Cheers

I'm starting my "Melbourne Welcome Week" today for study abroad and exchange students! It's currently pouring rain outside, so I'm hoping that lets up soon enough since we're touring the campus and the city. I am staying in one of the dorms on campus for the next few days, so I won't have my computer. This will be my last update for a while, but I suspect I will have lots of great photos and stories come the 15th.

Yesterday I walked around with three guys from SC who are also living in my apartment. We went to the Queen Victoria Market which is a giant farmers market that runs almost every day and is really close to where I live. We had lunch there and then shopped for fruits and veggies. I will probably be shopping there a lot! Then we walked around the city and saw the stadium where the Australian Rules Football teams play (the guys found this much more exciting than me). We stopped for coffee and had to try and explain what an iced latte was. Apparently in Australia, they put ice cream in their coffee. Nasty!

Then, last night, I had my first Aussie bar experience. It was an American's 21st birthday, so a group of us went out to celebrate. Someone who studied here last semester recommended we go to Pugg Mahone's. The group split up as we tried to get there, some people following directions on their phones and others following directions from a local. I trusted the locals a little too much, and my group was lost for a good twenty minutes. We made it to the bar though and had a lot of fun! I had cider for the first time. Cheers!