April? May? : The visa trip

Had to go to the American Embassy in Melbourne to apply for a J1 Visa. Got there early and so was in the first lot of people to go up. Really wasn't a big deal, but I'm sure if I'd been a smart-ass or she'd been having a bad day, it could have been.

Went to visit Bob in hospital, got to see Belinda which was great. Lost my drivers license somewhere in Melbourne. Anyone finds it, give me a call.

That morning, dad and I did the Queen Victoria Markets. Bought a light jacket, which I don't think I even took to KSA with me. Got the best brunch from this little bakery kinda shop next to the markets. It better still be there next time I go to Melbourne.

Went for a ride on the loop tram, which actually does a square, but was really good for giving a general idea of Melbourne's layout and heritage. Had a few issues with catching one back from the markets, mostly due to the fact that we couldn't decide which side of the road would be the best (ie first) and hence did a lot of running in circles (squares) when we saw trams coming. Very very funny morning.

Had further issues with trams when we tried to go shopping at the outlet places I'd heard about. Stupid woman told us the wrong tram, so we had a nice little tour of obscure parts of Melbourne. And on the way back, were treated to some extremely colourful language as it was peak-hour and all the high-school kids were on their way home. That was fun too.

Then went to Adelaide for the pre-departure orientation. Kind of a waste of time, in a way nothing can prepare you for a trip like that. I think everything they said was true, some of it irrelevent that they totally stressed, and some things they said in passing that were pretty important. It was good to meet other people in the same situation (some without camps yet) as a kind of validation: I'm not crazy to be doing this, it's fine. Or I am, but at least there are other crazies here with me.

And of course, the obligatory trip to Harbourtown to spend some money.