The weekend started with "Friday Night Drinks", a URS-Melbourne tradition. The office provides a refrigerator full of beer and wine at 5 PM Friday for anyone interested. The stock was depleted after about 2 hours, at which point the entire group headed to the bar next door, Blvd. We were there till after 11, when the group migrated to another bar across the river. I bailed at that point, exhausted from a full first week. I must have met 20 people or so. Yay! They were all wonderful but I'm told in general Australians do not have great regard for Americans. In fact, they call us seppos. Australians tend to nickname and shorten everything, with much slang derived from rhymes. In this case, Americans are called Yankees or Yanks which rhymes with septic tanks, which is then shortened to seppos. People from England are called poms (fair skin burns easily and turns red and pomegranates are red, thus shortened to poms). It's a lot of work to keep up with all the slang!
I did some laundry this weekend - I'm sure you're wondering why I would bother to mention this. We have no dryer! Some people do have dryers but they don't work the way American dryers do, leaving things damp to wet even after drying (based on the fact that dryers waste an enormous amount of energy). This means that EVERYTHING must air dry - sheets, towels, socks, underwear, everything. We have clothes horses (drying racks) to help with this process. I saw one at the mall today that had a mobile for hanging socks. So different.
I explored a couple neighborhoods this weekend and fell in love with Brunswick Street in Fitzroy (first two pictures after map) - it was overflowing with great shops and cafes - lots of people and excitement for a Sunday afternoon. Fitzroy is just north and east of the CBD - super close to the city. I also loved Carlton Gardens (last three pictures), which had walking trails north and south of the Melbourne Museum and IMAX theater located in the center of the gardens. I could envision walking Jack in those gardens. I'm warned it will be challenging to find an apt that allows dogs, so let's hope I can find something in an area I like!
I finally got a cell phone today!! My number is +61 0406 963 765. I accept international calls, really.
