Readers, fasten your belts, take the plane back to Melbourne!
Thanks to my French contact Alexis, I arrive in Melbourne on November 29, 2022 for my first Australian colocation... TATA TAAMM!

Just arrived, already gone. Australia is so big that it is often necessary to fly from one destination to another when you do not have a car.
Public transport is not that much here...

Another adventure begins!
A little stressed and at the same time excited, I discover many smiles in this large house in the west of Melbourne (West Footscray).
For 3 weeks I will be staying with no less than a dozen young Australians, Spanish, Argentines, Chileans... and one French (they are everywhere).

Let me introduce them to you briefly!

From left to right,
– Natcho, Spanish backpacker, working in the kitchen in a Spanish restaurant;
– Alexis, the Frenchman who invited me to join the roommate, now lives in Australia;
– Clancy, the fast-talking Australian, working in a bike shop and guitarist;
– Paddy, the second Australian to speak fast, in his twenties, plays guitar in kindergartens and airy centres;
– Berni, another Spanish backpacker, waiter in an Italian restaurant;
– Rose, Australian, makes drums;
– Sebastian, Chilean, working in a zoo, passionate about creepy creatures (reptiles and others);
– Maddie, practises yoga, works on festivals;

And other travellers, sometimes passing by during the day, sometimes at night.

I'm sure you see it on their boils, we can only have a good time with her.

This is the Australian Inn! Great table for meals, weekend at the ocean and lake, musical jam session in the living room with instruments at will, playstation evening ... (sometimes the house turns into a nightclub around 3am when you sleep). I will not forget any of these moments of kiff, strong in emotions.

Next to that, there is the galley of the language, I have been arriving in Australia for just 2 weeks and my English is worthy of a middle school student...
Discussions are often complicated with them who speak quickly and shorten many words. Australian phonetics are very particular, very different from other styles of English (British, American, Canadian, etc.).

Very singing, the words are very pressed and lengthened. Like the "Hey matte! (Hi buddy) or the G’day mate! (Good day mate = good day buddy). When you use matte, stretch it to the max you can by going to an i. It could phonetically give: Hey Maaaiïïïïïit.

It's gonna take me some time to figure out Paddy and Clancy, the two purists from the suburbs.

My days:

Early in the morning I wake up to those who go to work (yes, because I sleep on the sofa in the LOL lounge); others are in the garden, having breakfast, doing yoga, planning their day, etc.

So during the day I have time to walk around....

MELBOURNE

It is the second largest city in the country with a population of no less than 4.9 million in 2020, and is the capital of the state of Victoria in southern Australia.

Melbourne Street Art

Melbourne has a more cultural side, more trendy than Sydney with an active nocture life and many artistic ‘comings’, live music in pubs, festivals, museums, galleries... And this is felt in the general atmosphere, with people a little more relaxed. Here you can walk quietly, walking the pedestrian streets or small alleys, while Sydney is more the big boulevards and traffic, because of its extent.

There is this article that I like that compares Melbourne and Sydney. https://www.australie-guidebackpackers.com/sydney-vs-melbourne-the-battle/
By the way, this site helped me a lot in the preparation of my trip and once I was there. All advice on Australia is there.

Royal Botanical Garden

The Royal Botanical Garden (38 ha) is just as impressive as the one in Sydney! The only downside is that it is a little more eccentric.

The beaches of Melbourne have nothing to do with those of Sydney. It is clearly day and night. More popular and industrial, they are quite far from the city centre and even more from the district where I live: 1h15 of public transport to get there!

At the end of the day, return home to make zic!
Guitars, bass, drums, amps, pedals, percussion, microphones are all you need to do rock and roll!
These moments are clearly my favorites, moments of symbiosis, moments of sharing, moments of creativity. It feels good to turn up the sound, make the guitars scream without worrying about the neighborhood. I escape through the notes. With Paddy and Clancy we play blues rock influences Hendrix, The Who, Led zeppelin...

I find in their musical culture the music in which I grew up, in France. The one that made me love music and the instrument. The Afro-American music of the 60s and 70s very psychedelic oriented. What is crazy is that I am re-discovering these sounds because I am gradually able to understand the texts and it gives a different meaning to the piece, it is a bit like a re-discovery of pieces that I have known for a while. The additional textual aspect that allows you to understand also the musician, his words.

The energy of the house is very intense.
People come and go, speak loudly, meet up, share a strong relationship with each other. The contact is very present, for example, to greet one takes one's arms and one compliments one another. There is a lot of love and kindness between everyone.
Many loving and loving words are used. I appreciate the relationship people share with each other. It’s just beautiful to see.

Days pass, working my English, making music, getting lost in Melbourne. I decided to go to the city to apply for work, but I didn’t really want to. I feel the need to simply leave the city and start my real road trip in the vastness of Australia. And then Alex tells me about these farm experiences in Tasmania, this small island in southern Australia also called (little New Zealand). Nature at will, small villages, hippy communities, festivals ... It is also the perfect place to ‘make your own farms’ (in order to extend your visa if you wish to extend your stay in Australia).
I like the idea, I start my research, I call about 15 farms and I find a positive answer quite quickly.
The manager of the farm even offers me to come the next day!

Thus the colocation ends, by a last ratatouille evening, just to bring back a little blue, white, red, in the house. 12 mouths to feed! Not easy, but successful challenge!!

I leave you with this photo, which I am sure will give you an appetite in your mouth!
Next time I will tell you about my adventures in Tasmania (and I would have a lot (again) MUCH things to tell!).

See you soon.