IN THIS POST: A Kangaroo Narrowly Escapes with His Life, NZ Can’t Be Real, Tasmanian Digestion, Melbourne Observations, and a Grape Stomping Champion.
I’ve done so much since my last blog post. I went to Tasmania, worked on planning a trip to Vietnam and Hong Kong, had a weeklong vacation in New Zealand, and spent a weekend in the Grampians. On top of all that, I have been attending University full time. I have experienced so much over the past month that understanding and thinking about the experiences has taken some time.
Each amazing experience individually could be considered one never to be forgotten; together it’s almost overwhelming to think about.
While I am now ready to write, please excuse my more simplistic and unedited prose. This post will be a way for me to work through the experiences in my head; I’m more than happy to bring you along!
Tasmania
I’ll start with my Tasmanian adventure. My first thought upon touching down in Hobart, Tasmania’s capital and largest city, was, “Where is the airport?” I had seen the runway, landing lights and perhaps even another plane. But where is the terminal, I thought? The endless universe of boarding gates and fast food? At that moment, I realized just how remote and unpopulated Tasmania is on the global scale. Hobart, Tasmania’s population hub, has just 200,000 people.
Upon leaving Hobart International Airport with a rented Kia minivan full of five American friends, (I was at the wheel, driving on the left!) Tasmania’s charm began to take hold. Hobart is definitely the most relaxed place in Australia I’ve experienced. Tasmania is, after all, an island.
We woke up the next morning at a University College (UC) friend’s house just across the river from downtown Hobart. Exploring Hobart was an experience in natural beauty. In many ways, Hobart feels like a country town: decidedly urban, yet small in size. We did some shopping, took in Hobart’s picturesque charm and drove up the east coast of Tasmania to the iconic Wineglass Bay.
The best part of Tasmania for me was the Museum of Old and Modern Art (MOMA). After spending a day around Hobart, we decided to drive 15 minutes out of the city to visit Tasmania’s most famous interactive art museum. It was definitely unlike any other museum I have ever visited. From a display that very vividly and accurately recreates the human digestive system to priceless ancient Egyptian artwork, MOMA was worth a visit. If there is anything I would go back to Tasmania to see, it is MOMA.
After a wonderful weekend, us Americans flew back to Melbourne, thankful for the UC family’s warm hospitality and the amazing sites of wild Tasmania.
Planning Vietnam and Hong Kong
While I have had some work at Melbourne Uni, it would be a bold lie to say that I have been academically engaged at the level I am at Haverford. This very different university life has provided me with valuable time to plan adventure not remotely possible from my life at Haverford. Thus, I have moved forward with a trip to Vietnam and Hong Kong. I could not be more excited.
My plans at this point are very fluid. I will be sure to update this blog once I have everything planned. All I know at this point is that I will be arriving back in the United States on July 10th, about a week after originally planned. In fact, I might even change the name of this blog to “Message from Ho Chi Minh City!”
New Zealand
Over the 10-day Easter break, I met my father Mark, cousin Matt, and Uncle Wally in New Zealand for a week of hiking (Mark and myself) and fishing (Matt and Wally) in the stunning wilderness of New Zealand’s South Island. After 4 days of our respective activities, we would all travel together to experience Maori culture and wine tasting on the North Island. We tasted wine, experienced traditional Maori culture like the Haka and luged down a bucolic mountain (this last one is hard to explain…Google “Rotorua Luge”). What more could one ask for?
My first and most lasting impression of New Zealand is that of incredible natural beauty. It really is unlike any other landscape I have ever seen. It’s a land so untouched by man, so naturally beautiful, so pure and relaxed, it does make you wonder if it’s real. This was especially how I felt on the South Island, where I was perfectly comfortable drinking water directly out of streams without any form of treatment. The mountains and flora of the South Island were truly a spectacle.
While it is hard to summarize a lengthy visit to a country in a short piece of writing, it is my feeling that I will remember my time New Zealand primarily for two things: Natural beauty and memorable moments with Mark, Matt, and Wally. I think we all had a fantastic time exploring the natural spectacles of the tiny island nation also known as Aotearoa. Sometimes one’s company on a trip matters more than the location.
Trip to the Grampians
One of my favorite Australian experiences thus far was a weekend trip I took with a good Australian friend to the Grampians mountain range for a food and wine festival. This Australian friend of mine, Ally, is the daughter of vineyard owners. The food and wine festival, located about an hour from her family vineyard, took place in Halls Gap, Victoria. Ally’s family vineyard had hired a booth to market their product.
