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