October 6-9

My weekend.
First of all, sorry it's been a few days, my parents actually called to check on me (this is only about the 3rd call I've gotten since I left June 12th). Although I could say I've been so busy, that isn't my real excuse. The only true excuse would be that the internet at the place I'm staying has to be bought in one hour increments from the hard-to-find front desk worker and then it counts down and it stresses me out to have the time tick down (instead of count up, like it is at the internet cafe I found, where I am now).
So, Friday night some friends of my grandparent's neice picked me up. She and her husband have two boys, 13 and 17, and live about 30 minutes outside of Melbourne. I thought I would just be having dinner with them, but it was decided that I would stay at their house for the night. We went to an Indian restaurant for "tea" (that's what the lady kept calling meals). We had a nice meal and a conversation about the Australian education system. On the way home from the restaurant I got a "scenic" tour that wasn't very scenic because it was dark outside. We did stop a few times to spot a certain bird (that actually isn't an owl, although it resembles an owl) and a furry-tailed possom (much cuter than their American cousins). Once back at their house we "played with" their two cockateels. The birds chirped alot and got little feathers all over the living room. I was brave enough to let one bird pirch on my shoulder and sqwak in my ear, but about 10 seconds was all I could stand. After that excitement, we kicked Andrew (the 13 year old) out of his room and made up his bed for me to stay there. Although it was freezing when I went to sleep, the duvet warmed me quickly and I slept very well.
When I woke up the boys were getting ready to leave for their various activities (gymnastics and tennis). The mom, Eleanor, and I had breakfast and then stood outside and did some more bird watching. I've never learned so much about birds in my life, nor have I ever used a book to help me identify various species of birds- the bronze-winged pigeon, for example. When the birds finished eating our bread crumbs we went to St. Andrew's market (the activity I was hoping for among the other options). It was a nice local market, very hippy-ish (I think you can buy weed there, not legally of course). We wandered around there and Eleanor bought some produce and other grocery items. We kept running into some of here long lost friends, she doesn't go to the market usually, so it was a nice reunion for her. Then we went over to some of family friends of theirs' house and had lunch. This other family had just finished building a new house. They live in this community called Kangaroo Grounds, which is very rural (but you can see the city from the tops of the hills). Both families had over 5 acres of land because the government doesn't want that area to become over developed. And about everyone has a horse. Anyways, before lunch we walked around their land some, so I could see some wild kangaroos. They were very plentiful and they just hopped all over the place! Our lunch was so random- scones, hot dogs, cole slaw, donuts, tomatoes, and cheese. We had to leave their house by 1 pm, because one of their sons had homework to do, so we took Andrew home and we all unloaded the groceries. Then Andrew taught me how to ride his razor scooter. That lesson didn't take too long, I guess I'm a quick learner, so we went inside and looked through every photo album in the house. Oh, and Andrew walked me down to see the Yarra River (the same river that runs through central Melbourne) at the bottom of their property. Then Chris and Eleanor came and picked us up and we went on a drive through the winelands of the area, called the Yarra Valley, on our way back into the city. Then we attempted to window shop, but it's pretty much impossible to do that with such a diverse group, so we settled for a light dinner before I was allowed to be taken back to my hostel. I must say, they were very nice and very willing to have visitors. I was invited to stay with them until I left Melbourne and even that I could use their car if I wanted it to get around. I am very glad I got to see some of the "bush" (the non-urban) part of Australia. It is a really pretty area.
There was a Melbourne Marathon on Sunday (which was the excuse I used to be taken home early Saturday night) which I thought I was going to try to join in, but the start was pretty far away from where I am staying, so I decided not to. I did go to St. Kilda (beach area) which the marathon ran through and I saw some of the action as I was walking around there. I think it was the windiest place I've ever been in. It was so windy that when I walked across this foot bridge I was actually nervous the wind would blow me over the edge. And it was so windy that it would blow my earings and knock me pretty hard in the ear. Needless to say, no one was sunbathing at this beach. It was a cute little area, though. It has a tiny amusement park and a pier (which I didn't go on because I was scared I would blow into the water). Also, I went on Sunday on purpose because there is a market there on Sundays, but it was only a few stalls (maybe the wind blew the rest away?). That afternoon I met up with my "roommate" (this girl from Fiji who is working here in Melbourne for two months) and we went to a church in the city called Power Shakers. It was a lot like Hillsong. I was worried she'd be a little over whelmed by all the jumping around, light show, and loud music, but afterwards she said it was like her church at home and that "everyone goes to church in Fiji". As we were leaving church to walk home we ran into this Malaysian girl who was so funny. She was the epitome of the Asian way of laughing and talking. She had been at church too and we all walked back together (until she had to turn to go to her flat). Walking along with a Fijian and Malaysian in Australia made me feel SO international.
Yesterday, I walked down Chapel Street in Toorak, which is the fabulous, up-scale area of the city. Nice, big, expensive houses; high-end fashion boutiques; chic cafe's. It was fun just to see it all, but I felt a little "scrubby" in my jeans and hoodie (that I have been wearing for about four months now). I was sure to make it back by 7 pm to see my new show of choice, Home and Away, an Australian sort-of soap opera. I was joined for the show and some Thai take-away (red curry, yum) by a British guy that is staying at the place I am. He had some comment about everyone on the show and it was funny.
That's about it, but I should mention a few things about Melbourne. There are trams everywhere and a wonderful way to get around. It is a very international city, more so than Sydney, that seems to just have an Asian influence. Melbourne has areas of various European origin, Middle Eastern, and then of course, Asian. Also, there is always something going on here. It is the live-music and sporting capital of Australia. Just yesterday, while I was looking at a photo exhibit in Federation square, there was also some bagpipe concert going on. And, when I was on a run this morning, I ran past the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and their was a long que to get tickets to an upcoming season opener. So, trams, fashion, sports, music, international, yeah, I think that sums up Melbourne.
And there is one other thing about Australia, I want to mention because I keep forgetting. I think there might be a higher percentage here of what I have termed "crazies" (crazy people). I regularly run into someone that is talking to themselves or has terrets or something that is not normal. It could be because I use a lot of public transportation and walk city streets alot more than at home (a whole lot more than at home), but I still don't think that accounts for all the crazy people I've seen. Maybe it's the convict background?