size mattress, so i wont send any pictures of the room yet. you can
see it really well it you click this link to google maps and zoom in.
you can see the building, and my room is right on the corner on the
second floor so i have 3 windows that all open and have window boxes
that i might plant something in.
http://maps.google.com.au/
it will be a bit loud from the road, but i think i can get used to
that. there are 8 people living in their own rooms in the second
floor. it is called a hotel but everyone lives there almost
permanently. there is a small kitchen, 2 toilets, a shower, and a
balcony, and a great view when you climb in to the roof! it is 5 mins
by bike to university, so its close to everything! i think it was the
11th place i looked at. there really IS a housing shortage here, it is
not just a rumor. but i am really happy with the place i found. its a
really old building, but has the cheapest rent of any of the places at
$110 a week with no bills and no bond. most other places were half an
hour away and 130$ a week. and everything seems to work, the
washrooms, electricity, kitchen. it really needs stuff on the walls
and it will look great. i will look around in the next few days. i
bought a towel, clothes hangers, and soap today.
in the last week between looking for a room, i couchsurfed with Laura
and Craig. Craig volunteers at a place where people donate bikes and
volunteers help customers fix their bikes up, so i got a bike for $50
(bought lock, lights and helmet on top of that) after 2 half days
spent changing the handlebars, brakes, seat, adjusting the gears, and
greasing everything. its a really nice blue colour its vintage and
works well. then i rode it all around the city exploring parks, went
to yoga a few more times, went clothes shopping with Jo to some second
hand stores, tried some more restaurants, went to the beach,
volunteered 3 days at this not for profit restaurant run mostly by
volunteers called Lentils as Anything
(http://www.lentilasanything.
place, with live music often, and movies. volunteering there involves
learning how to use a coffee making machine, and serving coffee and
tea, and mostly sitting around talking. it is a lot of fun! and will
look great on my resume applying for a paying job at a cafe. i also
volunteered the last 2 days at a yuppie grocery
store/restaurant/bookstore called Friends of the Earth, also really
fun and mostly socializing, filling bulk food bins, chopping
vegetables, eating gourmet food and drinking tea. so i am definitely
not bored and am meeting some nice people.
another day:
everything is going really well here!!! i am enjoying living in my own
room, and i finally met most of my housemates that i share the kitchen
and washroom with, and to my relief they are all very nice! living
above a bar and bistro is not as noisy as i thought, it is easy to
sleep. the bistro looks quite nice, i am planning to eat there Sunday.
i had university exchange student orientation yesterday and today, and
i met lots of people there. i went shopping, so i now have maybe 3
outfits instead of 2. i still dont have furniture other than my bed
and wardrobe, but i really don't need it. I went to the Melbourne
Museum, which was very nice, biked around some parks, volunteered
making a free meal for people who needed it at a community centre, the
weather has been good.
so i live with 8 people, Percy the landlord i have not met, but
apparently is easy to get along with. his friend Micheal, who seems to
be a happy, friendly alcoholic, works with Percy driving tourist boats
on the Yarra river that runs through the city. Charlie also drives
boats, he seems to enjoy his job. i forget the names of the nice
couple that live across from me, and they guy who lent me a blanket
when he heard i only had a sleeping bag, then there is Kari, a general
practitioner at a children's hospital, and Hayley, a New Zealander,
studies art, but working this year and volunteering with a local TV
station. so i think living there will be quite alright. i have not
been there much of course!
RMIT university is similar in size to U of A, and everything seems to
run the same way, the library, the website for enrolling, the
procedure for getting help with essays, the students union, the
fitness facilities. i think it will be very easy to get used to. and
it is so close to my room, and Queen Victoria farmers market, and
cafes, and right beside the state library where i am now. and it is
closing!
