Rapid Ending

Time flies when you are having fun right? I really don't know where all the time has gone. It doesn't feel like I got here just yesterday because I feel like I know Melbourne and all the streets like the back of my hand. But it is hard to realize that last week is the last week of the PRIME program. We have been here eight weeks and are a little unsure how its going to feel about leaving Monash and Melbourne. Ok.. so I'll stop being mushy and tell you what we have been up to.

So last week my mom and sister were still here which was great. On Tuesday night Lisa and I met up with the PRIME group with some German friends we made at the Claremont Hotel. They knew of this really cool pub down by the Yarra River. We sat outside and it wasn't too cold because they had little outdoor heaters and so we got to look at the city at night. We talked a lot about California and Matteus [on of the guys from Germany] really likes Jack Johnson so we started to sing Banana Pancakes. We met up with John and Andres in a different pub in Federation Square and they brought their Italian friend from school. Lisa and I both agreed that he looked like our cousin Tres. Maybe he is our long distant relative and we didn't even know!

Then on Thursday night Lisa, my mom, and I went to Koko Black to get some drinks and their last taste of chocolate before they left Australia. Everything tasted great and the place was really cute. It had big couches and chairs that reminded me of the coffee house on Friends.. but a little nicer. Then we made our way to the Italian District up on Lygon St. So we had dessert before dinner; our excuse was that they were on vacation. We stopped in the first restaurant that we saw. There were so many that it was hard to tell which one was going to be the best so we had to take our chances. Inside there were not many people, but the owner asked us "How many?" After replying three, he interrupted and said "Four?" and counted the three of us and then included himself to have dinner. It was apparent that he had a good sense of humor and we knew that we chose the right place.

He sat us right next to the chef and said that this was the special table because we get three surprises. Not knowing if he was joking or not, we looked at the menu filled with delicious Italian food. Then quickly asked if we needed an extra plate and threw it our way without giving us time to reply. I caught the plate but I realized it wasn't a plate but a plastic top! I guess that was surprise #1. Then he gave us markers and challenged us to a game of tick-tac-toe and said if I won then the meal was free. He was too good for me, but I challenged to a rematch. He said if I lost this one then I had to do the dishes... I lost! Don't worry.. I managed to escape the restaurant without cleaning a single plate. Then he did things like throw a plasitic spider at us to continue the surprises. It was fun and exactly what Lisa and my mom needed before they left. Not to mention, the pizza and salad that we got was very tasty! Lisa and my mom left on Friday morning. The visit was great and it was fun to show them around. Love them so much!

Since we had our big presentation on Tuesday, we kinda had a relaxing weekend. I came into the office both Saturday and Sunday, but we managed to do some fun things in between getting everything perfect for the presentation. On Saturday night we met up with John and Andres in the city and watched a salsa band. It was fun just to watch them dance to the music and it seemed like they were at home, even though Columbia is half way around the world. After the band finished their set, they went to go talk to the band and it ended up that one of the members is actually from Cali; their home town. They even exchanged numbers with him!

Then we met up with our German friends back at the hotel and made our way over to St. Kilda for the night. We had to wait 15 minutes for the tram and so we entertained ourselves by taking pictures and singing songs... a car filled with Aussies at the stop light even joined in with us. It was fun. Then when in St. Kilda we did a lot of walking around to find a place to go and checked out a few pubs. There were tons of Australian kids at some of the big clubs but it looked a little out of our league. Realizing that we needed to catch the last tram back home, the 5 of us left and walked to the tram station. Saleh, Liz, Steph, and I got on the tram, but somehow Heather missed the message. We left her in St. Kilda! Then we were going to get off at the next stop to meet up with her, but the doors closed too quickly so only Liz and Saleh got off! Now, Steph and I were the only ones on the tram and we quickly found out it was the wrong one. Long story short, we did a lot of walking and we all made it home safe and sound.

The next morning we went into the city to check out some parts that we missed. I showed them the arcades and where most of the chocolate shops were that we visited on the chocolate tour. The little cafes were open and it was cute to see everyone out for Sunday brekkie [breakfast]. Then Steph showed us this alley that is just COVERED with graffiti. We were taking pictures and then a garbage man came up to us and said "Why the hell are you taking pictures of graffiti? Its so ugly!" Then we explain how we aren't around from here and how we heard about the special graffiti alley. Then he laughed and said "Don't they have graffiti in America?" We just carried on and put our cameras away so we didn't look so much like tourists.



Then Steph and I met up with Liz in St. Kilda for the crafts show that they have on Sundays. It is time to gather all the souvineers that we can get and so we were having trouble deciding what to get. I think that we might go back next weekend too! The sun peeked out from the clouds and it turned out to be a nice day. I think that St. Kilda might be my favorite part of Melbourne.



We then spent the next two days working hard on our projects.. getting every last bit ready for our presentation at Clayton. There were moments where we were very nervous, but the we would try to calm ourselves down by saying that there were not going to be too many people there. Then David sent us an email saying that Larry Smarr just so happened to be in Melbourne and would attend our seminar. Larry is the Institute Director of Calit2 which is a main funder of the PRIME program. Lets just say that the nerves came back! After practicing our presentation and compiling all of our presentations together, we were ready to go. Everyone did a great job and David said that he was very proud. Everyone from our lab gave us a pat on the back and we congratulated them for not falling asleep through the long talk about mostly biology. After eating some cheese and crackers and talking with some people who attended our seminar, we packed up and headed home.



