After arrival to Melbourne, I checked myself into the Elizabeth Hostel, which, for the record, is the creepiest hostel in the entire world. Correction, the hostel itself is not that creepy, it is just the occupants! I headed to my room to find the place empty with just a few pieces of baggage adorned on the floor. I looked down towards a chair that was beside my bed to see a glove that was in full shape, as though something was inside it. It wasn’t until later once I met the rest of my roommates, that I realized that this was in fact a hand piece and one of the occupants has a hook for a hand! Now normally this would only creep me out marginally, but in this case my thoughts rushed back to my childhood trick or treating days when we would avoid one house in particular because the “hook man” used his disability to frighten innocent children as he answered the door.
Moments later I met my second roommate, Howie, an American Masters student who is currently doing a thesis on the linguistic patterns of homosexual slang in Jakarta! Howie, who was a lot less creepy than the hook man, took me under his wing, and began to show me around town. First things first, we headed on to the tram. A real live tram, just like in San Francisco!! I began to shuffle my bags and got some change ready to put into the machine to purchase a ticket. I tried once and the coins filtered out to the bottom. I tried again, the same thing happened. I tried one more time, and came the conclusion that the machine was broken. I went to grab my coins from the return slot when the tram began to move and the coins flew out of my hand and on to the floor. I bent forward to pick them up when the tram started again, sending me lunging forward doing a face plant on the floor. I tried to regain composure and get up but couldn’t get the proper footing when I fell again and rolled over. Trying hard to ignore the smirks of those around me, while also trying to not completely laugh and cry at myself, I managed up only to see Howie in full laughter with a sympathetic reassurance that “no one noticed”…YEAH RIGHT!! After the tram incident we headed to a shop window in a nearby community where you can find a “share house”. People that need a roommate will put up a small ad in this window with contact information, and for the most part, you can find a place for really cheap rent. Just what I needed! I took down a few names and numbers and decided that I would make a few calls the following day.
After a few other stops around town (not to mention a chocolate restaurant where you can get three course meals that are all chocolate!) we headed back to the hostel for a game of Scrabble and “Spot the creepy person” which, in this case, was relatively easy to do.
The following day while Howie and I were having breakfast we met a man in the hostel who was convinced he was a “Street Angel” and was from the Church of Philadelphia. He told us all of his beliefs—that CSI and movie deaths are real, that Whoopie Goldberg and James Bond are the best street angels that exist because they use their power for good not evil, and that he sees cherubs above the heads of those that are innately good (to think, this all came form the topic of why Canada is better than the United States—clearly it is because of our connection to the Commonwealth and the Queen…duh!!).
It was at that moment that we decided to get the heck out of there and I went on to make a few calls of numbers that I had gotten from the window.
My first call went to a lady named Jodie who was offering rent for a place until Christmas, and the price was really cheap—only $95/week. She was open to me coming to see the place, so I did. After another brave, but successful, ride on the tram I found the house and met Jodie. She was super nice and owned her own Stilts Walking company called Tall Poppies. The other roommate was a belly dance instructor, and when Jodie offered me the place I excitedly agreed. I HAD A HOUSE!! This was the most exciting thing that had happened to me since I had arrived, because this meant…no more hostels!!
With moving ready to commence the next day, I was truly ready for my Melbourne adventure to begin!
Moments later I met my second roommate, Howie, an American Masters student who is currently doing a thesis on the linguistic patterns of homosexual slang in Jakarta! Howie, who was a lot less creepy than the hook man, took me under his wing, and began to show me around town. First things first, we headed on to the tram. A real live tram, just like in San Francisco!! I began to shuffle my bags and got some change ready to put into the machine to purchase a ticket. I tried once and the coins filtered out to the bottom. I tried again, the same thing happened. I tried one more time, and came the conclusion that the machine was broken. I went to grab my coins from the return slot when the tram began to move and the coins flew out of my hand and on to the floor. I bent forward to pick them up when the tram started again, sending me lunging forward doing a face plant on the floor. I tried to regain composure and get up but couldn’t get the proper footing when I fell again and rolled over. Trying hard to ignore the smirks of those around me, while also trying to not completely laugh and cry at myself, I managed up only to see Howie in full laughter with a sympathetic reassurance that “no one noticed”…YEAH RIGHT!! After the tram incident we headed to a shop window in a nearby community where you can find a “share house”. People that need a roommate will put up a small ad in this window with contact information, and for the most part, you can find a place for really cheap rent. Just what I needed! I took down a few names and numbers and decided that I would make a few calls the following day.
After a few other stops around town (not to mention a chocolate restaurant where you can get three course meals that are all chocolate!) we headed back to the hostel for a game of Scrabble and “Spot the creepy person” which, in this case, was relatively easy to do.
The following day while Howie and I were having breakfast we met a man in the hostel who was convinced he was a “Street Angel” and was from the Church of Philadelphia. He told us all of his beliefs—that CSI and movie deaths are real, that Whoopie Goldberg and James Bond are the best street angels that exist because they use their power for good not evil, and that he sees cherubs above the heads of those that are innately good (to think, this all came form the topic of why Canada is better than the United States—clearly it is because of our connection to the Commonwealth and the Queen…duh!!).
It was at that moment that we decided to get the heck out of there and I went on to make a few calls of numbers that I had gotten from the window.
My first call went to a lady named Jodie who was offering rent for a place until Christmas, and the price was really cheap—only $95/week. She was open to me coming to see the place, so I did. After another brave, but successful, ride on the tram I found the house and met Jodie. She was super nice and owned her own Stilts Walking company called Tall Poppies. The other roommate was a belly dance instructor, and when Jodie offered me the place I excitedly agreed. I HAD A HOUSE!! This was the most exciting thing that had happened to me since I had arrived, because this meant…no more hostels!!
With moving ready to commence the next day, I was truly ready for my Melbourne adventure to begin!
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