Adventures of a Girl

I love Melbourne. It has a huge heart and a great vibe. I tell that to everyone, but it's all true.

I didn't have a lot of luck in Melbourne though - I struggled to study, I was made redundant, had neighbour conflict, gained weight, starting listening to talkback radio, and generally became a right bore. On the plus side, friendships in Melbourne flourished, I gained enormous satsifaction from my study (writing and editing), got a small payout from the redundancy, loved my flat (despite the neighbour), lost a bit of the weight I gained, learned a great deal about Australian politics from talkback radio.... oh God, there goes the right bore again.

In all seriousness, I'm glad I tried Melbourne before giving up on Australia altogether. I got a vibe from walking the streets and back alleys of the city that I never experienced in Sydney, and I grew up a hell of a lot. About time given I'm nearing my mid-thirties.

I always said Sydney was going to be the first stop in a round the world adventure. I arrived full of hope, and debt - so started work straight away. A good move in some respects - I made some great friends, paid off my debt, and found a place to live. Also meant I settled in a little too quickly and forgot to explore outside of the Sydney CBD.

But that's not to say that I didn't love it, cause I did. The change of scene was a novelty and the summer was hot. I experienced good friends, drag queens, Mardi Gras, barefoot bowling, horse racing, private karaoke rooms, drunken nights out on Oxford St, arguing with taxi drivers, dinners in Chinatown, emperor's puffs, crazy work Christmas parties, outdoor music festivals, volunteering, night noodle markets at Hyde Park and loads of shopping.

I learnt how to read maps, understand foreign accents, be less judgemental, be independent, live with my parents, read a form guide, argue with taxi drivers, check the change, eat with chopsticks, sing Livin on a Prayer without screaming, and generally how to live in a big city.

It was a blast, but while I was doing all that living, time marched on and I plain forgot the round the world bit. So I stayed 2 years, lived, loved, worked... then got bored. No wonder really when all I did with my spare time was drink and watch TV. So I moved to Melbourne, thinking the change would do me good (see next entry).