My Australian Journey (Part 8)

DAY 8 June 25, 2010
§ Shop Till You Drop §

This is the use of money: it enables us to get what we want instead of what other people think we want.
(George Bernard Shaw; 1856-1950)

I didn’t start this morning quite well. I could say I had bad morning today. How come??? Here’s the story. At around 7 a.m. Yudi and I were about to leave for campus. We made breakfast in the kitchen. Suddenly Annie came out from her room and expressed her disappointment to us because we didn’t tell Annie that we had dinner outside. She had cooked a lot yet only two or three people had dinner. I was actually very disappointed to Yudi because I have told him about this but he didn’t tell Annie at all. We were sorry. But still, I felt bad to Annie and since then, I didn’t feel comfortable at all at home.
Okay, enough for that bad morning story as it’s an endless story to talk about. Now, ladies and gentlemen…it’s time for us to go shopping ‘till you drop!!! Yes, today’s English lesson was about shopping and continued with going “real” shopping to Victoria Market. I just couldn’t wait for that. After Friday prayer at campus, we went to Kooyong station and got the train to Flinders. Once we reached there we got on the tram taking us directly to Victoria market.
Victoria market was actually and ordinary market. It has butchers, groceries, delicatessen, souvenirs shops and so on. What made this special was that we could bargain, something that we hardly find in Australia as most stores had fixed price. When we arrived there, we had light rain and thank God the market was in a covered area, so need to worry about the rain. Unfortunately, we only had 1.5 hours to go shopping as most stall were closed. It’s already 4 o’clock. We decided to gather at the meeting point and by the time we were there, heavy rain fell. So, we just stayed there and enjoyed the American doughnut for 99 cents each. However, the “shop ‘till you drop” program MUST be continued. When??? Of course the next morning because Saturday we had no class a.k.a. HOLIDAY.
Oh ya..I forget to tell you that Intan had an appointment with some students to meet in the market. And there she was with another lady known as Cece, the alumni of TN 7 batch (1st girl’s batch) We were so confused about what to do in the middle of the rain. Then, Intan and Cece asked us to have meal…so we took the tram back to the city. They took me to a I-dunno-the-name place through small alleys, and so sorry for us…it’s all fully booked and reserved. Then, the eight of us (Intan, Cece, Singgih, Riani, Danan, Sarah, Syuhudi, and I) decided to go to San Churro Chocolate café. It’s located exactly to the south of State Library. It’s so warm inside considering that it’s 5 or 6o C outside. They offered many kinds of chocolate and of course I tried to taste something different: Hot and Cold chocolate. It’s one of the best beverages I have ever had. This café is so cozy and fancy yet the price was not too expensive, I guess. Only $6 for a cup of chocolate. Haaahhh ONLY $6…come on man…get real..it’s like 45.000 rupiah. I could buy 10 glasses of chocolate in Indonesia…but wait…this is Aussie..you know..do not always convert the money. Only $6……yeah….only $6 a cup!! Period.
We had an interesting chit chat there…these two girls motivated their younger brothers and sister to be good students as Taruna Nusantara is one of the best schools in Indonesia. They also told us their stories, the good and the bad ones. It’s just like recalling their memory. We were happy at that time. However, it’s time to go home. Before going home I warned them that today is Friday…so be careful with TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday) because usually people got drunk and did some crazy things. I also sent sms to almost all students about this. I was so afraid for this. Just imagine: 46 students, foreign country, big city, single fighter…dear Lord..please help me.
I moved quickly to Melbourne Central station. It’s just the opposite of San Churro café. At the alley to the station, I stopped at “Lord of the Fries” where I bought a box of chips with Australian sauce. The chips were so hot and a lot that they were just like a plate of rice. On the station, I didn’t wait too long as the Frankston train arrived exactly 1 minute after I was on the platform. On the train, I still remembered Annie’s disappointment… and..urrghhh ….I didn’t want to go home…but where else could I stay?? Hehehhehe… come on Isna… you don’t live forever in Aussie… next week you will be back to your hometown…be patient, I told myself!!!
When I was home, everybody was sleeping. Yudi hadn’t been home yet, soI called and sent him sms but there was no reply. I started wondering where he was. Then at around 11 he texted me to call him back. I was so shock when he told me that he was in a police station. Oh no…this is a REAL problem. Then he told me that Bonardo lost his wallet in the tram and Yudi accompanied him to the police. I asked if everything was going to be okay…he said yes..but he had to spend the night at Bonardo’s host family. Pheeww…then I could sleep…while some girls have texted me that they were home already.