A Learning Experience

As I have been doing so often, after running a few errands I decided to just let myself wander a bit. I had no real idea where I was going, but soon enough I found myself in front of Melbourne University. On a whim, spurned maybe from my longings for the better days of college I stepped inside the campus. I rather enjoyed the place, as it had a large smathering of a varierty of architecture, leaning mostly toward an old victorian and elizabethian style. I also found myself surrounded by well manicures courtyards and of course the smiling hopes of college students. It is the look that says I have not yet entered the real world (and I have no idea what is waiting for me). The campus did feel a bit enclosed in areas, but it was still very pituresque. All in all I would compare it to Drew University (as much as that pains me). As I walked i noticed that it seemed to be high school day as there were a lot of small groups of high school students exploring the campus and engaged in one assignment or another. Idly, it reminded me of my days in high school when we would go to Montclair State for math day. Those were the best days, because mostly we ditched out on the lectures and fooled around on the campus all.

However, my greatest discovery was yet to come as I stumbled upon the section of campus containing the student union and the general eateries. I found a pizza place that charged only A$2.50 for a slice of pizza. I know that by New Jersey standards that may seem a little high, but by Aussie standards it was a great value. Please keep in mind that this was college food and I (nor you) should just Australian pizza based upon this experience. The peperroni pizza I ordered was a bit on the salty side (and that is saying a lot from a person who covers most meals vigorously in the white spice before ever taking a bite.) All in all, it was farily standard pizza though, even if was more like the pizza you would get out of one of those cardboard boxes at the supermarket. Still for A$2.50, who can argue.

After devouring my slice I took my Aussie tasting Coca-Cola and continued my wanderings. My next stop was the athletics field, where I sat for fifteen minutes and watched the university's cricket team practice. I still do not understand the game or what they were doing, but they certainly seemed good at... whatever it was they were actually doing... It was at that point that I decided it was time to start heading back.

A building found on the campus of the
Universtiy of Melbourne

So I left the cheerful campus and meandered my back to the hostel. On the way I allowed my wanderings to bring through the Melbourne Royal Park. This scenic patch of land is simply amazing. It is totally out of place in the middle of a large metropolitan city. It was like I was suddenly transported to the African savanna. The illusion would have been almost complte except for the few buildings I could see rising just above the distant tree line. I was not able to linger long as the sun was coming out from behind the overcast sky, and I felt myself beginning to dehydrate. I am comitted to going back and this time with a camera at the ready, and with sunblock. However, I was not quick enough getting back to the hostel, as I sit here typing I can feel the burn starting to set in around my neck. I certainly won't let it happen again. So it appears my trip to Melbourne Unversity was a learning experience (really bad pun).