Up and at 'em at 6 am this morning. I quickly finished packing and headed downstairs to meet the group. After catching cabs, we made it to the Melbourne airport. Checking in at the Jetstar counter was fairly easy compared to other times, but the customer service was awful... as always. Australia does not rate well for customer service at all. This is because the service industry doesn't work off tips! Anyhow, the lady at the Jetstar counter asked me if I had my return voucher. After I looked puzzled and said "I don't know", she looked at me and said "Do we not speak english??". This really perturbed me since I am clearly more of English descent that she was. I would love to have spoken to her manager, but they probably would not have cared either.
We had an fairly easy flight but customs was a pain to go through. I also encountered some rude individuals there also. I guess today is not my day for dealing with people. No worries Mr. Customs officer, I would probably hate myself also if I had your job. Meghan ended up getting a $400.00 fine since she forgot she had an apple at the bottom of her carryon. What a racket.
Our accommodations here in Auckland is very nice. I have a queen size bed all to myself! We also have a full kitchen including a dishwasher. The only downside is no air conditioning, but the weather has been fairly conducive to sleeping. We also walked to the New Zealand War Museum but were unable to go inside due to a private event. I think we are going to go back tomorrow. It's main features are on the Moari culture here in New Zealand.
For dinner, we found an awesome pizzeria called Sal's. Although the pizza may be one of the most unhealthy I have ever consumed, the grease laden cheese made for a heavenly taste in my mouth. This is just what we needed after a full day of travel!
Our kitchen in Auckland. This is the nicest accommodation yet!
The living room
My own queen sized bed. A little taste of home.
I apologize for the unmade bed but an immediate nap was
necessary upon arrival.
The CLEAN bathroom. A sign of relief from some of the
other places.
Melbourne Reflections:
Built Environment:
Melbourne is definitely the artistic center for eastern or possibly all of Australia. Many of the building are art deco in style and there are many shops, museums, and other supporting factors. There is a continuation of the water conserving mindset into Victoria and Melbourne. Many of the houses here continue to have rainwater harvesting tanks and many of the newer building utilize rainwater and grey water for irrigation and toilet flushing purposes. It will be interesting to compare the built environment to that of New Zealand when we arrive.
Natural Environment:
The natural environment of Melbourne was not much different than that of Sydney and Brisbane, as all 3 are located on water. Melbourne most resembled Brisbane since both city centers are located on rive ways. Melbourne was not as clean of a city as Brisbane. Many of the beaches were naturally unclean and the city itself was not maintained as beautifully. Melbourne is an artistic center and seems to have different government views in operations than in Queensland. Perhaps differences in politics and funding is the reason for this. Nonetheless, the cleanliness factor is enough to deter me from living in Melbourne if I were to ever, in another life, move to Australia.
Local Culture:
The local culture of Melbourne was quite different than Brisbane since it seems to be an artistic center. This was very noticeable in people's clothing. In my mind, Melbourne was a little weird. Maybe join Austin by "Keeping Melbourne Weird". Since I am quite accustomed to my southeastern United States lifestyle, it is quite a culture shock to me. Melbourne, like Sydney and Brisbane, also had a large pacific asian culture. After speaking with some of the locals, we were given the reasoning behind the large asain population. Many of them arrived in Australia during the gold rush and have stayed. Others come for education and return back to Asia.
Minority Culture:
Must like Sydney and Brisbane, you hear of the Aboriginal culture but do not lay eyes on a soul. I am starting to think the Aboriginal culture is fictional... not really but we just have not experienced the culture like I would have imagined. I continue to believe that are more suppressed and therefore avoid the large cities in order to maintain their cultural heritage. I would have liked to have gained more insight on the actual social state of the Aboriginal culture but time and opportunity did not allow.
Conversation with a Local:
We all were fortunate enough to make some great friends, Adele and Lizzie, at the RMIT village. They are both Resident Advisors who continue to live in the village throughout the summer. Since the village resembled a ghost town, they were quite excited about our arrival. Throughout the week, they joined us to watch movies in the theatre and to just hang out. I really got a better feel for the young Australia culture by becoming friends with them. The 2 are also who to blame for our disaster pub experience on Thursday night!
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