Bumped My Head And Went To Bed

I woke up at 9am with just seven hours of sleep under my belt. Stomach grumbling, I walked to a fruit and vegetable shop I had seen on my walk the previous day and spent $6.50 on six grapefruit, a bag of onions, carrots, pears, tomatoes, bananas, and spinach. Then I went to the bakery next door and bought a huge loaf of bread for $2. With everything in a cardboard box, I walked back to the hostel just as it started to rain. My breakfast was two bananas (they're miniature ones), a grapefruit, and a chunk of bread.

After eating, I caught the 11am shuttle to the library and spent the next two hours computing (a large portion of that was spent trying to get an Australian tax number - TFN - and failing because the page refused to load properly).

When I left the library, the clouds above gave a menacing rumble and proceeded to shed their contents on me. It absolutely poured. I was wearing a rain jacket, but my legs were bare and my feet were encased in flip-flops that were not at all stable in the downpour. I took them off and walked barefoot to Coles (the grocery store) and bought the rest of the groceries I needed to last me the weekend. When I got out of the grocery store, it had stopped raining.

I got back to the hostel at 2:00 and put my groceries in the communal kitchen. There were some people (Irish and English) sitting around the table having a beer so I joined them while I waited for the cleaners to finish in the kitchen so I could make lunch. An hour later, I made a pot of soup and went back out to eat it. I also mixed a package of minced beef with a packet of chili spices, some hot sauce, and fresh onion and left it to marinade in the fridge.

The tables started filling up as it got closer to happy hour (5:00) and we had a regular hostel party going on by the time 6:00 rolled around. I cooked up a mean chili (carrots, onions, beans, fresh tomatoes and spinach, the beef, and noodles) and ended up with a gigantic pot - more than enough to share. My efforts earned me about three marriage proposals from around the table : P

After dinner, I played a few rounds of slaps with the Aussie footballers, won five beers for my victories, learned a new card game, and made several new friends.

With a full stomach and a light head, I went to bed at 10:00 so that I could get up early to skype. Hostel life certainly does not lack variety and fun.

Enjoy that sunny weather I hear you're having in Victoria, I'm going to steal it soon : )

xoxo - Katrina