Loco

People have frequently asked me if I was nervous about the move, and I honestly never really was. Until the plane took off last night and I realized that I was most likely certifiably insane. What kind of crazy person moves across the world by themselves to a city they've never even been to? Apparently this kind. I left CA the night of June 6th, promptly skipped June 7th, and landed in Melbourne the morning of June 8th. After battling through customs (got everything through!) I found my cab driver who was holding a sign with my name on it (because I didn't even have a cell phone anymore). I walked outside, and realized that I could see my breath. Yesterday, sort of, I was at the beach with my dog getting a sunburn. Today it is 6 degrees and rainy. I didn't even know what 6 degrees was - now I know that it means a minimum of three layers plus scarf. The cab driver took me on a tour of the city towards the place I'm temporarily staying. It was very surreal having seen these place names and house rentals online and now seeing them in person. The outskirts of Melbourne were much more rural than I was anticipating. And in case you were wondering, they pronounce it Melbin. I finally arrive in Tyabb and take a shower - such bliss after a long flight. I don't want to be the smelly foreigner, jut the foreigner with the neat accent who says funny words. I try to relax and watch tv for a bit - and of course they are watching the basketball game - such irony. Then it's time to go into work. It was very weird driving towards the place I work at without even knowing where it was. I walked inside the office and within seconds was given a mobile (phone), car keys, tom tom with the Homer Simpson voice, and my new business cards. So now I have a company car. Just one small problem. The steering wheel is on the passenger side and these crazy people think I'm going to drive it like that. And it's not just the steering wheel that's different - wind shield wipers and turn indicators are reversed, the mirrors are in really odd spots, and this car has something they call a boot (trunk). Fortunately I had Karen to be my copilot and yell at me when I looked the wrong way or flicked the wrong switch. It felt like I was driving in a mirror - like reality didn't quite connect. And then they threw in some round abouts just for fun. I even lived through driving in the dark, though that was definitely tough.

Since that wasn't quite enough adventure for a 24-hour period, we decided to go to the supermarket on the way home. I got to try parking and driving around a parking lot. Inside the store, it took me a few seconds to realize that produce was so expensive because all of the weights were in kilos. Except for the bananers (bananas). Those were $10/kilo. Even converted to pounds that's expensive. The store had a crumpet section - I didn't even know crumpets really existed. The selection of veggie mite was quite spectacular also.

Tomorrow I get to travel downtown to find the bank. Wish me luck!

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