Getting started

I arrived in Melbourne a week before my internship started to settle down, fight the jet lag and organize everything that needed to be organized. I am really glad I took this time; it was needed! Telephone number, bike, public transport access, bank account, sports club and most important of all: housing. When I arrived I stayed in a hostel, but as you would expect from a hostel, most people are there to travel around and leave within a few days. Which made me feel a bit lonely from time to time.

But there is plenty of fun stuff to do in when you arrive in a new city and it was easy to find some distraction. I drank cocktails and shopped at the Queen Victoria Market, went to the Penguin Parade, had some Dutch friends visiting, wandered through the city when I got lost (again and again) and -of course- got rid of my pale Dutch-winter-skin at the beach.

I love Melbourne. The Central Business District is the heart of the city with a beautiful mix of old and new architecture, many cultural activities and all kind of shops, restaurants and bars. Different suburbs surround the CBD and all have their own 'personality'. I found a room in a young, hip and slightly alternative suburb. Also, Melbourne is full of surprises. The best restaurant and parties are hidden away in small alleys; the kind of alleys that you would want to avoid after dark or are used as toilets back home. And the weather… A surprise every day! The best description of the Melbourne weather was from a woman on the street explaining to her children why it was raining so hard; "because Mother Nature is bipolar, and she didn't take her medicine". It just sums up the weather here, 30+ degrees one day, absolute storm the next day. But I have been lucky, because I had sunny and warm weather almost every day since my arrival. I hope Mother Nature will keep up the good work, because there is so much more exploring for me to do in this city!