Day 2

My internal clock is still not adjusted, so it was a weird night.  I thought I was going to take a quick nap, but when I woke up it was dark out.  I didn't know what time it was, since I still hand't hooked up the internet or gotten a phone, so I just watched a movie and fiddled on my computer until it was light out.

I walked around campus a bit this morning to try and find a public computer to check my email (I needed to get my WiFi access code so I could use the internet in my apartment).  It's really nice.  Plenty of trees and park-type areas.  A mixture of modern architecture and more traditional styles.  Very clean.  It almost reminds me of Florida, but that might also just be the weather.  I'm only a two-minute walk from campus.  In fact, the engineering buildings are closest to where I am.

Once got my internet set up, I was able to look up the location of a grocery store so I could make some breakfast.  The one I went to first was in Melbourne Central, a mall in the nearby central business district (CBD).  I couldn't buy everything I needed in one trip because it was too much to carry, so I got the basics and walked back to my apartment.  Food here is expensive.

After breakfast, I went back to Melbourne Central to buy a SIM card for my phone.  Considering how expensive everything here is, prepaid mobile phone rates actually seem quite reasonable.  After I bought the card, I walked around a bit in the mall and a few blocks around it.  This city is pretty bustling.  I'm really starting to like it.

I walked today, but the trams are a popular method of transportation.  Think Green Line C trolley, only the tracks are level with the street (you can walk across them, although I don't think you're supposed to).  There's also an underground subway in the CBD, I think.

Some New York-caliber buildings

This old lead pipe factory is actually inside Melbourne Central, under a huge glass canopy.  Pretty cool.

The library.  Plenty of people were hanging out on the lawn in front.

One of the tram lines uses these old-fashioned trolleys.

Some pretty swanky architecture here.

On my way home, I stopped at a different grocery store to pick up the rest of the things on my list.  Turns out, this one is a few blocks closer to me, and the prices seem lower.  Interestingly, there were only a few carts in the store, and no baskets.  Everyone had their own shopping bag that they used to hold things and carry them out, and they don't provide plastic bags like other supermarkets (very green, I'm impressed).  It's actually a pretty good solution for a store with limited floor space, since there are no carts clogging the isles.  A lot of things were in boxes, sort of mini-Costco style.  (I used an empty box as my "shopping bag.")

Now I have pretty much everything I need and I'm settled in.  The Melbourne Welcome program starts tomorrow morning at 10, and I'll be staying in a residential college (a.k.a. a dorm) for those few days.  I'm not exactly sure what the plan is, but I'm pretty sure it involves surfing and sleeping outdoors for a night.  Sounds fun, I'm excited!