Ambulance Please...

Yes, not even a week in Australia, and I needed an ambulance.

I think I had lost consciousness for about two minutes.  I had fallen into a dreamy state in which I envisioned my housemate trying to scoop me off the floor, while I was giving him directions on how to drive me back to Canada.

And no, I wasn't drinking. It was during my habitual morning shower when I slightly cracked my head open on the tap.  Needless to say, I went into a bit of a frenzy, and messaged my housemate on Facebook to say what happened (no phone at this point). 

I managed to type even though things were starting to blacken out.  During my brief mental absentia my housemate called an ambulance who showed up only minutes later.  As it turned out, my blackout was a result of my hyperventilating – a kinder way of saying I over reacted. 

Welcome to Australia Mandi!

I am sharing a flat with someone outside of the city core, in a neighborhood called Prahran.  My roommate's name is Lachie, an environmental engineer who grew up on a farm outside of Melbourne.  He is pretty easy going it seems, witty, intelligent.   More importantly though, he is very friendly and prompt to help out a damsel in distress. 

Prahran,  say it fast: Pruh – RAN.  I love the area. The population of Melbourne hovers around four million, while that of Prahran is about 12, 000.  It’s a town full of  thirty-something young professionals, who flock to the two main streets ( High and Chapel ), filled with funky cafes, trendy restaurants and wine bars I have yet to discover.  It reminds me of England a bit, with the cute accents and brick fences surrounding homes. People’s gardens are full of beautiful lush tropical trees and plants.  Very pretty. 

To say Melbourne has temperamental weather would be putting it mildly - it's bloody bipolar here.   It can be sunny by the time I leave the apartment, and raining five minutes later, so I have to be dressed for all four seasons simultaneously.  I can always count on it being cold though – it is their winter after all. 

Sorry to disappoint, but I have no reports of spotting kangaroos, koala bears, dingos or the like, for those who are wondering.  I did however, see a massive dead bat on the sidewalk today, if that brings any satisfaction! 

I have walked around downtown Melbourne for a bit, passing out resumes here and there to various restaurants and bistros - here's hoping some are looking for a waitress/sommelier.  The only place that took an interest was, bien sur, a French bistro that needed someone to run dishes – kind of a bus girl sort of thing.  I lasted about two hours before the manager kindly told me I could go home.  Made twenty bucks in two hours, and what did I do with my earnings? 

Bought a bottle of wine of course! I love wine, I love learning about wine, talking about wine, and making it come to life - but I am starting to wonder if I am I cut out for work in the service industry.  I don’t remember doing anything wrong during my bus girl gig, but maybe I just wasn’t efficient enough. (read: over-educated?)  Ah – who knows ?!  I need to keep plugging away at it, I suppose, until someone 

a) thinks my accent is cool

b) falls in love with my sparkling personality ( kidding )

c) sees my potential

d) spots a) b) and c) in me?

For now, I am happy to say I’m loving Prahran.  I am a walking distance to everything I need, including shops, restaurants, my gym, the market….  Public transportation is easy and accessible, and everyone I have met so far has been extremely friendly, warm and helpful. 

So, over the next few days I will keep hammering out the resumes, discovering the city and, hopefully, trying out a new wine or two. 

Cheers,

M.