Weekly Recap - Week 35

Hostel Summary

A summary of the hostel: it is alright. I had imagined it to be much worse. The online reviews for the accommodation were quite bad, so I was really worried. But no, everything was fine. I had an 8-bed dorm with a few Germans. On the last evening, when I came back to the room after work, all the roommates were sitting on the floor and chatting. It was very nice to meet so many new and friendly people. Before I left, I had dinner with four roommates and got to learn a lot about Asia through our Asian roommate.

Breakfast was included in the hostel. I always enjoyed it. They even had pancakes with maple syrup at the end.

Moving
On Friday, Tim, Ben, and I moved in together. We rented an Airbnb apartment for a month. The apartment is very spacious and has everything you could wish for. I felt comfortable there right away. A hostel is nice, but for a longer time, an Airbnb apartment is more pleasant. You can also feel the difference in the general mood. We are more rested and in a better mood. Friday night, we went grocery shopping together as roommates. It was fun. After searching and comparing prices for a long time, we found a supermarket. Since Elwood doesn't have its own big supermarket, we went to St. Kilda. We discreetly pushed our shopping cart with all the groceries for 30 minutes to our apartment. Now it serves as a storage and decoration. Of course, we will use it again for the next shopping trip.

A Different Kind of Restaurant
After work on Saturday, I had to take the train home to our apartment for the first time, and it was midnight, when the train connections are not optimal. A nice Spanish woman practically put me on the right train. Sometimes, the train stations from St. Kilda don't announce and display the trains anymore, which can be really risky. But she was really nice. We talked for about an hour about the must-haves in Melbourne and the surrounding area. She was very friendly and helpful. I think she was also happy to have someone to spend the long journey home with. We exchanged numbers and she told me to text her if I have any questions, etc. Very nice! She told me about a shop with a very unusual business idea. The shop offers normal dishes, but it doesn't have prices listed. Depending on what the budget allows, you can determine what you can, want, and would like to pay. It turned out that I've already been there. It was with my "hostel gang." I've been wondering the whole time why the dishes were so expensive. There were no prices on the menu, but on that day, I didn't order anything (I was still full from the pancakes in the morning). But soon, Ben, Tim, and I will go there to eat.

Current Situation
This weekend, I worked a lot at the Hofbräuhaus. It was Father's Day. It is celebrated more here than in Germany. Many families were at the restaurant. There was also a festival in the city center, but I only noticed it on the sideline. I'm guessing it was a marathon. There were a lot of runners with numbers. Since we now live in Elwood, it's quite far to the Hofbräuhaus. According to Google Maps, it takes me 2 hours on foot. The trains take a bit longer here too. When the right train comes, it takes about an hour to get home. It sounds like a lot, but I don't have any stress or other commitments here, so it's okay. During the day, I always walk those two hours to the city, or I walk a bit faster than other people, so I can do the distance in 1.5 hours. It doesn't bother me. It's nice to calmly explore a new area and see how life unfolds here. I think it's a matter of mindset to walk. At the moment, it doesn't bother me at all, but I think I'll become lazier later on.

I recently took a walk in Brighton with Flizzi. There was a job advertisement at a beach house. They are looking for staff. I went in right away and was able to do a trial shift for two hours on Thursday. It was a lot of fun, and the staff is very open and understanding. However, they will be closed until September 10th and will contact me afterwards. Now I have to wait and continue looking for job alternatives. Ben and I have also inquired about farm work. In the next few weeks, we will search more intensively. We also have to look for alternative accommodation, so that when a 'decision' is made, we already have an address. It's pretty typical German of us to inquire about something so early. In Australia, many things are arranged spontaneously. But I somehow need that German security :)

Today (Monday, 03/09), I will relax from the weekend. My brother is currently working on his seminar paper, and I will take a look at it. I will also go to the beach again and take some pictures. In the evening, Tim, Ben, and I will go to a restaurant.