A Few of My Favorite Things

And some stuff I don't miss at all.

Obviously there is a period that everyone who returns from an extended period abroad goes through—a process of re-acclimating, recovering from jet lag, and generally gathering their thoughts. When you are a prodigal daughter returning to a busy-body family and a heavily interested synagogue community, of course, the process is hurried along a bit by well-meaning comments and the oft-repeated question: "so nu, what did you like the most?" This is usually followed by a deep breath from the person interested and then another series of questions peppered out at you like gunshots: "do you miss it? What do you like about being home? How was Australia, really? We're better, right? I mean, you don't want to move there or anything. Not that there's anything wrong with that, ha ha ha DON'T YOU DARE GO."

I don't have answers for all the questions (or really, any of them) but I have been compiling a mental list of the many things I miss (and a few things I don't) about life in Melbourne, Australia as a country, and my semester in general. Some of these things will make sense to you and some of them won't—I'm writing this as much as personal reminder as an informative post.

Things I Miss:

• Breakfast at Brunetti's: a little overpriced and in the entirely wrong neighbourhood, Brunetti's was always worth the early morning hike. We had to get there before 10:30 on Fridays to make sure we got breakfast, which was surprisingly difficult. Still, they had the best raisin toast and jam, even if Lauren's bagels always left something to be desired. It had some of the best baby-watching in Melbourne, and I don't care if that makes me sound like a stalker.
  
• St. Jerome's: we didn't go there enough, and I regret that. An awesome downtown open-air bar populated by a relaxed mix of cooler-than-thou hipsters, suits fresh from the cubicles, and students getting away from the campus bar scene, St. Jerome's is low-key, friendly, and has the best DJ on Thursdays. He is from SF, actually, and I sort of fell in love with him when he played Trick Daddy at our request. Also, the bar serves toast with vegemite, which is simultaneously disgusting and awesome.
  
• Unilodge at 339 Swanston, Apartment 708: BEST. VIEW. EVER. I could see the top of the state library from my bedroom (and y'all know how I feel about that building) and our living room looked out over the entire city. I would walk into the living room in the early morning before my roommates were up and watch as the city woke up below me. Also, apparently the windows are good for throwing things out of, but I've never tried that. Honestly.
• Degraves Alley: A fabulous little laneway tucked into the city between Little Collins and Flinders Street (I think - that area of town gets a bit mixed up), Degraves is home to the sketchiest train station, the only waffle place in the city and a collection of small second-hand shops, anarchist bookstores and bobo cafes. Its also dark, dirty and a little sleazy, like only the best parts of a city are.
• Prudence: I mean, really, who doesn't want to spend time at a bar where they provide you with the perfect combination of alcohol and boardgames? I was dismal at Australian Trivial Pursuits but the cocktails more than made up for that. Also, I think the person who chose the music every night must have lived in my brain at one point because I swear, they played the soundtrack of my life there.
• Queen Victoria Market: PRODUCE, PRODUCE, PRODUCE. My goodness, there's nothing like a huge farmer's market in a restored colonial building to make you want a little wheeled cart to pull around behind you and fill with glorious vegetables that will most likely never get eaten.
• The Indian place at Union: Best. Dahl. EVER.
• Melbourne Museum and the Royal Exhibition Building: the museum was sort of a mixed bag of experiences but I spent so much time there that I felt like belonged. Also, the REB is gorgeous and making it the destination of my morning runs almost made the exercise worth it. (Emphasis on "almost," because in the end, nothing could make running on asphalt "worth it.")
• Microwave experiments: You would be amazed at the number of things you can bake in a microwave, as long as you're thinking creatively. Amazed, I tell you.
  
• The trams: I love public transportation and I have a special place in my heart for a system built so charmingly and optimistically on the honor code. I mean, sure, there are ticket-checkers, but they're usually old and fat. If you were desperate, you could easily evade one or, worse case scenario, beat one up.
  
• Biscuits: Tim Tams, Mint Slices, Caramel Crowns, Anzac Biscuits - you name it, I ate it, and probably enjoyed it thoroughly.
  

Things I Do Not Miss:

• Unilodge at 339 Swanston Street, Apartment 708: thin walls, no heat (that puny wall unit doesn't count, especially because I didn't figure out that it was there until three months into the semester), and worst of all, no oven. How did Unilodge expect me to get through finals without the appropriate environment for my late-night procrastinating baking extravaganzas? I didn't make a single batch of chocolate-peppermint cookies or cranberry scones this past semester. Even Experiments in Microwaving couldn't fully rouse me from my ovenless doldrums.
• The ATM Outside of Unilodge That Got Broken Into At Least Once A Week and, Upon Those Weekly Occasions, Was Obligated to Ring an Alarm for Subsequent Hours, Usually Late at Night: enough said.
• Bureaucracy: small schools shelter you, and after three years at Emory I'd gotten soft. University of Melbourne was like being back at Berkeley High, only bigger, more anonymous, and with accents. I loved it, but I could do without the namelessness and the Chaplin-esque feeling of being a very tiny cog in an extraordinarily large machine."
• "Americker": it ends with an "a," not an "er." If you're going to criticize my country, at least get its name right.
• Implied rights: seriously, no bill of rights? No documented protection of the individual from the tyranny of government? Really? Okay, if you're sure. I know I'm like a broken record about this and everyone is probably sick to death of me harping on and on, but I just don't get it.
• Peanut butter; Or rather, Australia's inexplicable lack of appreciation for that most heavenly of confectionery combinations, peanut butter mixed with chocolate. I never thought I would miss a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup quite as much as I did.
• The Changing of the Trams: like the changing of the guard, but with fewer horses, lamer hats, louder noises and at at the ungodly hour of 3:00 AM. There is nothing like the sound of a tram being shut down and, as far as I could tell, physically removed from the track in front of your apartment to wake you up from a wonderful dream about frolicking with peanut butter cups.
  

These are just the highlights; there are many more germinating in my head that may or may not see the light of day. Stay tuned for the Best of My Return to Berkeley post, as well as future musings on my second-favorite secular holiday (I'll give you a hint: there are some truths, and I happen to hold them to be self-evident...).*

Also, I'm around in Berkeley, keeping myself busy with work and spending entirely too much time with my mother (who I dearly love and adore, etc. etc.) so if you're nearby and would like to hang out (or are far away but would still like to hang out and don't mind paying the airfare to do so) please drop me a line.

*In case you were wondering, my first favorite secular holiday is Thanksgiving, because how could I not love a holiday built entirely around the dinner table?