My Mumma met Me in Melbourne

The last couple weeks in the city have definitely been wild. Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and I think I’ve ingested enough goon to satisfy me for life. School finished up with my online Nutrition exam that seven of us did together on a projector screen in an empty classroom on Thursday. School’s out for summer. It was time to celebrate before my trip with mum began. The party started Tuesday with round one of goodbyes. Some of the girls I had spent some good time with throughout the semester went out for a Mexican feast along with some enormous margaritas, post-dinner goon, a night full of dancing and snatching unsuspecting people’s beers and whoppers…

Thursday night was a whole other level of Vic Uni International shenanigans. The farewell function. A heap of sad international exchange students drinking more than enough goon to forget how sad they are that our time together in Melbourne was coming to an end. Drink vouchers and free food arranged by the university, typical pre-drink… karaoke, dancing, and ending with late night loitering at McDonalds and a legendary McDive…

…anyways that was just ridiculous. BUT the even more ridiculous thing was that my mother would be arriving in Melbourne and I would be seeing her the next morning. Whaaaaaaaat? I’ve been living in this strange little traveller, study abroad, Australian… bubble and she is about to come into it. Weird.

Southern Cross Station. I may not have been seeing straight the night before but that was definitely my mother walking off the SkyBus! Is my mum really in Australia? Have we really not seen each other since January? Have I really been in Australia this whole time? ..I guess so? It still is very strange to try and wrap my head around the whole situation.

So she arrived and I didn’t let the jet-lag get to her for one second! We trained home to Newport to drop off her things in MY house and headed straight back to the CBD. Four days in Melbourne. What to do and see? First stop we checked out the National Gallery of Victoria where we viewed some beautiful Australian and Aboriginal Australian artwork and sculptures. Then I experienced some major déjà vu when we wandered the same laneways littered with cafes and graffiti as I did when I first arrived here, eating at a familiar well-priced baguette sandwich on DeGraves Street. We did a walking tour where we learned some history of the city and saw a few more interesting places in the CBD. From laneways, to the State Library, to Federation Square, , to a view of the Eureka Tower, to the Queen Victoria and Prahran Markets, to Brunswick and Chapel Streets, from Chinese food in Chinatown to pizza on Lygon Street, from souvenir shopping to just shopping… we did it all.

My mum also got a chance to take a day tour on the Great Ocean Road I ended up spending my day with our Aussie friend Tegan exploring the “Newport Lakes” area. Looked a lot like something you’d come across in High Park or somewhere at home. First my mum being here… then this place… home? Who knew there was such a beautiful little water hole surrounded by forest, gardens and pathways right in my very own nuclear and industrial powerplant suburb!

Tomorrow morning we leave for Alice Springs to begin our adventure through the Outback for the next eight days!

Sincerely,

AUS