Update: Moving Site Soon!

Hello everyone! I'm moving over to my wordpress website soon and will begin posting more varied content, as well as more Melbourne content, over the next few months. If all goes well during my visa application I will be moving back to Melbourne and starting my masters degree this July. It's pretty crazy to think about. I feel like I've been waiting to go back from the moment I left to start properly networking. In a way it feels like it was so long ago, but it also feels like it was just yesterday. I graduated from university just 1 week ago and have my illustration degree. The next thing on my list is to get work, get contacts and make new friends, and get that next degree.

When the new website is all set up and content ready I'll post the new url on this blog. I will be keeping this blog up for archival purposes and moving some of the old content onto the new blog.

Random Compilation: Snapchats and Thoughts


I had some snapchats left over still and compiled them. I'm not sure why I saved some of these to be honest! They were important at the time and I seem to have forgotten why but I decided to honor them anyway since I kept them. I didn't do a lot of video recordings, so I'll take what I can get.

Some of these are buskers, there's some clips from aboriginal rights protests, and just random snaps when I was around Melb. These were far from the best things I have snapchated which makes me wonder why I didn't save everything. Perhaps I was too caught up in the excitement that I just forgot to do so. It's funny because it feels like you're recording all the time. But when you don't save it, and sometimes even when you do, it doesn't seem like you have enough.

There's pressure on both sides to document absolutely everything you see and to just let yourself live in the moment. You can feel like you miss a lot when you're constantly focusing on your camera. I think I gave into the pressure to let myself take it in naturally when really I should've not let those thoughts take me over and instead just brought my camera with me where ever I went. And whenever I was having a particularly good moment or saw something cool for the first time gone "huh, you know what I think I want to keep this memory recorded" and taken a photo or recorded a short video. The importance of balance here is even more important when going overseas. You can't go back to revisit them when you're on the other side of the world whenever you please. You can return, of course, but it'll be a while. Don't take your time for granted and bust out that phone or camera whenever you want!

When I return, hopefully if I do snapchat when I'm out I'll save them. But more importantly, hopefully I'll take out my actual camera and record some real, decent footage to share. I just hope if I'm out with my friends they won't mind.

Random Compilation: Animals


Bonus post this week since they're small and not super significant. I was (and still am) notorious for snapchating animals whenever I see them. Some of my friends in America thought that I was always in a pet store in Melbourne because I would send them videos probably a couple of times a week inside of one. :p I just really like looking at cute animals. Sometimes I take the bus from my university in America just to lurk inside of PetSmart. That's probably odd but here we are.
Anyway, here's a really short clip of a few cute animals I ran into!

Random Compilation: Deakin University


I had a few snapchats saved to my phone and a couple recordings from my classes at Deakin University. Rather than have them just sit around, I decided to compile them. There's not very many, and I didn't save nearly as many as I should have, just it's still fun to look back on. Also if you're curious about what some parts of the Deakin Uni Burwood campus look like, this will give you an idea. Unfortunately I didn't save any of my snapchats of the Deakin cube or inside the awesome library. The campus is next to a park so there's lots of trees around, which is super nice! I really liked the campus overall.

Adventures: Port Melbourne


I had lived an apartment right by the 109 tram not too far away from Port Melbourne for a few months before I finally decided to see what it was like. I arrived in Australia at the end of summer. I was busy adjusting and exploring the CBD for the first time, I didn't think to go to a beach or check out the ocean until later. So one day I decided I would go exploring on my own (as I usually do) and took the 109 to its last stop. It was very quiet and serene when I went. It was the middle of winter in late June, so there was no one around. The nice thing about the 109 tram stop here is that it stops literally right by the ocean. You'll most likely be greated by the sight of a large ship here. Cruises are quite popular from Melbourne to Tasmania so you might see one of those ships around the Harbour.

After I got off it and saw the ship I decided to take a right towards some beaches and walking path. (You'll see the path in the first snapchat) This area is where a lot of condos and apartments are. The beaches here are considered private beaches, not publicly owned beaches. This really just means the management is different. You're allowed to venture off into this area, it's not restricted. I saw a lot of people walking their dogs in this spot, and I saw tons of paw prints in the sand. Overall though, there's next to no people in this area during the winter so it was very nice and peaceful.

I was excited for spring to come soon because that meant that eventually, in the later half, I could go in the water. I had ventured off to a beach in St. Kilda after going on my Shrine of Remembrance adventure for a short while and got a look at the ocean but I didn't get to really see it by myself.

This little adventure was meditative for that because I could take my time being a weirdo and walking by the water when it's super cold out and looking at all the shells. Speaking of which, there were TONS and TONS of shells washed up on this beach. I assume that it just wasn't being maintained during the winter because it was painful to walk on them (poor doggies!). The nice thing about that though is that I was able to pick up quite a few of them and take them with me. I still have mine and keep them in a jar along with the spare Aussie cash I didn't spend yet.

