Australia has been quite an experience so far. Work brought me to this country but the learning here has been far more than just at work. To be honest, I came here with some fear in my mind...thanks to Indian media which loves glorifying anything and everything in the name of bestselling "breaking news". Indian junta can't help falling for it, can we? My first few days were spent touring from home to work and back. Come first weekend, and I mustered enough guts to go out, thinking, after all its gonna be with colleagues....That was to the Great Ocean Road. What a trip! This made me "settle down" in a way. After all there were so many people around me who are no different than me! From the next week, I decided to eliminate the fear inside me and explore...a new place, new people, new culture...
Melbourne, where I am staying, is cosmopolitan in all senses. In the train I take to work daily, I see people from all countries and cultures, primarily South-east Asian. You would find very few people from Australia in the suburban crowd. Though the number significantly increases as you near the main city. This is something a person from Bangalore can relate to mainly because Bangalore, too, is very cosmopolitan and is not dominated by any one culture.
So what does culture consist of? People? Food? Events? Lifestyle? So far, my interaction with all these aspects of Melbourne has been fairly pleasant. To start with, the people are very polite, I can hear a "hey, how u goin?" every time I smile at someone. Dunno why, but there's something great about smiling at another person! (It's like no fuss,we're all in d same shit, so smile while you're in it!) People are sports freaks, be it the weekend footie (aka soccer) games or F1, sports means a lot of passion...donning your team's (exuberantly priced) merchandise, following all matches in the Etihad stadium and spreading the hysteria around!
On weekends, the city is in colours of the world and its party time!! Beauty and style at its best is out for you and you can't help falling for it! (Imagine how much I fell for it, that I was totally broke with all the shopping I did).
City of restaurants is another name of Melbourne. Name the cuisine and you find a host of restaurants that serve! I had the pleasure of a sumptuous Italian meal on one of the string of restaurants at the Lygon street.
Travel, books and music seems to be other elements of Melbourne's culture. People love tuning out completely during long weekends (made longer by additional leaves). There are lots of places around that are perfect for time out away from city life. Reading is also quite a pursuit...I don't only mean reading bestsellers but classics! Yes, I have seen so many people reading books that are masterpieces of English Literature. And ya, how can I forget my biggest passion...music! After the US, I think Apple ipods has the next biggest market in Australia. Can I ever see someone who's not listening to music in the train, at work, anywhere at all? What's more, I am a part of this crowd too:)
Knowing Melbourne has been quite an enriching experience so far...all my inhibitions have slowly faded away and for good...
Melbourne, where I am staying, is cosmopolitan in all senses. In the train I take to work daily, I see people from all countries and cultures, primarily South-east Asian. You would find very few people from Australia in the suburban crowd. Though the number significantly increases as you near the main city. This is something a person from Bangalore can relate to mainly because Bangalore, too, is very cosmopolitan and is not dominated by any one culture.
So what does culture consist of? People? Food? Events? Lifestyle? So far, my interaction with all these aspects of Melbourne has been fairly pleasant. To start with, the people are very polite, I can hear a "hey, how u goin?" every time I smile at someone. Dunno why, but there's something great about smiling at another person! (It's like no fuss,we're all in d same shit, so smile while you're in it!) People are sports freaks, be it the weekend footie (aka soccer) games or F1, sports means a lot of passion...donning your team's (exuberantly priced) merchandise, following all matches in the Etihad stadium and spreading the hysteria around!
On weekends, the city is in colours of the world and its party time!! Beauty and style at its best is out for you and you can't help falling for it! (Imagine how much I fell for it, that I was totally broke with all the shopping I did).
City of restaurants is another name of Melbourne. Name the cuisine and you find a host of restaurants that serve! I had the pleasure of a sumptuous Italian meal on one of the string of restaurants at the Lygon street.
Travel, books and music seems to be other elements of Melbourne's culture. People love tuning out completely during long weekends (made longer by additional leaves). There are lots of places around that are perfect for time out away from city life. Reading is also quite a pursuit...I don't only mean reading bestsellers but classics! Yes, I have seen so many people reading books that are masterpieces of English Literature. And ya, how can I forget my biggest passion...music! After the US, I think Apple ipods has the next biggest market in Australia. Can I ever see someone who's not listening to music in the train, at work, anywhere at all? What's more, I am a part of this crowd too:)
Knowing Melbourne has been quite an enriching experience so far...all my inhibitions have slowly faded away and for good...
Its good u came out of ur fear and accepted the new place with open arms and warm heart...This is going out to be one enriching experience for u :-)
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