Oh the People You Will Meet in Melbourne
Thursday, 24 May 2007 @ 1:14pm.
I have already met several interesting people in Melbourne who have taught me various things…
Tassaw (pronounced “tas-soo”) a.k.a. Tas: Ethiopian taxi driver who had an impressive knowledge of a range of topics. We talked about religion; politics; technology; immigration; Ethiopian, American, and Australian cultures; weather; traffic; and historical factoids. He totally lit up with a big smile when talking about a local beer brewed from honey back home, seemed pleased that I knew what injera was, and commented that though he had lost his faith some time ago, my research on religion sounded very interesting.
Stranger in a business suit at Cole’s grocery store: I noticed a chocolate bar with 72% cocoa that this man was purchasing. Being fond of dark chocolate, I asked if that particular brand was any good. He said he hadn’t tried it before, but thought he would give it a go since it was from New Zealand. He did recommend the 85% cocoa Lindt chocolate, though!
Leah: Older Jewish woman in the same apartment complex. She was a great source of information about the neighborhood, which has many Orthodox Jews. Leah also has a unique past. A chance encounter over getting some change for the laundry machine turned into a lovely afternoon learning about her experiences in Australia and the U.S. Who would have ever thought that she’d talk about the Green Party, different synagogues where membership is often based on ethnicity (e.g., Hungarians, Russians), African-American Muslims, the Vietnam War, the Iraq War, a bad car accident, interest in volunteering overseas, or a burglary?
Kai-Ita: A strict keeps-an-eye-on-all-the-customers-like-a-hawk kinda lady, but who is a softy at heart I’m sure who runs a nearby convenience store. The shop has all sorts of random goodies, but all at double or more the prices compared to a larger market. The dry cleaning services are reasonably priced, however.
New baker I met (name?): I went into this huge Jewish bakery and asked a ton of questions, mainly “What’s that?” and “What’s this?” I might have annoyed him, particularly when I would say things like “And what’s this chocolate roll called?” and he’d answer “Chocolate roll.” But he was pleasant enough and suggested I try the chocolate roll. He chuckled and said it’ll do something to my stomach for 2-3 hours. I was curious and tried it. It was super-rich and sure enough that thing sat in my tummy for a few hours! Who needs energy bars when there are chocolate snacks like that?
Um, and yeah there is quite a bit of public drunkenness in the evenings, well more than what I’ve seen in the U.S. at least, but we won’t get into talking about these less-than-savory characters…
Interested in some Aussie news? Check out the following sites:
The Age: http://www.theage.com.au/
The Australian: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
List of Australian newspapers online: http://www.nla.gov.au/npapers/
My mother and I recently returned from visiting my sister in South Florida. The sunny weather and warm beaches were a very pleasant change of pace. It was great hanging out. We could have done without the traffic and high cost of living, but we made do as best as we could. Here are a few pictures from that trip:
