One week in Victoria

Laverton and Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

2016 April 24-29

It's been two months since I got back from Australia, but the load at work and the many events in May and June kept me from writing about the mostly-business-with-a-bit-of-leisure  trip.

Together with three other trainees from the Philippines, I was chosen to undertake a communication workshop hosted by the Australian government. After months of waiting for the deliberation results and preparing for my first inter-timezone travel, I finally set foot in the Land Down Under.

Stepping outside the airport, it was amazing to realize that I was going to experience a whole new different culture and way of living. Although Singapore is also a so-called First World country and also a former British colony, Australia is still the only "Western" country on this side of the hemisphere.

The first week was devoted to familiarization about the country and the Australian work ethos, as well to get acquainted with our fellow trainees from different countries in the Asia-Pacific. We stayed in the training facility in Laverton, and were able to visit Melbourne a few times during the week after classes.

The training center's common room. Those couches are cozyyyy.

Autumn has begun when we arrived in the last week of April. Weather in Victoria was kinda wonky, actually, particularly in Melbourne. Though it was generally pleasantly cold, there were times when the sun was out one hour and it would drizzle the next. I therefore don't doubt the staff of the training center when they said that Melbourne can have all the four seasons in a day.

My adventure buddy: AryaLakwatsera takes the train! 

I feel fortunate that there was a fellow Pinoy staff at the training center who toured us and helped us get around Melbourne. First order of the day was to get acquainted to the train and tram systems in Victoria.

A note on trains and trams: Australia's transportation system is amazing. Can we please have such efficient mass transportation here in the Philippines that is sufficient for the demand? Getting to the business district from the suburbs takes a bit of time, but the comfort and the distance covered more than make up for it. And for only AUD7-ish, you can take as many train and tram rides around the state for the next 24 hours. Gala all you want! :))

It was kinda comforting to have a kababayan whom we can contact lest we encountered any mishap in this foreign land (and who would lend us some detergent for the laundry haha). Thanks again for the assist, Cris! :D

The iconic Flinders Street train station, among the many other structures in Melbourne, made me feel like I was transported into a bygone era.

Perhaps part of the reason why Melbourne was dubbed as one the world's most livable cities is because of its amazing transportation system. Resident and visitors alike would do well in experiencing the wide array of sights and activities, which, of course, can be accessed through the trains and trams that abound the vibrant city.

Much like the whole city of Melbourne, the Federation Square features a tasteful mash-up of historic and modern, the quaint and the hip. If only I had time to myself, I would have sat down and just people-watched, basking in the remarkable architecture around.

These pockets of spaces in the city are a delight to explore. :))

Graffiti alley!

There is a significant difference in the way a history-conscious society preserves its architectural marvels. Flinders Street Station remains to be the heart of the beautiful city, as it was a century ago.

Souvenirs at Queen Victoria Market

Our first day in Victoria was a lovely sunny day.

The northern part of the beautiful Yara River. :)

It seems to be an imperative that Melbourne first-timers visit the Shrine of Remembrance. And with our arrival on the day before the nationally significant ANZAC (Australian-New Zealand Army Corps) Day, we were able to glimpse into one of Australia's defining moment in its history. The Shrine, with its towering stone facade, houses a crypt and a museum in tribute to the sacrifices the nation has made in times of war, and in the name of peace.

The inside walls of the Shrine's courtyard was designed to mimic the trenches where the members of the ANZAC fought (and died) during the First World War.

Interactive panels of LED board in the Shrine of Remembrance

On the first day of the course proper, the students in the training center were enjoined to commemorate ANZAC Day at the town of Inverleigh in Geelong City. During the one-hour bus ride, I was seated beside an English Language course student from Timor Leste, who chatted me up about our respective countries and who asked me for Filipino film recommendations since he's very interested about the Philippines. I recommended Heneral Luna, of course. :D

(I found this surprising and flattering. At least one other classmate, who's from Indonesia, said that she likes watching Filipino soap operas, too. Apparently, local television stations in Indonesia regularly run imported soap operas from Malaysia and the Philippines. One classmate from Malaysia agreed to this, saying that they also have Indonesian and Filipino dramas showing during their prime-time, too. MAPHILINDO, whaddup! Too bad the Philippines isn't able to connect as closely to the two countries culturally. Maybe the little brown elf wants to be closer to Big Brother Sam instead. Haha.)

Without much pomp and pageantry, but just solemn remembrance and a gathering of the community, the ANZAC Day commemoration in Inverleigh was a heartwarming occasion. Young and old, men and women, toddlers and high school students in their uniforms, everyone, walked in the early morning from the community's center to the shrine dedicated to ANZAC. There a simple wreath-laying ceremony was held, where anyone who wished to dedicate flowers to the members of the ANZAC who hailed from Inverleigh, and even other military personnel who fought for the country.

Afterwards, we went to an indoor gymnasium for a short program, where the community sang a number of patriotic songs. Inverleigh is a small rural town, and I was fascinated by its close community ties. It felt like everyone knows everyone.

The after-ceremony tea in the town's clubhouse was also really enjoyable. Aside from the myriad of sweet cupcakes and pies, as well as the bite-sized savory sandwiches, the kind ladies who served the food were very much like endearing Titas and Lolas. You can't help but smile at them in return for the glass of lemonades and tea.

One classmate asked one of the Inverleigh ladies for the recipe of the Nutella/Kitkat cake we had during tea. It was really yummy. :))

I felt like the place could very much be a setting of a coming-of-age novel, the small hometown of the protagonist who grew up knowing the place and the people and the traditions like the back of his hand. Inverleight really seems to be a lovely little town with its lovely people, pretty trees, and rows of bungalows with lawns surrounded by picket fences. :)

After our first day, Rico and Maya, the lovely couple who hosted our First Night in Australia Dinner at their beautiful home with their equally beautiful kids, met us again and toured us around the outskirts of Melbourne, around the docklands. The night was cool and breezy, and the people were few and far in between. Maybe because it was already night time, the Melbourne Star had already closed even. But it was really nice to take a look at the colorful city from another vantage point.

Hello, Sylvia

I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. 

From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. 

I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.

― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

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About time for me to finally read this. :))