1. Moved to Melbs with a good friend.
2. Found an apartment with some cool people (who made awesome food) in southbank and moved out of the hostel.
3. Got a job as a telemarketer. Worst job ever. On the how much was I losing it scale of 1 to Lindsay Lohan, I was like a Britney Spears 2007 mental breakdown phase. I have so much respect for these people.
4. Visited St. Kilda...finally.
5. Kept sneaking into the hostel I'd left because all my friends still lived there.
6. Switched jobs to be a host at a German restaurant/beer hall/bar.
7. Went to be in the the live audience of Family Feud with some friends
8. Won $25 worth of drinks in a dance contest I didn't realize was happening. This might be the greatest achievement of my life.
9. Tried out as many random bars in melb as I possibly could
10. Have asked multiple British and Australian friends to marry me only to realize green card marriages don't work as well here.
11. Have met and worked with other Americans! Whattttt?! Two of my managers are even american! Crazy!
12. Went to a Les Miserables exhibit and got to see Victor Hugo's original manuscript!!!! As well as of course unabashedly sing to the continuous songs from the musical playing in the exhibit.
13. Continued to go to the awesome Hillsong church in melbourne.
14. Made friends with the leader of a German oompah band.
15. Had a ridiculous night at the Crown Casino
But honestly, as with all the places I've lived here, it's not really the big things that I've done in Melb that made me fall in love with the city. It is all the small day to day things. It is having a few favorite bars to go to with friends. It's knowing which trams and trains to take where and being able to tell people where the markets are without glancing at a map. For the past two months Melbourne has been home. I'm used to its rhythms and have a routine. I know my favorite indian place and it's hours. And most importantly I have made some wonderful friends. That is what I will miss.
As always, I'm excited for the next adventure to Asia and beyond, but it is definitely going to be harder to leave Melbourne and Australia than I even thought possible. I have seen so much of this country and made so many incredible memories here. It's going to be strange to have to start over on my own again. But, as I've seen time and time again, God knows what he's up to and I'm sure is just as excited for me to see the next step as I am scared to enter it. So off we go! Next up? MALAYSIA!
Endnote: since not everyone knows my game plan from this point...I'm currently flying to Malaysia and will be in Kuala Lumpur for about 4 days. Then I'm off to Singapore for a day or so then northern Thailand to see Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and a few other places! The goal is to go to Loy Krathong...the lantern festival where thousand of lanterns get out up in the air. Bucket list item? Hell yeah.
Check out the link in the upper right corner to see where I've been and where I am now!
