Visiting Ned!

Last Wednesday was one of the most manic days I've had here. I had class all day, and then my cell biology lab that runs from 2-6. This was a bit of a problem because my flight on jetstar left at 6:30, and you MUST check in more than a half hour before the flight leaves in order to get on. As I was still frantically working on my lab, I looked up at the clock and saw that it was ten past five. After finishing as fast as possible, I jumped on the bus to the train station, getting there at 5:30, and then took the train and got there at 5:45. So I got checked in and was sitting by my gate by 5:50. When I arrived in Melbourne, I got into the Avalon airport. Which was not so much an airport, but a shack. One gate. One small building. One plane at a time. Seeing Ned (her real name is Emilly, but for the week, it was camp names only...I'm Cody) We went to the Pihran where she works, and had a few drinks, before going to her house for bed. The next morning we slept in for a bit, then she had to go to work, so I got dropped off in the city to walk around for the day. I walked up and down all the main streets, took the tram around the perimeter of the city, and then grabbed some lunch. I then met up with Mike from Northeastern, and we walked around the city and caught up for a while, which was awesome!
I then got a text from Ned, saying she had a surprise for me that night. I grabbed a train to her friend Nicole's stop, and then we met up with Ned and began driving. About an hour later we were driving up Mt. Dandenong. We went to a great restaurant with a view of all of Melbourne as a background. It was a fantastic night, with a beautiful view. We went back to her house and went to bed. Friday we went out to lunch with Ned's mom, and then Ned had to work, so I went to hang out at home, and watched footy with her Dad, and I got a great full commentary on everything I've ever needed to know about AFL. Saturday Ned and I went to the Eureka sky deck on the 88th floor, and saw another great view of Melbourne. I walked around Melbourne for a while, going to the National Gallery of Victoria, Royal Botanic Gardens, and a few other sights. I was then walking and ran into about 200 people dressed as zombies. It was Dawn of the Dead realized. It was some sort of strike, and very bizarre. I walked around the city for a while longer, and then took the tram back to Ned's. When she got back from work, we went out to quite a few different bars, and had a lot of fun. The highlight was seeing the true Melbourne Shuffle. This was something we had been attempting at camp all summer, and it was very exciting to see it in real life! We were out most of the night, and all of Sunday was spent quite hungover. Sunday night we went out to great Japanese restaurant with her family for Mother's day. It was absolutely delicious! We went back for cake, and then went off to bed. This morning (Monday) I woke up and took a cab back to Avalon. It was the fastest airport to get in ever, and the ticket did not even need to say which gate to go to, since it was all in one room! I flew back to Sydney, and got back to Unilodge, and then went off to a couple of classes. I'll write more about my actual experience in Melbourne (which was a fantastic, true aussie time) but I will when I get around to my weekly update post! That will be coming later on in the week, once I get done with my two papers and test of the week...Until next time!