i have blisters

After a surprisingly comfy 11 hour flight from honolulu, i'm finally in melbourne! The flight was pretty empty, so i had a whole row of seats to myself! Score! In the past couple days, i've gotten settled into my apartment and explored the vicinity. Last night, I went to the Queen Victoria Market, which turns into a night market on Wednesdays.
There was an endless selection of booths selling food from every culture imaginable. It was really representative of the multicultural population here in Melbourne. Considering how hungry we were, I was very impressed by the fact that we were able to stop at each and every booth to see what they had cooking before deciding on dinner. I am convinced that sharing food is really the best way to eat, so I ended up splitting an African dish that I cannot remember the name of (shame on me) but it was a grilled flatbread with chicken, spinach, and cheese. I also had half a roo burger! Yes, kangaroo meat! It was actually very tasty, after I got over the "I'm eating a kangaroo!" issue. I think that roo burger was step 1 in becoming an official Aussie.

After dinner, we strolled around the market and visited the different vendors selling everything from picture perfect cupcakes...

to comfy hammocks...

At the market, I met someone who told me that Melbourne is "a city full of secrets, with surprises down every alley." Hopefully I'll discover some of these charming qualities of the city over the next few months. I think I got a pretty good start today, actually. I woke up this morning and decided to spend the day walking everywhere. I spent the afternoon wandering around, with no destination in mind. I put away the guidebooks and just walked wherever I felt like walking.

I popped into record shops, shoe stores, and candy shops, stopped for a salmon roll. It was so refreshing to have absolutely no schedule, no obligations, a totally free day to go anywhere. The thing I really admire about the Melbournians is their laid-back lifestyle. I walked through streets lined with outdoor cafes serving business people taking their 2 hour lunches or couples enjoying a leisurely late afternoon cappuccino. I'm very proud of myself for only getting a little bit lost, walking in circles only a couple times. I successfully found my way back home and even found a gelato place nearby for a scoop of hazelnut and fig swirl.

Important lesson of the day: When crossing the street, look RIGHT and then left. The whole driving on the left side of the road thing may get me run over.

The Melbourne Welcome starts tomorrow. It's is a pre-orientation trip that is supposedly "5 days of action-packed fun in Melbourne." What the action consists of is a surprise, so i am quite excited!