Anyway, Friday night was spent on the town exploring the night life of Chapel Street. We went dancing and karaoke-ing, and along the way, met many different people on the street from all over. The diversity of Melbourne still amazes me, but it provides for exciting and spontaneous times.
A Saturday morning run at "our" park just a few blocks from our accommodations got us all energized and ready for the harbor and beaches - in the rain! Our first stop was the Docklands, which seems to be quite classy and pretty even in the gloomy weather. After all, since the harbor is already on the water, more rain can't hurt, right? There was a good variety of random artwork along the waterfront, not too different from the random-ness of the art collection at UCSD. [Cow in a tree]
Then we headed to St. Kilda, which is a beachfront town. Due to our smart-ness, we decided to take the train to Balaclava (which we learned from a crossword means something like "head shroud") and walk to the beach. Unfortunately, we did not realize that one inch on the map meant 30 minutes of walking in the rain.
Upon arriving in the beach part of St. Kilda, which is actually quite a quaint little area much like the rest of Melbourne, we got an early dinner and then headed home. This time, we took the tram back to the train station. Nonetheless, it was quite the adventure, and though we did not venture onto the actual beach, we will be sure to revisit both the Docklands and St. Kilda on a better day.
Sunday after church, Liz, Heather and I stopped by a souvenir shop to get our Kangaroo wear for the game.
Then it was off to the Prahran Market. The market was actually pretty much all produce and food, quite unlike the Queen Victoria Market from the previous week, and much food tasting available. Part of the market was also a little outdoor cafe area with many little restaurants as well as a children's area - we were entertained by all the families and cute little kids running around getting their faces painted, doing arts and crafts, and playing on the playground.
After a while, there was also a jazz performance. It was a little different listening to jazz with a slight Australian accent, but they were actually very good.
And thennnn, FOOTY TIME! (: We headed back into the city to meet up with our friends for a game of Aussie-rules football at the Telstra Dome. Aussie-rules football, as far as I understand, is a high-contact game combining aspects of American football, rugby, soccer, basketball, a little bit of Quidditch with lots of running, no pads, and a football-shaped ball on a huge circular field. Basically, there are four poles set up on each side of the field, and the ball can go through any of the spaces between the poles to earn points. Going through the middle earns 6 points, while either of the side spaces earns just 1 point.
Anyway, we met up with the rest of the gang (Michelle, Saleh, and our Colombian friends), and headed up to our seats.
After being entertained by the mascots of the Richmond Tigers and North Melbourne Kangaroos, we were introduced to the jolly, swashbuckling theme songs of the respective teams as they ran through their large banners.
The game started, and we were fully supportive of the Kangaroos, who eventually ended up winning 104-79. Go Kangaroos! :D
Watching all the people was very amusing - the players, the crowd, and even the refs. The refs were very into the game. Each time they threw the ball in, it looked like they were going to fall over backwards with a graceful leap, and even the toss-up after each goal was very fun since they basically threw the ball down onto the grass field as hard as possible and got out of the way so that the players could jump (like in basketball). There were also runners for each team, clad in bright yellow, that would run to players and bring messages from coaches and such, and thus, there were no timeouts in each quarter for a big team huddle or anything of that sort. We especially enjoyed the humongous pompoms the cheer squads brought out each time their teams made a 6-pointer or to distract the other team. These pompoms were literally as big as the players, so around 6-feet?
As a traditional half-time snack, we were told countless times that we just hAD to get meat pies, so here are our meat pies with tomato sauce, which were actually surprisingly good.
We were also told that part of the experience is to sit at the top in the rain and wind and freeze while watching the game. Luckily, they closed the roof to the stadium, so although it was still relatively cold, we were spared the discomfort of the rain and wind that was going on outside. I was amazed at how tough the players were, since they got tackled when they had the ball, and got into random scuffles with each other even when the ball was clear on the other side of the field! The players wore (at most) just knee-high socks with short shorts and a jersey, and those that wore long-sleeved shirts were deemed wusses, and supposedly the game has gotten a lot "tamer" because now there are rules for when tackling can be done, and whatnot. Wow, I do not think I'd ever want to play this game, though it is quite fun to watch.
The crowd on the way out was pretty insane. There was a continuous stream of people from the stadium to the train station, but we all managed to make it home together and safe. [Waiting to board the train]
New friends are always good, and we have made quite a few in the Claremont. Most of them are international students here in Melbourne for an extended period of time, ranging from 6 months to 2 years, to learn English or complete a graduate program. We've met people from Colombia, India, Germany, and China, among others. I'm constantly amazed by the experiences that these people have had, how their lives can be so different from ours, and their culture. Even after just two weeks, I am so grateful for the experience that PRIME has given me so far, and I am greatly looking forward to what will happen next.
Research is going well, though I am currently a tad bit frustrated with MatLab right now, but it'll all get figured out soon enough. For now,
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