Giving the presentation made us realize how limited our time is here! The next big thing on our list is to plan out what we are doing in New Zealand. I know that is going to fly by too!

Family Visit

The highlight, by far, of this week was going to Ballarat. JUST KIDDING! I was so happy to leave work and see my mom and sister. They arrived Wednesday afternoon safe and sound and I met them at their hotel on Flinder's Street. Just as I was a month and a half ago, they were jet lagged and ultra tired. We caught up and then after buying them a train like I was back in America. They didn't serve water in a jug and the atmosphere was more like America. I know it wasn't a good introduction into Australian dining, but oh well. During dinner they were trying to keep their heavy eyelids open, but I could tell that they were ticket I showed them my "hotel". They were shocked to see how small my room was; but by now I am used to it. Around dinner time we made our way over to Hard Rock Cafe because it seems at every vacation spot that we go to we eat there. It was weird for me to eat there because I felt ready to fall asleep. After dinner they crashed at the hotel room.

On Thursday I went to work while they slept in and explored the city. Us Primers did not join the usual cryptic crossword group and went to the Clayton campus for a little lunch. We had been there once before for Thomas' presentation, but we wanted to see the campus. It reminded us a lot of UCSD; but a lot less hilly. There, they were having an international event and there were some organizations with booths selling food and other things. Heather spotted one that was selling KANGAROO sausage! Because everyone asks us if we have tried it we had to. It tasted a lot like breakfast sausage to me.. but I didn't have much. They are too cute to think about eating!
Then we just went from building to building. They have a Whole Foods place that reminded me of a much more hippie grove or old student center back at UCSD. Then we saw a flier for the science club and so we thought we should mingle with our fellow scientists. :] The funny part of it was that the BBQ was on "Boob" lawn. On the lawn there was a little null that looked like a boob. Pretty funny. The rest of the time we mostly explored the biology and engineering departments there. We checked out their sports field and stuff; it was bigger than RIMAC. That night we went back to the casino and watched Rock star Karaoke. It was really cool. It was just like karaoke but instead of having the background music be off a track, there was a live band playing it. The people that sang were good and there was a lot of classic rock music-meaning I sang along! None of us went up there but who knows what next week will bring!

On Friday I took my mom and Lisa to Queen Victoria Market to shop around. They were amazed to see how big it was and we bought a bunch of winter clothes. They will be handy for me, but when they return back to 80 degree weather, I don't think they will be using them that much! But after we went down Elizabeth St. to an arcade where Haigh's Chocolate Shop is. The arcades are nice and lined with cafes and shops which remind me of Europe. We met Susie, our guide, for the chocolate tour. Yep that's right, chocolate tour. Susie, who is from Melbourne, has been running these tours for 13 years and takes a group of about 10 to chocolate shops around the city while giving a brief history lesson. While talking she gave us a range of chocolate to try and even gave us a little bag to fill up. I felt like it was Halloween, but with good chocolate. She showed us a tea shop that was started by a woman in Melbourne and now its growing internationally. Then next door we went into another shop that had unique chocolates with designs on top of them. Susie would talk to the owners like they were best friends; but I guess after 13 they probably are! Next, we went to another arcade and watched a chef named Kim make chocolates at Koko Black. She talked to us about the process of making different chocolates and gave us a truffle to try. Did you know it takes 3 days to make those things? yep yep. Although most of us had enough chocolate to eat, the tour was not over. It ended at a cafe where we each got to pick a cake to try while we drank a late. I was heaven. When I was little I didn't like chocolate that much, but now its a different story!


The next morning we woke up early to take the V-line train to Ballarat. We met up with other Primers and after an hour on the train we made it to Sovereign Hill. Sovereign Hill is supposed to give you the idea of how the area was during the 1860's when the area had a gold rush. In the town people dressed as though they were in the 1800's and there town with its unpaved streets looked like it too. We took the mining tour and learned about how dangerous life was for the miners. I decided that I will NEVER be a miner. Too scary. But there were other activities like bowling, carriage rides, gold panning, and watching the red coats march through the town. The only problem about Sovereign Hill was that it was FREEZING! I think Lisa and Mom were in shock coming from summer to chilly winds. With their big jackets and scarves they made it out alive. :]

On Sunday it was Open Day at Monash University. This is kinda like admit day at UCSD, but the students are not accepted to the school but are just thinking about applying. We helped to volunteer by telling people why we are here and what we are doing at Monash Uni. We got to wear cool shirts that say Monash and showed the students what at VTC looks like. They had it set up that we were talking to people at the Clayton campus. It was funny; when people came in the room and saw that they were on the screen they got a little camera shy. After I took mom and Lisa down to St. Kilda to show them the beach but it was SUPER windy and cold. We took shelter in a restaurant and made it a short night.

Yesterday while I was at work they went on the day tour the the Primer's and I took to Phillip's Island. They enjoyed petting and feeding the kangaroos and seeing Tasmanian Devils. The weather held out for them and even got to go down to the beach. On Wednesday they will go on the Great Ocean Road tour too. Unfortunately they leave on Friday! Where does the time go? Tonight I am taking them to Stalactites and we are going back to Koko Black for hot chocolate. YUM!