After our day in Fremantle, Vicki dropped me off at the student Village at Murdoch University, Flat 3.
Vicki had taken me by the flat earlier in the day to drop off my luggage, but none of my flat mates were around. However, upon returning that evening, there were many people in my soon to be home for 6 weeks. My flat mates were throwing a party, and I arrived unfashionably late. Colorful balloons covered the floor and I saw beer and spirits flowing. I was already nervous about meeting my flat mates, but now that there were other people around, my anxiety intensified.
The first person I met was this guy.
Jonathan, or Jono as everyone calls him. Jonathan walked straight up to me and introduced himself. The first thing I noticed about Jonathan was his lip ring, which I of course thought was pretty cool. The second thing I noticed was that he seemed very nice and polite. He played the little host and took me around the flat and introduced me to everyone. I was the only American in my flat. Jonathan was from Zimbabwe, Nithil was from Mauritius, Yin Ling was from Malaysia, Sam grew up in Australia, Tiza was from Zambia, and Jacob was from… well I don’t remember. He didn’t stick around too long because of some drama that went down in our flat. A guy from Germany named Malte was moving out as I was moving in. I didn’t get to know him obviously, but I was told he was a pretty fun guy.
I met a lot of my flat mates’ friends, including a guy from Tasmania and another guy from Zimbabwe. I also met this guy.
Andrew, or Mr. Flat 3. He used to live in Flat 3 and I’m assuming he received the nickname because he’s a real charmer. Charismatic and funny that one. He and Jonathan were really good friends.
They also both became my really good friends while I was there.
I socialized as much as I could, then decided to turn in for the night. I was still pretty jet lagged and I also had to fix up my room the way I wanted it for the next 6 weeks as well.
That crumpled up bag you see there was sitting on my bed when I initially arrived. It was full of goodies, snacks, a timer for the shower (water conservation is important) and other various items from the student village.
There was no central heating unit in the flat. Each room had these electric heaters. I was staying in Australia during the middle of winter and it was very cold some nights.
These two guys were gifts from Nick. He gave them to me before I left. It was nice to have them along for the adventure.
The next morning I decided to explore Fremantle on my own. I walked all over the place taking pictures of just about everything.
I took this before I actually became a Jester. I was hopeful that I would become one. I’m glad things worked out in my favor.
Outside of the Fremantle market this guy was putting on a show, so I decided to stay and watch. He was pretty badass. I mean look at him.
My first experience with gelato. I had to document it. It did not disappoint. Although this pictures is quite um…
While I was walking around, I came upon a shop called Didgeridoo Breath. I knew before I traveled to Australia that I wanted to purchase a didgeridoo, so when I spotted the store, I decided to go in and look around. I was greeted by a store associate named Simon. Simon was fascinated that I was from the states. When I told him I was from Mississippi, he compared me to Daisy Duke from Dukes of Hazard. Even though Dukes of Hazard tends to exaggerate certain aspects of southern culture, I didn’t take offense to the statement because I’m sure I was the first person he’d ever met from small town Mississippi. Simon was pretty cool and very nice. He showed me around the shop and asked if I’d be interested in learning how to play a didgeridoo. I hesitated a little, but when in Australia… Simon picked out a beautiful didgeridoo made out of Eucalyptus wood and proceeded to teach me the basics of playing a didgeridoo. I picked it up pretty quickly. In that moment, I bonded with the beautiful didgeridoo and I just couldn’t leave it behind. So, it became mine.
Before I left the store, Simon suggested that I check out a place called Cicerello’s for dinner.
I walked down to the bay and when I saw the big neon lights boasting “WA’s No 1 Fish ‘n’ Chips, I decided my dinner would of course be:
fish and chips!
This is me after dinner. I was happy. Good food makes me happy.
I was told not to stay out alone past dark because it could get pretty sketchy. It got dark around 5, so after dinner I found the bus stop and headed back to Murdoch University. This is where the story takes an interesting turn. The day before when Vicki was showing me around, she made sure to tell me what bus stop I needed to get off at to put me right by the university. Well I got confused on the bus ride back to Perth, and ended up getting off at the wrong bus stop. I didn’t know it at the time, but after wandering around in the dark for 30 minutes, I figured it out. I pitifully traipsed up and down the street, turning around and walking one way, then stopping and retracing my steps. At one point I actually picked up a sharp piece of plastic I found on the side of the road to fend off any attackers. Hey, I was a young girl in a foreign country with no cell phone, it got a little scary. Instead of waiting for another bus to come along, I decided to walk and find someone who could help me. I walked to a Blockbuster store, told them I was lost, borrowed their phone, called a cab, and got a Coke Zero to calm my nerves and sat on the curb waiting for my taxi.
When I finally made it back to my flat, I was relieved, although a little down trodden for being stupid and getting lost. I was in my room later that night when I heard a knock on my door. It was a girl named Gianna (a girl from New York, who was dating Andrew at the time) and she informed me of another American girl living in Flat 4 upstairs. She suggested I go and introduce myself. Again, I hesitated. The girl I was coming in to this trip was reserved, quiet, and just didn’t go up to people and introduce herself. I waited until they came to me. Suffice to say that never really worked for me and I wanted to make friends during my time in Australia, so I walked upstairs and knocked on a door. That’s when I met Wesley.
I introduced myself and we decided to go get pizza at this place called Pizza Bella Roma in Fremantle. This was the first of many pizzas we would consume in Australia. Also, interesting fact, two of our other American classmates were eating at the same place that very night and we didn’t even realize it until much later. Cool huh?
I don’t remember much about that night other than how incredible the pizza was, and that Wesley was a cool girl and very easy to talk to. It was exciting to have a friend who knew what it was like to be a stranger in a foreign land, and someone that was going to be studying along side me in our 6 week course. To be continued…
