Spending Summer in Winter Break
Clearly, you know where I was from the title: the Southern Hemisphere. December can't be Summer in North Carolina, but it surely can in Melbourne, Australia.
Earlier in 2018, I have been talking to my friend Firmiana about how we haven't seen each other in two years. Firmi was the last friend I saw before I took off for college in 2016 from China, and because of the difference in Australian and American school systems and seasons, we didn't see each other in 2017 when I was home in China for the Summer. We kept telling each other over FaceTime how badly we miss each other.
I always have the tradition with my close friends where I make an effort to visit them, and they let me stay at their places. Sometimes we switch too, but the former is most likely the case every time. But I realized that going to Australia from the U.S. would be a costly one. From North Carolina, I'll have to fly to bigger metropolises to make it to my flights to Australia. And Firmi is based in Melbourne, where it doesn't have a ton of direct flight from U.S. cities, which means I'll have to fly to Sydney first. Moreover, being a Chinese citizen, I'll have to apply for a tourist visa to go to Australia.
Our plan harbored in early March 2018, and I had been working since then as a waiter, a secretary, and an editorial assistant to earn bucks enough to buy the plane tickets. With an already-hectic college schedule, I had to squeeze time to go through the visa application process and gather all the materials needed. It can be depressing trying to do a million things on my own. I remember I spent the whole afternoon trying to print, scan and upload the right paperwork to the application site after shooting videos for two hours for my class.
I guess a reward for doing everything on my own was that everything turned out smoothly. I was granted a year-long, multiple entry visa while I only applied for a three-month stay; my flights from Dallas to Sydney was 17 hours, which sounds like a nightmare but it wasn't terrible at all.
My in-the-air experience with Qantas was terrific. The cabin crew was caring and considerate, the food was delicious, and the magazine is definitely intricately designed and curated; entering Australia was quick and easy as well, probably because I landed in Sydney at 5 a.m. local time.
Sadly in the next 15 days of my stay, I didn't have the change to revisit Sydney. We planned to go there, but things didn't work out. I simply experienced the life of a Melbourne resident. It was definitely more profound than the tourist level. I did research on public transportation, as well as bars, restaurants, clubs, and events in this energetic city. I also had chances to connect with other people in the town. They also suggested places for me to go and activities to do.
I liked Melbourne a lot, especially its hospitality and vitality. Different from Americans' big emphasis on privacy and individualism, at least most people in Melbourne are not afraid of holding casual conversations with strangers, smiling a lot, and pointing directions to visitors like me. I went to a Queer picnic breakfast on Christmas Day, and the organizer saw me sitting alone, so she asked for my preference and introduced me to another crowd. I ended up having a casual but intellectual conversation with the group. It might be that I was open to exploring a new place that I became more social and outgoing, but in general, regardless of close friends or total strangers on the streets, people are pretty friendly, especially in such a massive city where everyone is on the go.
My favorite part of Melbourne though? The energy. You'll find a ton of people at rush hours in the morning running fast and trying to catch the next tram, a group of drunk friends dancing to the music videos at the rooftop bar in South Yarra in a clumsy and funny way, street performers doing live music in CBD, the trains at Flinders are packed like sardines. Again, flying from a country that is so aware of privacy and personal space, I felt a little lost and out of place roaming through crowds after crowds in CBD with my two suitcases on my very first day in Melbourne. However, I acclimated very quickly. Days after my arrival, I was already on the tram by myself touring the whole city. I was sipping iced chocolate at the University of Melbourne, shopping at vintage stores, slurping authentic Japanese ramen, taking a walk along St. Kilda beach, and so much more. At night, I checked out a couple of gay bars and clubs around the city. The martinis are fabulous. My favorites are Lychee and Espresso Martinis.
I also toured the Great Ocean Road. I can never forget about the ocean along the road. The seawater was a mixture of sapphire and sky blue. It was as clear as flowing crystals, without any flows or impurities. The 12 Apostles was truly spectacular as well. I lost myself that day to the beauty of nature.
Firmi's boyfriend Matthew told me that his parents invited us to stay at their country house in Mansfield. I was beyond excited because I could see kangaroos, cockatoos and so many other wild lives in person. Andrea and Andrew were lovely enough to show me around their place and tell me all about Australia's nature. We talked about the differences between living in the US and Australia that we both discovered (Matt's family has been in the US, Nigeria, and Qatar before they returned home in Melbourne.)
For New Year's Eve, Firmi, Matt and I made a reservation at a rooftop bar near Chinatown. We got a seat near a seesaw and ordered a bottle of Rosé. It was cliché but sweet. We patiently waited for the fireworks.
The moment when I watched the fireworks booming in the sky from the rooftop, I realized it was time to go back. I indeed had a blast in Australia and didn't want to go back. But life isn't about stopping, it's about taking a breath and carrying on.
Until next time, Australia.
