The other day as I was sitting around the nice sunny area on level 3 in Melbourne Central and looking at the stretch of cars passing on Lonsdale street, with the trams riding across, the thought popped up in my mind: Melbourne has taught me a lot in these last 4 years.
Having an opportunity to spend my early to late twenties in this city, I adopted many habits (both good and bad), gained new insights and changed my ways in one way or another.
So, here are five things Melbourne has taught me.
- Black is not a colour – it is a religion.
When I first started living in Melbourne, I had a bright umbrella, with splashes of colour and geometrical shapes. I had a bright red coat. And I had nothing black in my wardrobe. In fact, every time I left home in my bright outfits, I would catch people’s subtle gazes.
Fast forward 4 years, and my wardrobe primarily consists of black clothes. To any Melbournian, black is not just black – it is dark black, light black, dim black, bright black. Many shades of black.
- You can have coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day.
Before living in Melbourne, I was proud of myself for not being a coffee person. After a year, I was proud of myself for having just one coffee a week.
Now, every day starts with a coffee. And here is my excuse for it.
The coffee culture in Melbourne is undeniable. There are more coffee shops and cafes in Melbourne than there are hipsters. And there are a lot of hipsters.
It doesn’t help that the quality of coffee here is amazing. It is quite hard to find a place that makes a bad coffee. And it is even harder to like the coffee anywhere outside of Melbourne.
- Cold, windy and unpredictable weather is the best. And who needs beaches anyway? (Can you hear us Sydney?)
Most people here can’t wait for it to bucket down…in the middle of a sunny day. It is boring otherwise, isn’t it? Why would you want stable weather throughout the day if you can have an artistically variable one?
Why would you want to wear only 2 layers, when you can wear 10?
And why would you want to go to the beach if you can just sit in a café and drink coffee?
- Trams are not just modes of transportation. They are part of your identity.
I believe if Melbournians could, they would probably build a tram line from Melbourne to Sydney, just to rub it in. And rightly so. It has been taking Sydney lost-the-count-of-how-many-years to build one tram line.
I also believe that if Melbournians could they would have a trademark or copyright for having trams. Not because they are fast or particularly convenient, but because of how iconic to Melbourne they are.
- Street art has an equal (and sometimes more) value to art and exhibitions in galleries.
It is not a secret that Melbourne streets, laneways, buildings are covered in art. And there is something for everyone: cute things, political statements, celebrity portraits, abstract art, collaborative art between artists and even Banksy art (painted by him personally).
One of the highlights for me was doing the street art tour where I learnt that there is a strict etiquette in street art – you cannot just paint over anything that you like. Painting over a well-known and respected artists’ work damages your reputation as a potential artist.
Ani's Reflections 