After sitting in the sun (and the cold) for a while on some benches on the walking path by the beach I decided I was going to venture off and explore some more of the suburb. I walked along the beach that was on the other side of the tram stop and could tell by all the seasonally closed food stands along the sidewalk that this was a popular spot. I really wish I could've seen what it was like during the summer months. While I was walking along this area I ran into a small Australian parakeet! You can see him in the snapchat video. Funnily enough, I took a picture of this exact type of bird at the zoo just a couple months before! I was super amazed and impressed. Where I'm from, the most colorful birds you'll see are cardinals. I never thought I'd stumble upon a parakeet in person while walking down the street. It was awesome, and probably stupid to be excited over to Australians.

After that, I was hungry and did some more adventuring. I tried to find a place to eat but I was super intimidated by the small and seemingly empty shops in Port Melb and took the 12 tram back into the CBD. I decided I was feeling especially adventurous and tried a couple places in QV I never had before: Grill'd and Cupcake Family. Grill'd was a little pricey. I also had a strange realization at this point that I was used to calling ketchup "tomato sauce" and that tomato sauce doesn't really taste like ketchup. The strawberry cupcake from Cupcake Family was THE BOMB though


Overall, it was a very adventurous day and a day well spent. Thinking back on this day reminds me of why I want to continue to explore the rest of Melbourne when I return.I hope you all had a great and adventurous day as well!

Easter

Pictured: Cupcakes and Cadbury chocolate eggs.

Easter in the states and in Australia can be a varied experience. I spent last years Easter in Australia so I can give a brief run down of those differences. The thing that stands out the most is the existence of Easter Monday. Before going to Australia I had never heard of this concept before. It's basically an additional public holiday tacked onto Easter weekend. Good Friday, the Saturday before Easter, Easter Sunday, and Easter Monday are ALL recognized public holidays in Australia. This means that the majority of businesses will be closed. In America, businesses closing on Easter weekend doesn't really happen. In fact today, Easter Sunday, I went down to grab a bubble tea and every business I passed was open. It's more common for businesses to remain open in America during holidays than in Australia because it's normal for people to go out to celebrate or get food during them.

I noticed that Australia has a much more relaxed atmosphere when it comes to taking off time to recognize public holidays. In the states it seems that the only guaranteed day you'll have off is Christmas. Even then, if you're a lower income worker in retail you might still have to work! It became quite apparent to me that America has a huge emphasis on working and productivity at the cost of spending time with family, yourself, and relaxation. Although it did feel inconvenient that I couldn't do much over Easter weekend, my first beak period of University in Australia, I did recognize that this was for the benefit of others and the community.

Another Easter trend I found important in Australia is having hot cross buns. I had never had them before coming there, but a friend had told me that it's a tradition to eat them around this time of year. I decided that if I was going to have one I might as well try one of the best so I bought mine from Phillipa's in Melbourne's CBD. I'd describe the taste as being very similar to a loaf of raisin bread but with a hint of citrus. Of course I didn't learn until much later that you're actually supposed to put butter on them, much like raisin bread... whoops!

Despite the differences, you'll note that Cadbury eggs are still very prevalent in both countries at this time of the year. Have a happy Easter!

Adventures: Shrine of Remembrance


The Shrine of Remembrance is a shrine dedicated to Victorian soldiers located right next to the CBD. It has a lot of memorials on the walk there as well. I distinctly remember there being a couple American memorials, as well as a few other countries, to display the military partnerships that Australia has had throughout the years and their significance. There were so many lovely memorials, and I was so distracted with sharing them on snapchat with my friends that I forgot to take good photos to share!

I visited the shine two times. Once during February and another time during poppy day in April. It was quite wet and dreary, being the butt of fall and the beginning of winter, during poppy day. It was still very lovely and I enjoyed the walk to see all the poppies in Federation Square and all the decorated memorials.

The shrine has a very long walk up a grand pathway decorated with trees and and sprinkled with small memorials dedicated to single soldiers. The walk really gives a sense of the importance and serenity, which is very helpful for tourists. In a way it's a reminder that this is not a destination for you to dilly dally and be loud at, this is a culturally significant spot where you should be respectful.

After the long walk up the pathway and onto the steps, you're greeted with a perfect vista of the Melbourne skyline. Take a photo here if you plan on taking photos at all.

The interior of the shrine is quite dim. The upper level has all of the Australian flags as well as logs of soldiers. The lower level is the crypt. It also contains a small museum which showcases different uniforms and snippets on different military struggles Australia has participated in. There's also a small art gallery showcased as well. Once you exit the crypt and museum area, you enter a much brighter space where you can see all of the medals, badges, and decorations that soldiers earned. There's a very small gift shop here and donations are also encouraged. You can also exit outside from this area.

The shrine is definitely a change of pace from the rest of the city, but I would recommend you stop by. I found it to be interesting and insightful. The view of Melbourne is worth it alone!
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