Some observations from my first day in Aus ...
Wow, what a long flight. LA to Melbourne alone was 15.5 hours.
OK, I've been here for about 24 hours now and have discovered a few things:
1. My first impression of Melbourne was very good. Frederic (colleague at the WEHI) picked me up from the airport and dropped me off at the Graduate House. I showered and walked around. When I got to the first street light, the first thing I saw fly by was a guy riding a Cervelo P3. For sure, it's an omen. I might actually fit in around here.
2. All the toilets I've used have 2 buttons, which as you might expect are for "Number One" and "Number Two" ... though I think it would be a lot funnier if they actually numbered them.
3. The university just seems "miniature" for some reason. Most of the buildings are not more than 3 or 4 storeys. The institute I'll be working at looks a lot smaller than had thought.
4. There are a lot of cyclists. I went for a ride this morning at 7am (couldn't sleep) and there were many more cyclists than cars. Like, they were just coming from everywhere. I thought maybe there was a big group ride taking place but they all seemed to be independent. A bunch of them past me. I was relieved to see that at least one other cyclist (aside of me) in Australia didn't have his legs shaved. Phew, I'm not the only one.
5. The city is very compact. The CBD (central business district, what we would call 'downtown') can be walked through in 5-10 minutes. Very bikeable also ... there are bike lanes on every other street.
6. In Canada, I would compare Melbourne most to Vancouver (like a cleaner version of Granville street without all the XXX shops and panhandlers) and maybe a bit of Montreal.
Will get some pictures as soon as I land internet access on my laptop, which'll probably be in a few days when I get my student card, etc.
Later,
Mark
posted by Mark Robinson at 5:55 AM
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