A New Experience

Before arriving in Melbourne, I could not imagine what awaited me Down Under. I had pictured kangaroos hopping past my campsite in the outback, while somewhere  in the distance Crocodile Dundee wrestled a fake crocodile and Nicole and Hugh made love by their campfire. So as I stood at the crossing of Bourke Street and Swanston Street, I could not help but think, “jeez, there’s an actual city down here”.

I immediately felt a kind of excitement I hadn’t known until now. It was like finding life on an alien planet – so unexpected, so different yet so familiar. Melbourne to me seems like the perfect blend of British courtesy and American nonchalance, and its diversity never failed to astonish me. Instantaneously I fell in love with the Australian lilt, secretly listening to snippets of conversation while admiring the ease with which the Aussies create a rather placid lifestyle, and finding myself grinning at every “G’day mate, how ya goin’?”. I recall a conversation I had with an other international student. We were discussing the differences between various cities of the world, and came to the conclusion that Melbourne and its people are extremely relaxed. Before the semester started, I liked taking early morning walks down the main street in a delightful suburb called Northcote. As I walked, I saw groups of women meeting for their morning coffee and happily chatting away. I saw neighbours walking their dogs, stopping occasionally to peek into the tiny individual boutiques, always a smile on their faces. I saw lovers enjoying the morning sun, strolling along hand in hand. What I never saw, was people rushing to work, stressed and worried. So as I was discussing Melbourne’s apparent tranquility and slow-paced lifestyle, I asked myself ‘do people actually go to work down here? And more importantly, do they ever worry about anything?’ I am still not convinced they do. 

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