Quick update

Here's a picture of the fitzroy bowl I got on google. Also, the girl across the hall from me was just yelling about a cockroach in her room. She's hiding in the kitchen and someone else just killed it.

Melb Orientation Begins

So, I've been in Melbourne for about two weeks now, and my first day of orientation on Friday. It was pretty uneventful, the lectures weren't all that informative, but we got free sausages. Before it all started they showed us a video that was a slick promotion for the school, which was unnecesary since we are already enrolled here, but there was a clip of a horse running on a treadmill in the vetrinary department, so Im glad they played it (twice). I enrolled for classes, and am going to be taking the only two upper division art history classes offered this semester, as well as Australia Now (on Australian studies class), and Issues in Philosophy (basically their intro class). One art history class is Modernist Avante Gardes which focuses on the high modernist period (1900-1950) and the other is the first half of the Italian Renaissance, Donatello through Leonardo. The other ninja turtles are covered next semester, when I'll be back in Santa Cruz. I'm pretty happy with my schedule and think the classes will be interesting.

Anyways, that evening the second part of the orientation took place at a bar called the Turf. It was full of exchange students, especially Americans, although some Australians who went abroad as well as others. It was pretty much like a standard college party (shitty music, tools spitting game), except more expensive. Who thought I would come to miss malt liquor? Even Australia's stereotypical "wifebeater" beer, Victoria Bitter, is $4.70 for a tall boy (about $3 american), but granted, it is better quality then American beer. Anyways, we still managed to have fun and eventually my friend Simon from Queensland and I headed with some Asian exchange students (from Tokyo and Malaysia) who live in our building, over to another pub. They took a cab home, but Simon and I couldn't fit (and didn't want to pay), so we walked home since we weren't very far from the UniLodge (our apartment complex), although the walk took twice as long because we went in the wrong direction for awhile, but in a way I'm glad because I found a new skate spot. I guess I also managed to make an impression because when I got back to my room a Malaysian girl I had met earlier had left a note for me under my door with her phone number.

The next night I convinced Simon to come out to a rockabilly show in Fitzroy. I also realized I just missed seeing the stray cats play here, but there coming back to Melbourne in a week. I'm not a huge fan or anything, but it seems like an opportunity that shouldn't be passed up, although I haven't checked the ticket price yet. I was trying to explain what rockabilly is to an Indian girl Swati on my floor (who grew up in Kuwait and Dubai), and she seemed pretty entertained by the concept, especially the '50s greaser fashion revival aspect. The first band's average age was 16, but they were talented and could rock pretty hard. They had a hot rockabilly chick singer with blue bangs and a buzz cut who had quite a strong voice. The second band was a punk band and were alright, but generally the crowd didn't seem too enthused so there wasn't a ton of energy on the floor. The crowd swelled up in front of the stage for the intermission, which featured a burlesque dancer, and then for the final group, the Bone Rattlers, who were a pretty standard rockabilly band. Apparently theres a show tonight at a BMX shop as a benefit for the bush fires that have been raging in the state, leaving lots of people dead or homeless. I heard a guy at the Fitzroy bowl talking about it because his band, Team Rad, a skate rock/thrash metal group, are playing, although it seems like its only advertisement is through word of mouth so I don't know where it is.

Next week is orientation week, where there will be lots of activities where we get to make friends and generally be treated like children, although I think I'm supposed to break off into a group with the other students doing art history, which should be cool, although it might be a group of "arts" students which basically includes everything that isn't science or commerce, etc. Not that I'm predjudiced to students of certain faculties, but the main draw for the "host group", as its called, for me, would be to meet the kids studying the same thing as me. Also, theres going to be clubs present that you can sign up for. I've never really joined a club before, I've always been slightly against them in fact, because of the whole formality of it, but I'll give them a look over, because since I'm only here a semester it could be fun. I wanted to join a hiking club because I figured it would mean organized buses to national parks, but I didn't see one in the list they gave us. Instead they have things like "Chocolate lover", "More Beer", and various ethnicity-related groupings. I guess I'm leaning towards "Socialist Alternative", although sometimes those students are a little too intense.

I apologize, but I haven't really taken any photos since I've been in Melbourne. I'll try to soon. The architecture is great, lots of old buildings, and crazy modern ones too. My building looks fancy from the front, but from behind it looks like a housing project, and the windows remind me of ghetto schools in the U.S. (Adams in Richmond comes to mind). I feel like that juxtaposition pretty much sums up the UniLodge. It's not bad, although I did chase a cockroach around my room with my Lonely Planet Australia guide book. Also, the girl who lived in my room before me said there was a mouse as well. Also, I think I'm getting more bug bites, or there just not going away, but there pretty much only on my legs. I don't know exactly what its from, but I pretty much only wear pants.

