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.