Tell me, have you heard of sweet Molly Malone?

Last night there was a party going on in the common area of the hostel, with the soundtrack provided by two Irish men; one had a guitar and the other a drum. They were both so animated and talented, belting out tune after tune: "Drops of Jupiter" by Train, "Time of Your Life" by Green Day... and finally, one of them made my night by singing "Galway Girl" with me for a bit...

Love this song :) Check it out if you've never heard it.

When I told him my name, he smiled and said to himself "Molly Malone". Apparently it's an Irish song but I couldn't place it so I asked him to sing it. He sang the first verse for me:

"In Dublin's Fair City
Where the girls are so pretty
I first set my eyes on sweet Molly Malone
As she wheel'd her wheel barrow
Through streets broad and narrow
Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!"

How cute is that! You can imagine how excited I was- I told him that there were NEVER any good songs with the name Molly and that people always tell me that their dog's names are Molly. He looked at me and chuckled and sang the rest of the song for me... the last verse goes like this:

"She died of a fever

And no one could save her

And that was the end of sweet Molly Malone

But her ghost wheels her barrow

Through streets broad and narrow

Crying cockles and mussels alive, alive o!"

Damnit.

Ok, so there's a song about a nice girl name Molly. Sure, she dies, but hey, who doesn't? It started off really sweet. I was determined that it was a good song. By now he was obviously trying not to laugh and   asked if I knew the local lore behind the song...

Apparently, little Irish Molly sells mussels by day and works the corner by night. And the fever she died of was actually an STD.

Well FML. How depressing.

That's one thing about having the bar set low- there's nowhere to go but up :)

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi!!

This past week has been pretty crazy in Melbourne. The city has been hosting the Australia Open AND it was Australia Day yesterday.  Aussies are VERY patriotic. They also like to drink... a lot.

This man on the right is David Moore, Australia's most famous export to Dominican University and my personal deliverer of awesomeness here in Oz. He got me a ticket to the Open on Super Saturday, during which I spent my time with his friends in the Heineken Beer Garden and watched zero tennis. I also went again on Monday, where I watched a bit more tennis...

But the big deal that day was Hewitt (top, Australian underdog in his own country, who I was cheering for) vs Federer (bottom, Swiss tennis god). Needless to say, Federer buried Hewitt. As you can see, I got a nice view from the massive screen... I SHOULD have snuck in.

(Above) This is a view from Federation Square (a big concrete monstrosity in the heart of the city that no actual Aussie seems to like). However, every night passionate spectators cram into the outdoor plaza and watch the matches live on the screen. There is no such thing as a dull crowd here. Anytime the crowd becomes too composed, someone will always start a raucous cheer, often another round of "Aussie Aussie Aussie, OI OI OI!". And the best part is that it ALWAYS works! And no one cares about the amplified volume or comments on the unique style of the instigator (often including a draped flag or jean cut-offs, t-shirt or singlet, and mismatched colorful accessories), which is what would probably happen back home.

This zeal carried over in heaps for Australia Day, although supposedly their Memorial Day is a bigger celebration. We spent the day at the beach, from noon to 8pm, eating, drinking and swimming ( or face planting into a good nap, in Sean's case) and idled away the evening watching fireworks and playing drinking games on the rooftop of our hostel. You can't really see it, but that's the Australian flag on my shorts.

Dear Australia Day,

We love you.

Love,

Malinda, Molly and Meaghan

Always late but worth the wait... :)

Hello my avid readers!! (I'm talking to you,  Laura lol) Like everything else I do in life, I am late in starting my "daily" blog. Hopefully by now you know I am alive and well. Although some feared that I would arrive in Australia with five dollars in my pocket... lost, lonely and destitute...  my living situation is actually quite comfortable. My temporary home is the Greenhouse Backpacker, in the heart of the city, right on the corner of Flinders Lane and Swanston. Check it out- I'm across the street from a church and the library (already have a library card, cool kid that I am) and literally next door to the police station. How much trouble could I get into??

One of the reasons why I chose Melbourne is because it is labeled as the cultural hub of Australia... I figured it would be the best way to get to know the country. But then I got here and realized I flew 8000 miles to go to an Aussie version of San Francisco. The city is amazing, don't get me wrong. It's beautiful and unique with so much character. But as I went from door to door each day, handing out resumes and going on job and apartment interviews... I realized that I was spending my visa doing exactly what I'll be doing when I move back to The Bay. Why did i come here again???

Bee-Tea-Dub, fun fact: Melbourne was founded by John BATMAN in 1825 and was originally named BATMANIA. How ridiculously awesome is that!

Job hunting in Melbourne in the middle of summer sucks because everyone and their mom are doing the same thing. I have applied to be a dairy deliverer, waitress, bar back, receptionist... even one of those people on the street that tries to convince strangers to hand over their bank information and sponsor a child for just a dollar a day.

Luckily, I have made friends with a bunch of Canadians. There are no Canadians left in Canada because they are all here in Australia. This is my pseudo Australian family: Colin (left) and Sean (right). They don't really say "a-boot" but they do apologize a lot and say "eh" all the time.

I made them take a picture after a long day of job hunting. This was definitely our low point of the week. We went... together *losers*... to a job interview at an American diner. Not that I am above it by any means... it's just that working at an American diner in Australia was the epitome of what I did NOT want to do when I got here. Picture your typical diner... if you're picturing Mels, take it down a few notches and kick up the cheese factor. Then picture that diner on crack AND steroids, in Australia... add candy striper-esque uniforms and an adjacent car wash and you may be getting close.

I know I sound like a snob, but I got what I deserved and am still unemployed.

On a high note, Melbourne has some amazing food, bustling trendy pubs and cafes to trip over down every alley, and a passionate yet hakuna matata vibe that is good for the soul and resonates in every nook and niche of the city.

An ideal day for an Australian appears to include a bbq, brew, and some good company. This is our first bbq attempt. We've got some veggies, some beef sausages (aka "snags") and KANGAROO. It's actually pretty good. Less than 1% fat... kinda gamey but good on the grill.

Every building is different and dripping with character. Pick any average corner of Melbourne and it looks like a scene from a different movie set... If "Sherlock Holmes" had taken place in Australia, this would have been the backdrop.

I suppose that's it for now. Despite feeling lost in life and unsure of why the heck I'm here, I am neither broke nor broken which means the sky's the limit. I've never had this much time to think. I miss mom. She would have been 60 this past Friday and would totally have understood this trip. I think about Joey all the time and keep dreaming about him... vividly too, which never used to happen. But I always get a hug and an "I love you" in my dreams, so it's kind of nice. And my dad sent me the sweetest email and always has my back (as do my awesome friends who got this hot mess of a tourist cleaned, packed and on a plane two weeks ago...)

So moral of this ramble is that "in your travels, it's important to remember that as something ends, something else begins" (I watched "Love Happens" on the plane and sniveled like a little girl, to the dismay of the guy sitting next to me... Aaron Eckhart, you SO get me!) I have no idea what the next few months will bring, but I'm excited... BRING IT Australia!

This is Malinda, by the way. Awesome, Canadian, a more seasoned solo backpacker with lots of good advice and my dancing counterpart here in Oz.