The 1 Month Mark!!!

Hello faithful readers!

Today is the one month mark! I’ve been here for a month and I can’t believe it’s gone by that fast! I’ve had a great time here and I’ve loved it! I’m sure the next 3 months will be just as awesome, probably even more so than the first month.

Not a lot special has happened in the last week. The rain has really come in now and it’s been wet here for pretty much everyday. Yesterday though, I walked out to the roof top garden we have and there was a MASSIVE rainbow! That’s what you see in the picture above. It was one of the most complete and vibrant rainbows I have ever seen! I could follow it for the whole semi-circle and for a brief moment, there was a full double rainbow. It was absolutely amazing to see as I have never seen one before. It is getting warmer now and I’ve been told that spring might come early this year.

In my month here, I’ve come to this conclusion: Australia is very multi-cultural. There are so many different cultures here and they all intertwine to make a very unique Australian culture. In two of my classes, we have talked about the multiculturalism of Australia and how it differs from the rest of the world. Recently, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, said in a speech that multiculturalism has failed in Germany (and in turn, most of Europe). After hearing this, I wasn’t surprised at all. Germany has a distinct culture, history, language, and traditions, just like all other European cultures. The Prime Minister of England said the same thing too. I ask this question to those countries: Why try to smother your cultures? You should be embracing it. Australia is because this is an migrant nation, more than 44% of the population are from over seas or have 1 or 2 parents from overseas. That’s where the strong multiculturalism comes from.

So anyway, nothing to much going on here right now. My college has an 80’s themed pub-crawl tomorrow night so that should be pretty fun.

Hope everything is going well with you all. Again, a big thank you to those who have emailed me!

Best,

P

Week 3

Hey guys,

Just checking in from the great city of Melbourne where I have been studying abroad for those of you just tuning in to the blog for the first time. The last week has been rather eventful, but nothing special. Went to lectures and tutorials for those who care about my academic life here.

Well the clouds have rolled in again and the rain has returned, but spring is coming, no doubting that. Melbourne had one of its warmest winter days in the last 50 years last week and the sun is breaking through for a few hours of each day. Dr. Powell, the head of my college (dorm), has told me that it may just be retribution for the “lost” summer they had last year. Apparently summer came and went and never bothered stopping in Melbourne. But not my problem! I’m thankful for the warm weather we’re having now.

I wrote last week that I wanted to visit the zoo, haven’t been able to do that yet so stay tuned. I’ve visited Melbourne Central (in the photo) over the past week and I must say, from an architectural point of view, it’s a beautiful building, and the glass cone over the top of it is very warming as it allows light to flow into the depths of the underground mall beneath it. I’m planning a trip to an Aussie Rules Football game. Here, it’s called Footy and I’ve tried to watch it a few times to get a feel for the game, but it’s quite complicated. Hopefully I’ll be able to get my hands dirty and play a game or two. For those of you who’re wondering, American football is called gridiron here.

Thanks again to all those who have emailed me and continue to email me. If you’ve written me and I haven’t yet returned the favor, don’t fret, I’ll send one back soon.

Thanks for reading!,

P