Anyways, I'll try to take some photos soon.
-Nathan

Melbourne

I've been in Melbourne about a week now, taking care of business and checking stuff out. I've been meeting some people in my building, students from Australia, America, India, China, Pakistan, etc. I'm right across the street from the university, in the Carlton suburb (suburbs are different here, the downtown is called the city, the neighborhoods surrounding it are the inner city suburbs, as I've come to understand so far), and a short walk from the neighborhood next to mine, Fitzroy, which is sort of the "bohemian" neighborhood that has been co-opted by the hipsters. There are a bunch of pubs here though, as well as a skatepark with a fun bowl that I've skated twice. My new Aussie friend Simon and I went over to the park yesterday and drank some wine in the park (drinking in public is a lot more relaxed here, and wine is pretty cheap given the amount of wineries in Victoria (the state Melbourne is in)), and there was a heavy session taking place at the bowl. There were maybe about 25 people there, some just lurking, most everyone drinking, with a amp set up churning out tunes and people shredding. People were dropping in quick at any given opportunity but I managed to get into the flow of things and get lines in. The skate scene here seems pretty similar to home. One guy even drove his car into the park with a trailer attached with some small jump ramps strapped on and set them up. In other areas of the park, away from the bowl, groups of non-skaters were clustered in groups, many with bikes, drinking and enjoying the late Sunday afternoon.

While Sydney is bigger, Melbourne is more the center of art and culture in Australia, at least as I have gathered thus far. There seem to be a lot of galleries and museums, as well as lots of public sculptures, some of which are skateable, and are recognizable from videos. I've been doing stuff besides skating as well, but it isn't as interesting to report. Walking around the city centre looking at cool architecture, buying stuff I need (cell phone, a skillet, one plate and bowl, etc.). I ate some bangers and mash on the trainride which were delicious. My other favorite food so far has been the kebabs, which I guess are from the Mediterrainian/Middle Eastern area, maybe Turkey? Anyways, they probably have them in the U.S., but I'm just not cultured enough to have eaten them before (although I did have a gyro in Emeryville for the first time around Christmas). The chicken ones are delicious, and the other day I had a lamb one (which was cheaper than chicken, I guess because lamb is a big industry here), also delicious. Australia seems to be similar to the U.S. in that people have immigrated here from a variety of places and contributed their heritage to the cultural landscape, most directly in the form of eateries.

Leaving Sydney

My comfy hotel acomodations were up and I was sick of lugging around six months worth of possessions, so I dragged my bags across town once more (the hotel was next to the strip club precinct, where the nearest metro station was, and where a prostitute asked me if I was in need of her services the day before, who then had to go aid her larger friend who was sprawled out on the sidewalk after I declined). In general so far it seems like there are way less sketchy street lurkers in Australia, although there are some loons. The train ride to Melbourne was eleven hours, there were giggly German backpackers (they enjoyed the names of the towns, e.g. waga waga), I ate some bangers and mash, and I got to see the countryside. See the above photo, and you get the general idea, although I also saw horses, sheep, junk cars, llamas, some cool looking small towns. I feel like a lot of my time will be spent in the city, but I do have fantasies about buying a kangaroo skin hat and exploring the outback like the cowboys of old, only a modernized version with a Harley, hunting dingos with a boomerang. Actually, before coming down unda', I envisioned my perfect trip as being similar to Tent City (a skateboarding video for those not in the loop), although I realize I'm a Uni student, not part of a professional team with vans and hella hookups, so I'll have to live out my own skateboard adventures by exploring the skateparks of suburban Melbourne, the city streets (lots of skatestoppers, but I've still skated some sick shit already), and hopefully make it up to Pizzey or somewhere that I can shred in memory of Cardiel's final pre-injury days.

I've already been in Melbourne for a bit, but that will have to come at a later point.

Broin' Down Boatside

Sydney

I got confused crossing the dateline, by wasn't too jetlagged from the 14 hour flight, and after having all my bags searched at customs (the narcotics dog liked the smell of my backpack) I managed to find my way to a train to go to my hostel near Chinatown in Sydney. I spent the first three days exploring Sydney and some skateparks in the surrounding suburbs. It was hot and humid, and the lack of air conditioning in the hostel made for some sweaty nights. I only had one roomate, from Canada, who had been traveling around in a smoke filled camper van with three other stoners up and down the coast for the last few weeks. This was one of the cleaner hostels he had been in since selling the van, but I still woke up with weird bug bites on my legs. At least the price came correct. The view from the window by my bed reminded me of New York.

I skated a park right on Bondi Beach in Sydney, a big tourist hotspot. The gnarly pool was being painted and wasn't going to be ready to skate, but there were other obstacles and I got to take a dip in the ocean when I was ready to collapse from heat exhaustion. A group of ten kids who couldn't of been older than fourteen were setting up a hooka as I left.

During the weekend I had orientation with the other UC kids studying at various Universities. Lots of bro's and brahdesse's, but everyone seemed in a jovial mood. I was also one of the few students with a private room, because they accidently put me with a female roomate named Adrian (they thought she was male), and she wanted her privacy, which meant I got a king size bed (kind of pointless though, although the luxury was a shark contrast to the semi-squalor of the backpackers hostel). It was nice to chill naked in a private, air conditioned room, although the isolation seemed to foreshadow my lack of connection with the standard Californian bro culture. The first event involved a buy you own cocktail hour at the bar, which included beer, and there was a mad rush as dozens of UC kids tried to double fist in the last 15 minutes of happy hour. Scenes like this would continue throughout the weekend, like when a group of stoked Aussies were befriended when one kid who brought his box of wine into the hotel pool. We also took a boat tour of the Sydney harbor where I took the picture of the opera house and skyline above. It was hot, so shirts came off and muscles were flexed. I went out drinking with a group of UC kids one night and had a bit of fun. Alcohol is expensive, but drinking on the street seems like it's tolerated if your brown bagging it and not being obnoxious.