“You have to forget about what other people say. When you're supposed to die and when you're supposed to be living. You have to forget all of these things and be crazy. Craziness is like heaven.” ~ Jimi Hendrix
Emily and I met people from our hostel right away in the shuttle from the airport, two really nice girls from Germany and a very loud, outgoing Irish guy from Dublin. Little did Em and I know that over half of Ireland was taking over Melbourne. We met a lot of really nice people over the next few days, all from Ireland, Scotland or England. We’re now playing a game called “spot the Aussie” and it’s proving itself to be a difficult game!
Melbourne is enormous, driving into the city at night felt like driving into NYC….well even though I’ve been there just once. I felt like the stereotypical Midwest girl, staring wide-eyed in my jeans and tennis shoes, completely overwhelmed by the enormity of the situation. Of course, in my head I always had that great image that everything would work out right away…warm weather, great house, friendly people and a cool job...well here was our first reality check: COLD weather, a blank white room in a hostel, cold showers, a MASSIVE city and people with unrecognizable accents. The first two weeks have proved to be a whirlwind, but what did I expect when I packed 3 bags to move myself to a completely different country?? I'm not living at the Ritz and I’m no longer spoiled by my mom’s brilliant cooking and warm home. On the other hand, these past two weeks have been such an eye opener to me and so far its been an incredible time!! Em and I have both laughed until we cried about our subpar housing, but we’ve also had a great time finding our way aroundthis amazing city. And yes, we’ve already been made fun of about our outfits and American accents…but we’ve explored, seen penguins, walked along breathtaking piers, viewed the most gorgeous sites and met really great people. The friends we’ve made so far are really nice and always fun for a good laugh; and not just because they say “jumper” instead of sweater, call us “sweetheart” or “m8” (mate) every other second, and that once we start drinking the Irish and northern England accent is COMPLETELY unrecognizable.
All of you know me as the Type A, clean, organized, “I like things my way” personality…and you love me for it :) Well, these past few weeks have pushed me to go the Type C, crazy, laidback lifestyle and I think I’ll be better for it! I currently live in a share house called “Jessica House” with Emily, which is easier described as a frat house. Other than a cute Teddy Bear dog, we live in a smoky room next to what our friends call “the reckless drunk Irishmen”. However, I also live two blocks from a gorgeous beach, I’m down the street from the famous Luna Park (shout out Grand-dude), and a tram ride away from a city full of music festivals, markets, outdoor cafes, Aussie Football and beautiful gardens. People are also as nice and friendly as everyone had described. I know there is a reason everyone tells me to give this city a chance, because you’re bound to fall in love with it. I’m sitting right now at a café on the beach, drinking an Irish coffee and looking at the Tasmania cruise ship in the harbor. Things could be worse! I’ll write soon with some of our actual stories of this past week and updates on hopefully better housing and jobs soon to come!!
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