So I'm forever jetlagged apparently, and keep waking up between 5:30-6:00 a.m., which I guess isn't too bad. But I decided to get my day started on an early note. I went to Woodfrog Bakery, just down the street from me to get a bagel and a coffee. Each sentence I uttered to the women at the Woodfrog Bakery counter ever so increasingly made me seem like a dribbling idiot. I didn't know how to order a bagel (to be fair, they didn't have a menu listing the foods, just a vague description of what kind of texture their bagels had), I didn't understand why Vegemite was served instead of cream cheese, I didn't know ordering cream with coffee raised eyebrows, nor did I know they didn't toast the bagel, I was to do that. None of these are complaints about the restaurant in the least; it was a wonderful place and I plan to go back often. It was more like I was silently ashamed I didn't under the code of conduct of this place or the ins and outs of normal orders. After I struggled through ordering a plain bagel and a latte, the cashier looked at me sympathetically and said "Culture shock?" (Which made me feel kinda lame because I was indeed experiencing culture shock over ordering a bagel...I might not survive this trip). Anyway, they had toasters on the table where you toasted your dish yourself and offered an array of toppings such as chunky peanut butter, brown sugar, butter, and of course, Vegemite. I pretended to mess around my phone even though I had no service or WiFi, and ate my bagel sheepishly, recovering from my embarrassing struggle to order it.
After finishing my delicious peanut butter bagel, I headed off a few blocks to the beach. I actually took the long way, and that really consisted of walking maybe 3-4 blocks. So the beach is quite close to me, which is awesome. I sat down in the sand, even though it was sort of chilly (around 42 F) and watched a plethora of joggers and bikers roam by. Even for 8:30 a.m. on a Sunday, the beach was decently occupied. I took some pictures from the pier and started my wander through the shops of St. Kilda. I ended up going to a cafe called 95 Espresso to get even more coffee...in order to avoid coming across completely clueless, I just asked the cashier what his favorite coffee was and to give me that one. I don't know exactly what kind of coffee it was, but it was one of the best coffees I've ever had. Something about the coffee here is different from back in the States, but I can't put my finger on it exactly...it's not nearly as sugary and is thicker, but there are still more elements that make a difference that I can't describe. Anyway, I pursued the St. Kilda Sunday newspaper while drinking my heavenly coffee and learned a lot about local real estate, "footy," marijuana laws in Australia, and local events. I pretended to be an informed citizen for a while, then headed back home.
I then headed to downtown Melbourne to meet up with my friend Amelia for an official AFL match. It took a while to coordinate trams and walking, but eventually we made it to the Essendon vs. Collingwood match. It apparently was supposed to be a crazy intense match, but it ended up being a blow-out; 103 to 30-something (and I don't know which team won, just FYI. My friends and I spent most of the match trying to figure it out what the hell was happening in the sport in general. We picked up on the various sports AFL was inspired by such as football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, and cage fighting. We also gathered how the points vary from 6 to 1, depending on which posts you kick/hit/throw it through, and that players must be at least 6' 3", be 100% muscle, and look good in tight booty shorts in order to even try out). All in all, the game was great to watch, even though it seemed like the players and refs made up the rules of the game as they went along.
Tomorrow starts the official Melbourne orientation for international kids!
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