhh!!!!! What am I going to do?? Oxy gave me hmmm, I think $200 for transportation. Well, ok, that's good for a month and a half, great.

Anyway, I think that's all for today. I might come back to McDonald's tomorrow if I don't have internet. I reeeeally hope I do. I want to be able to skype, and people at home can only skype until about 4 o clock pm here.

I miss everyone! I love everyone! Oh, and thank you Dad for the call today. Even though it was only a minute long, I loved hearing your voice. :)

Hopefully I will be able to post pictures soon! I did on facebook, but I want to on here for everyone without. For now, Anna you can show Mom the pictures on facebook and Grace, you can show Aunt Cindy! I will post them on here asap, though. I love you guys! Miss you bunches!!!