I lived abroad with people I just met at the airport
How living in Melbourne for five months changed me
All my life, I have always felt safe being in my comfort zone. I would always order the same food I loved as a child and only go to places I have always felt familiar with.
My family and I stopped traveling abroad for the holidays many years ago, and I had to find a way to experience living in another country at least once in my life. Last year, all praise to God, I received a full scholarship to study for about five months in Melbourne with nine other people from the country.
My past self would have never thought I could survive living in a city I’d never been to with people I had never met.
We arrived in Melbourne late at night during the winter.
Coming from a tropical country where we only had sunny or rainy days, feeling the cold breeze without an air conditioner for the first time after so long was something I would never forget.
And guess what was our first stop?
Cole’s. The supermarket.
It felt like I was in a movie! There were variants of chocolates, snacks, and self-service cashiers, especially. I would be slightly skeptical if supermarkets in my home country had self-service cashiers — people might attempt to pay less than what they took.
The fact that you could tap your card without entering your PIN number to purchase things was also a culture shock to me. What would happen if you lost your card and someone could tap it without proof of identification? Oftentimes, we forget that the things we take for granted could seem so different to other people.
I was never much of a traveler; I was more of a homebody. I used to think going to museums and markets was a waste of time, especially when they were crowded. But all the articles and ads online tell you that these food festivals, winter night markets, and museums are the must-visit places in the city. We went to the Van Gogh exhibition at The Lume, the Melbourne Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, and Grazeland, to name a few.
Ironically, one of my fondest memories was one of the simpler things.
When you live in another country without your family, your friends become your family.
I wasn’t the most extroverted person, nor have I grown the closest bond with my roommates, but they became an important part of a chapter in my life.
I also thought that living together with someone meant that you’d have a friendship of a lifetime. Unfortunately, that might not be the case for everyone.
People carry on with their lives.
And a part of me wishes I could’ve opened up with them more then.
It took me some time to get used to sharing a kitchen and a living room with new people, but I slowly grew to be comfortable in their presence. Instead of staying in the whole day, I started to enjoy having someone around whenever I was studying or doing my assignments, even when it was silent.
Whenever I needed someone to talk to, four other people were just a door knock away.
Whenever there was a new interesting show on Netflix, we’d text each other to meet in the living room and watch it together.
I also loved public spaces. Free parks, libraries, clean benches on the sidewalk, especially — places that are very rare from where I come from.
One night, my roommate and I felt like we just had to go outside because I think we hadn’t been going out much on that day. It was still winter, so we put on warm jackets and took the tram to Flinder’s street. We sat on a bench near the Yarra River with all the tall buildings lit up from afar.
I couldn’t remember what day it was, but it was quite crowded. We talked for hours as we watched people pass by with the street musicians playing in the background. We talked about our family, the differences in our religion, and our love lives. At that time, we both had a conflicting relationship with people we used to be close to.
I was constantly reminded of the time ticking. How a day goes by, and it is another day closer to the study abroad program ending, the day we have to return home. I might not be able to have clean picnics by the beach, walk safely alone in the city at 1 AM, or go to places easily with trams, buses, and trains anymore.
But I also wondered, isn’t that how we should perceive life?
What started with a study abroad program led to discovering a part of myself I didn’t know existed. I realized even more that the world has so much to offer, and I have only been experiencing such a small portion of it.
I’ll always bring a piece of myself in Melbourne back home. Exploring new food and visiting places I have never been to grew to be something that brought me joy — and I’ve kept that hobby ever since.
Being reminded that you have finite time encourages you to live life to the fullest.
How time is always ticking, and it’s inevitable that we’ll all leave everything we ever loved.
The only difference is we don’t know when that day will come.
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