One short day in the extremely ethnically diverse city

^^ I wasn't dressed appropriately to enter such a place ... but believe you me, someday I will.

^^ It reminded me of Paris. And then I wished I was in Paris.

^^ Just so you don't forget what I look like.

^^ A salami ciabatta from Pear Drop. It was such a darling jumble of restaurants.

^^ Oh my goodness their H&M was ginormous. 

^^ A decent selection of men found here.

^^ Yes he was there. Yes we shook hands. Yes I'm the new Cat Woman.

^^ A wall of water at a downtown museum.

^^ The ceiling at the same museum. It stretched for at least 200 ft.

^^ Flinders Station. We'll become familiar friends, I hope.

I did it! I finally made my way to the downtown city of Melbourne. Picture New York City meets the baby of The Amazon Rainforest and an African Safari. Quite the child. After meandering through random streets that would hopefully lead us to art museums (we found one museum and then called it good) we walked in and out of city gardens, through a riverside café cluster, across some half mile stretch of concrete sand that housed this odd, extremely tall sculpture, trekked through city streets and alleyways in search of food and came up a darling side street filled with tables in the middle and small restaurants and cafes lining either side.

After settling for Pear Drop that sold me a salami (and friends)(meaning some delicious but nameless cheese and tomatoes) ciabatta and a coke, we sat at our street table and mentally massaged our feet.

We continued searching for small shops and finally came across an H&M that ended up on the opposite side of where we’d been walking. And man. That store was HUGE. Two stories and just packed with goodies. I have limited cash left and still not job, so I wished and wanted, and then we ran into my dad on the way back to the train station.

Getting on the Metro is to understand that you have a 50 percent chance of living to tell the tale. The 30 minute ride to and from the city was a jumble of rocky tracks and an unnervingly wide range of rocking back and forth.

My phone battery was almost dead on the way home, and I’d much rather put it away knowing it’s almost dead than be engrossed in a project on it and have it quit on me. So I was left to my thoughts and when I leave myself to my thoughts the world of possibilities is endless. I can create an entire working, thriving underwater metropolis, or fantasize the full process from pre-teen to old hag of how I would become and succeed as a Parisian magazine editor.

But instead, I made myself uncomfortable with the closeness in which I sat to every single person on the train. Let’s take a gallop through my thoughts while on the Metro.

No one has a sense of personal space here. I mean, it is a train, you’ve got to squish I understand, but by personal  space I mean that you must recognize that I am a person and you cannot stand on me.

My knee keeps touching his leg. Gosh I’m so embarrassed. I hope he doesn’t notice. He’s very big, he must be an islander, I bet he could knock me out with his pinky. I TOUCHED HIS LEG AGAIN. Helphelphelp.

I’m not very far away from this youthful looking Chinese man. Probably no more than a foot. I’m also conveniently facing him since I’ve had to sit sideways in my chair. Remember personal space/I am obviously not a person here? His eyes are closed. I wonder if he can feel me staring at him. Oo! Let’s play a game!

YUP HE COULD LOOK AWAY LOOK AWAY LOOK AWAY.

No one speaks on the train. Is that normal? It feels as though there’s only so much as a hushed tone allowed throughout the train. Maybe there’s a secret only they know about. Like, “Did you hear about the man that was killed in car three”, and maybe I’m next so no one’s telling me. I need to get off.

Thankfully my stop came, but so did everyone else’s. Williams Landing is a hopping place, apparently, because everyone stood up and, once again, she-who-has-no-being (me) was walked over and sat on until I could mosey my way out. Thieves of space, I hate you all.

It was a good day. Today has proved a bit more trying, as far as jobs and home sickness go, but maybe I’ll see a koala.

Here we go.

MP