After Tasmania, I have found myself just living my regular life (but in Australia!) I spent the first week back seeing friends, unpacking from my trip and doing laundry, and restocking groceries. I had my first test (for marine biology) that Friday, so I studied a lot.
Saturday, I went to a vintage clothing warehouse sale, out in Brunswick, a neighborhood north of school. I saw some cool graffiti, got a nice skirt for $5, and explored Brunswick on the way home, which I hadn’t done before. I found tons of spots I want to revisit, and a huge Mediterranean grocery store that I could spend a whole day in. I did a little bit of work, and got an early night in preparation for Sunday.
Sunday morning I packed up my things and headed for the bus with some friends. We had an all day beach excursion, to look at and run some experiments on the rocky shore, which we had been learning about. We drove to Thirteenth beach, down the western side of Port Phillip’s Bay, and I spent the day pulling on limpets to test how they respond to the forces of drag and lift, running transects, and observing the flora and fauna. It was a long day and quite chilly, but overall, a free trip to the beach so I am certainly not complaining.
Monday brought another excursion, this time for street art. We visited the infamous Hozier lane, covered in graffiti and art, and talked about what we saw. We also walked to some nearby laneways and alleys with art. I hadn’t been to Hozier lane yet, so I was glad to see it, and I learned some things about street art I didn’t know before.
Tuesday brought a beautiful sunrise, as well as a night of trivia. Before trivia, I went with a couple friends to a field research talk put on by the school. People presented on their research with crocodiles, invasive wild foxes, lizards, and koalas. It was really exciting and inspiring.
Wednesday brought… you guessed it! Another excursion. For our Australian wildlife biology lab, we went to the botanical gardens, and focused on the birds there. I learned a lot about native birds, and got to see the gardens which I hadn’t been to since my birthday in late February. Thursday I had my psychology tutorial, and afterwards got coffee with a new friend in the tutorial with me. I spent some time in between classes at my favorite garden on campus and enjoyed the sun, and in the evening I went back up to Brunswick and got 2 burritos for the price of 1 for national burrito day! I got three meals out of them for the price of one, but I think it was mostly about getting the deal that tasted so good.
Friday I had a wonderful lecture in the morning on primary producers in the ocean; diatoms, cyanobacteria, etc. It was super engaging and reminded me why I am a biology major (because I get so excited about this stuff). I did some work with Jaimie, found a really cute bakery, and spent some time relaxing at home. I had a street art assignment due (based on the photo I took of graffiti up at the top of this post), so I did some editing and turned that in. In the evening, I headed out for dinner with some people for tacos. We went to an awesome hidden bar that looks like a sub shop from the outside, had gelato, and headed home.
The food options here are overwhelming, with every type of cuisine you can imagine, and 100 places to get it. It’s a tricky balance between making the most of my time here and not spending all my money in the process. I made the most of this passionfruit sorbet, I know that for sure.
This weekend, I’ve been relaxing and trying to get some stuff done. I don’t have anything due until after break, but Aidan is visiting and I don’t want to be studying too much over break, so I have to get some things done preemptively. Last night I went on a lovely walk and took photos with Jaimie, and then celebrated a friend’s birthday at a club downtown.
This upcoming week should be pretty calm, and then next weekend I’m doing a day trip to Phillip Island, where you can see all sorts of wildlife, including wild penguins. It all seems like such a blur when I look back at my weeks, but I am so comfortable here that I forget about all the little amazing things I’m up to each day. I feel really lucky to be able to adventure and travel, but I’m also so grateful just to be living in such a cool city.
Loa On the Go 