1st day in melbourne

Hi people,
Its been a year since I have posted anything in my blog. Thought its time to revive my blog. So here is a post which speaks of my first day in a foreign country (Australia). It was a totally unusual and weird, but a pleasant experience and wanted to share with you guys. This might remind you about something similar you experienced, like any new place you had been to, or the first day in the hostel or so. I had it in my mind to record the experience of my first day in Australia and I laud myself for making the effort for writing this ;) And anyone who are anticipating such a thing happening in future, please dont forget to do this. Because you will realize its worth after a few months or years.

My First Day in Melbourne

Date: February 14, 2009
Place: 40A, Center Dandenong Street, Victoria
Time : 11.30 pm

Got up at 1 O'clock. First time in my life woke up so late. Thanks to the time zone :). First thing I did was a reality check. It was a strange feeling getting up in a different bedroom, where Shveta (my sis) is not sleeping in front of me (which is the place which she usual sleeps) wrapped up in a rug, with no inspirational, loud patriotic songs byBaba Ramdev with which my dad and mom used to wake us all up.

It was different. I brushed and headed to drink water which is my usual practice. I searched for a water purifier, couldn't find one. Then aunty told me to drink water directly from the tap. I was like- what the hell??? I have to say the water tasted really good, like bottled water. Later I just used the PC to send some status mails and check for anything important. It was 4 o'clock, and I was in the feeling that its 10 in the morning. Then thought of taking bath. There was a transparent shower room in the bathroom. I made a lot of sound as I bumped my hand with the shower room several times. I had to change my usual bathing style as it was very small. Then washed my clothes in the washbasin and hanged it outside.

I had breakfast. Idli sambar.I was lucky I can say. Dint get started with cornflakes or something. Moreover it helped me to make a smooth transition in my lifestyle. Then I called my classmate's (Santosh Shetty) sister and my friend, Pratiksha. (Thanks to him, he gave me her number in the nth moment). Thought of meeting her. The time was 5.30 pm, and it was too late to meet anyone and it was canceled accordingly and rescheduled the next day.

Then I went for a walk to the nearby Cheltenham Train Station, with aunty. The roads were as shown in the movies (clean, without any potholes or mud), which I always thought that they exaggerated. It was so hard to believe. All luxury premium cars were zipping by unlike the stereotype marutis and santros. And then, I approached a traffic signal. And to cross the road we need to press a button, so that the 'walk' light glows for a longer time. And the best part is that, there is an audio alert for the blind people to indicate them when to cross the road. We walked past banks, grocery stores and many other shops to reach the destination. The Cheltenham Station. It was very clean and well orgaized. There were very few people in the station, unlike the usual crowded bus stops in India. Here I had my first encounter with the local Aussies. They were looking at the foreigner who had entered their territory, silently. The people were friendly. I dint feel anything awkward to interact with them.

Here comes my first purchase in Australia. I went to the ticket counter to buy a ticket. It was called the Sunday Saver. And trust me it really saves you traveling on weekends. The ticket price is half that of a weekday. I promptly gave a $50 note for a $3 ticket and got the change with no grumbles :). Leaving the station we went to an Indian grocery store. The first thing I heard is the hit Big B song- "Jaanu Meri Jaan.... Main tera kurbaan...." . Thought that I entered the right place. The store was filled with the pungent spicy aroma which is common in Indian kirani stores. Just checked out some prices and was shocked. One that caught my eyes was curry leaves, which was $2 for what looked like 5 twigs in a cover. I thought," Oh damn, Rs.80 for 5 twigs of curry leaves. I used to just pluck some from my backyard in my house,"Then, I silently decided that I am not eating curry leaves :) (But eventually I bought some but only after a good 3 months, wanted to have that flavor ). Then returned home.

Reaching home, I put on the TV. There are 5 or 6 free to air channels. Got bored of it. There was a DVD collection there. Bachna Ae Haseeno caught my eye. Watched that for a while, got bored. Actually, anyone would have got bored, the movie is like that. At that time I was alone in the house. Got some time to think about what was happening till now. I had a feeling that I was still dreaming. Thought about my life and how it had shaped up, and was lost in it for a while. Then, aunty came and prepared tea. I took out the map which I got in the airport and began to plan for the next day. Time was running. Just then I remembered the farewell gifts that my friends gave me. I opened the greetings and the Album that they gave. It was so refreshing. I had a short flashback of my engineering days, happy days :).

It's 11.30 in the night and my eyes were pulling. Was struggling to keep it open.

Then this thought just came to my mind. The most useful thing I have with me right now is my dads 8 pocket waist coat. It is so handy and saved me carrying so many things which would otherwise be confusing. Thanks for that dad. Its helped me a lot.

Now I'm ready to sleep. Hope I get adjusted to this cycle soon and hope that I meet Pratiksha tomorrow and have an orientation of the city.

Good night Dairy....

This is what I wrote and when I see it now it brings me back heaps of memory, which I experienced for the first time. And for that , I give a lot of value. Hope you guys enjoyed reading it.