It was so nice to arrive in Melbourne and the relative calm down under. Simple pleasures made me smile, not being hassled by anyone as i came out of the airport. To be able to stroll out and calmly pick my own way to the bus into the city was blissful. Clean toilets that actually have loo roll made me feel happy (though there was still the “please do not stand on the toilet” sign!). I was also more rationally super excited to see a friendly face from home later on in the day in the form of my wonderful friend Katie who kindly put me up for a few days while i found somewhere to stay in Melbourne longer term.
For now i had a few hours to kill in Melbourne. Despite having a snooze on the plane, I was at the point where i was so tired that i was overtired and somehow had recharged my energy levels. So i locked away my suitcase at the train station and made my way off into the city. It’s easy to explore by foot, the navigation was so simple that i didn’t manage to get lost once. Which was a little disappointing really, i like doing that! I stumbled across the immigration museum which seemed like a good shout for me on my first day in town. I wanted to understand what the rhetoric was for a country that has had huge waves of migration over the years.
The exhibitions were really interesting and the building itself has a lot of history on its own having been a customs house at one point where goods were traded many years ago. The displays were really current, poignant and were seemingly very honest accounts of the changes on immigration policy over the years. There was a summary of the rampant abuse of land in the coastal areas of Victoria pre any formal colonial settlement and then the various handovers to and from the British before the current relatively more open approach. Well open compared to the previous “white only” policies which were relatively recent. It made the UK seem like so much more of a melting pot in comparison.
There was a very powerful temporary exhibition on the top floor called who am i?, telling the stories of 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants to Australia and their thoughts on identity and culture. with powerful accounts from young men and women of Chinese and Burmese origin who have been brought up in Australia and identify as both Australian as well as Burmese or Chinese. Yet who struggle to be recognised in either country as native. I stunned by some of the language that is used to describe people and products in Australia. You can buy Golliwog sweets here for example. There seems to be loads of abbreviation in names as well which is interesting for a grammar geek to observe. I also made a wish on the wishing tree in the reception hall at the museum, can you guess what i wished for?!
The rest of the afternoon was taken up by a bit more exploring and sorting a new Aussie mobile no, thank you Telstra! And grabbing my first taste of Aussie food, a healthy chicken burger with the ever present Avo. I was very surprised to be very quickly overwhelmed by how far away i am from home when i got into the city. It was a really little thing that did it, buying a stamp. Soo much more expensive than Asia, as it’s that much further away. The reality of how far away from home i am is starting to sink in. I think i need a rest and a recharge.
The evening was a trip out to Geelong to meet Katie. We went into their local town centre at Geelong for some food in the evening. The town is small but has a very pretty seafront, all recently redeveloped i think and perfect for chilled out evenings by the water. We were all super boring and had what i am reliably told is the national pub speciality here, the chicken parma. A Butterflied chicken breast topped with tomato sauce, ham & breadcrumbs. With either a stack of chips or salad. It was massive and there was no way i was going to manage it. Very hearty fare for a tired cake lady about ready to drop to sleep on the sofa any minute!
Off to count some sheep, and have a much needed battery recharge.
Baci a tutti!
x x x x
