2007: A look back

Happy New Year

I only started doing this Blog at the end of September 2007 and it has been a great outlet for expressing my thoughts and feelings on life down under.

It’s amazing how quickly time passes and a year is over. It’s a very difficult thing to look back and summarize the year that has been.

All I can say is that 2007 was a good year. It was a year filled with lots of discovery, sightseeing, exploring, eating, learning and living.

Here are some Highlights of the past year:

Lawn Bowling
At the end of January, Lauren and I started playing Lawn Bowls. It was at times both a frustrating and a fun game. Between the months of February to April ourselves along with Lauren’s former housemate and her partner we played Lawn Bowls almost every week. It was always something to look forward to on a Thursday evening.

We have started again in November and I look forward to playing it over the course of the summer of 2008.

CAE Courses
Over the course of the year I took 3 courses through The Centre for Adult Education. For 6 weeks I learned how to operate a radio Console and present a radio show. I also took in a 2 hour lecture in Philosophy and a course on Career Advancement.

The CAE is great organization for further studies and learning a new hobby or job.

Melbourne Radio Stations
In one of my earlier blog entries I mentioned the number and variety of radio station in Melbourne. Over the last 2 months of 2007 I have been really enjoying independent and community radio. Triple R (102.7FM) and PSB (106.7FM) have both provided a great alternative to the commercial Top 40 music you hear all the time.

I have heard really great music I would not have been exposed to otherwise.

Spicks and Specs
My favourite Australian television show has been Spicks and Specs. It’s a fun music comedy quiz show. I enjoyed watching it all year and in December got to see the live show that was touring all around Australia. It met all my needs for great fun and enjoyment (see my previous blog entry).

City of Melbourne and its suburbs
If you had to live anywhere else beside Toronto, Melbourne is pretty good place to live. During the summer months between January to April, either a sporting event or arts/entertainment is happening. It’s filled with many great restaurants, pubs and cafes. Melbournians love to sit outside and drink coffee or eat breakfast, lunch or dinner.

I live in a North East suburb which is 20-30 mins by train (rush hour) or 15mins (off-peak) into the city.

Despite my previous blog entry, slamming the train delays and the bus drivers. Melbourne has a very good transit system of trains, trams (street cars) and buses. A Met card which costs $3.50 allows for 2-4 hours of travel, depending on time of day when bought and validated. But it still needs more trains and fewer cancellations.

Melbourne and its suburbs are filled with many different shops and places to eat. I have not yet explored all of it and look forward to exploring more over the next year.

This is city of outdoor activity and sport. It has many parks, walking and bike paths and trails. I will be using them this summer to get into shape.

Work/Jobs
I entered Australia on a Working Holiday Visa. For 9 out 12 months I worked. I was fortunate enough to be able to work and earn money to pay for the cost of living

Looking back now, working for 9 months of the year isn’t so bad. Hopefully I can do the same in 2008.

The Weather
Living in a warm country isn’t so bad; especially when you can go to the beach on New Years Eve, for a morning dip.

The summers may get a bit over heated but I can’t complain.

I wasn’t expecting the cool winter, but it’s no where as cold as Toronto during the months of Jan-Feb.

2008 onwards
Now that 2007 is over and a new year has begun it's time for me to find another job and continue on my journey of discovery, exploration, learning and living.

With a year of Aussie life and culture under my belt I expect it to be a bit easier, life down under. But I know there's still a lot to learn, explore and discover. As I do, I will post it here.

Have a great 2008!
Navin