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Last night, I finally had my first night out in the city. I know what you’re thinking. “Maddie you’ve been there for almost two months, and you’re just now having your first night out in the city…”, but I promise you I’m not a hermit and I have a picture to prove it. It’s quite a trek to get into the city, especially when public transportation stops earlier than when you want to go home. With that said, it takes a lot of effort to get a big enough group to synchronize their energy to make the journey. I’ve been out to the bars, but this place was more than a bar. I’m not sure if it qualifies as a club, at least not a crazy three-floors-of-dancing kind of club, but whatever it was pretty cool. Going into the city is also something I do rarely because of the cost that comes along with it. For those of you who haven’t read my rants before, everything in Australia is a lot more expensive, and alcohol is no exception. Luckily, it’s not really an issue for me, but for those who are curious of the price difference: a long island ice tea costs $19 here, and I was told that was a deal. Appreciate Kilroy’s my friends. However, the most devastating cost increase I’ve had to deal with is how much my peanut butter is. It’s eight dollars a jar. Granted there is an off brand that costs only three dollars, but I’d rather not find out why it’s that much cheaper. I made that mistake with buying pasta sauce and it resembled water.

Another memorable moment from my Thursday happened to me while I was checking out at the market. I was having a conversation with the cashier and she asked me where my accent was from and I told her about how I was an exchange student from Indiana. I’ll spare the rest of the details but while it was a short conversation, there were a few laughs and smiles, which made it very enjoyable. It then became obvious that the man behind us had been listening into our chat because he tapped me on the shoulder and handed me something while telling me “I think this suits you”. It was a fortune that read “Share your sparkle with those around you”. I now have it taped to my laptop, next to my keyboard as a reminder; a reminder of that stranger’s kindness, as well as to never forget that I do in fact have a sparkle. Don’t forget that you do too.

Today us IU folk had a presentation to give to hopeful exchange students, promoting IU and why they should come to our school. In the midst of everyone’s welcome week photos, it was pretty hard not to feel homesick, giving a presentation about the school I've left behind for a semester and why it is so amazing. I never really grasped just how wonderful IU and Bloomington are, and maybe that’s just because I’ve been there for so long. That just goes to show that you really don’t know what you have until it’s gone. I knew coming to Melbourne and attending Victoria University would be vastly different, and that’s why I chose to come here. However what it has shown me is that I am absolutely 100% in love with IU and Bloomington. 


Kat Neal
8/23/2013 02:34:03 am

That last paragraph just made me cry. THANKS A LOT MADDIE

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Vicki Hayford
8/23/2013 11:58:11 pm

Very cool shout out Mad. And your sparkle, it's absolutely brilliant!

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