We left Melbourne on Friday night with Ally’s aunt and uncle, driving through western Victoria and Ballarat. During this trip, I had one of my most entertaining and memorable moments of my time in Australia. As we were driving along through the dark on a rural two-lane road, we suddenly see a kangaroo in the headlights (Ally and her aunt didn’t see it; Ally’s uncle and I definitely saw it).
It is not an exaggeration to say that we missed this giant kangaroo by mere inches. In fact, I braced for what I thought was an imminent impact. I will never forget seeing the reflection of its eyes as it stood at full attention on the side of the road. What a truly unique Australian experience.
My encounter with wildlife in the Grampians did not stop with this ‘Roo near miss. Throughout the entire weekend, we saw hundreds of kangaroos and emus. We even did a bit of off-roading, chasing Emus (who are extremely fast flightless birds).
After settling down in a cozy cabin, it was my pleasure to meet Ally’s family before heading off to the food and wine festival. The food and wine festival, which was just what the name suggests, was naturally great fun. I “had a go” at a grape stomping contest (Sharaz, in case you were wondering). As of last count, I was on the leader board for most amount of juice in two minutes.
My weekend in the Grampians was a wonderful way to experience Australian leisure and wine culture, whilst enjoying the extensive wildlife offerings. I thanked Ally for inviting me as we made our way back to Melbourne on Sunday evening.
General Observations of Melbourne
As I progress into the fourth month of my Australian experience, I have more observations of my life as an American in Melbourne.
Observation number one: I don’t like the University of Melbourne. While it is a well-ranked university located in a beautiful city, I have not been terribly impressed with my student experience. This is what I have observed:
– My lectures are uninspiring. The simple fact stands that I haven’t enjoyed the classes I picked this semester. “Australian Politics” has probably talked more about American politics than anything else (and not in a nuanced fashion either…There was a joke by the professor about killing the US President who lives at 1600 L’Enfant Avenue). A well-written New York Times article could probably replace my agriculture class. “Cinema Studies” and “German 5” are classes that I have found to be satisfactory, but certainly not great. My German tutorial, which is supposed to be in German, is mostly in English. Bottom line: There are lots of problems with my classes.
– There is no sense of community at Melbourne Uni. It is, in every way, a majority commuter school. Most students live off campus or at home with their parents. There is a lot to be said about University being a transitional experience away from home and into a new life…
– The campus lacks adequate study space. If I want to study on campus, my most attractive option is a café, which gets to be a very expensive study habit. There is no campus center worth of study, no area for quiet contemplation, no student lounge for academic discussion. What little study space they do have is usually crowded and loud.
– My classes are not academically rigorous. My experience has largely been, “Read the PowerPoint and regurgitate that material onto the exam.” How does such an experience expect to yield independent and innovative minds?
Observation Number Two: It has been difficult making Australian friends (and some are downright unfriendly). This is a complicated issue I have been grappling with. While I did not have romantic visions of my status as an American being an automatic generator of friendship with Australians, I grossly underestimated how hard it would be to make good Australian friends.
While I do have some really great Australian friends (If you’re reading, you know who you are), I can definitively say that I would have felt very lonely if it were not for other Americans in Melbourne. From the Grimmers (my cousins) to the 4 other Americans living with me at University College, I have been very appreciative of the presence of Americans during my time in Australia.
There are some major questions here: Why have I experienced this difficulty? Why have I felt like such an outsider? Is it something I said? Something I did? The way I talk or look? From these questions, spawns a conclusion I’ve made: My experience here is a little taste of what it’s like to be an immigrant.
I’ve come to a country with a surprisingly large cultural gulf with my home country’s culture and found comfort in other people from home. Isn’t this the universal story of immigration? It is important to note that living in Australia has given me this perspective in relative comfort. While I do often feel like a genuine outsider in Australia, I can understand the language and share similar cultural beliefs (though I am not sure about this whole Vegemite thing). I also have a ticket home. My conclusion here is that immigrating to a country with a different language and radically different cultural beliefs is an incredibly brave thing to do. The world would be a better place if we all realized this and became more welcoming.
While I don’t mean to pass judgment or stereotype that “All Australians are unfriendly,” (obviously untrue) it is my feeling that this observation should be discussed in this blog. I would consider my struggle to connect with Australian people to be my biggest disappointment about Australia, for people are an integral part of what makes a land beautiful.
Message from Melbourne 