Melbourne and magic with m'bro

Oh Gotts.  I love Melbourne.  There are so, so many reasons for my enchantment with this place, first and foremost, it being a straight up ballin' city, buuuuut I can't help but wonder if my fascination lies within the fact that it's my first trip outside of Korea in 6 months.  I don't want to think that because so many amazing things happened during my week there, but it is plausible.

Because of this, I've been fully enlightened by m'brain!   I didn't really realize just how disenchanted I am with Korea until I got to Melbourne.  Before the plane even landed, I saw green stuff.  Like, GRASS.  And the sky was blue and the clouds were WHITE!  And I was going to have dericious food options other than bibimbap and garlic cloves, OH GOD!

I was already euphorically high just from looking out the window of the plane when I was picked up from the airport by one beautiful and incredible Melbourne-man-turned-amazing-penpal who I met in Peru last year (having penpals counts, yall).  Everything REALLY wonderful and magical started right then:  I ate falafel!  I looked at street art!  I drooled over people with tattoos and dreadlocks!  I read street signs in English!  I wore dresses and tank tops!  I felt sunshine, like real, legit sunshine that turned my shoulders red!  I saw animals in fields living lovely lives!  So much, so many, so much greatness. My brain was on absorption overload and the break from Korea was welcomed more than I could have anticipated.

When I met up with m'bro, we drove out to his show in NSW and I became even more obsessed.  The sky!  THE SKY TOUCHES THE GROUND OUT THERE.  There's nothing like it.  I could have driven for days staring out the window.  Apparently, during the drive, everything I filled my brother and his tour mate in on about Korea resulted in them questioning my happiness.  "You really hate it, huh?"  "It's that bad?"

Mmmmmm.  Cue the enlightenment:  I've actually never felt unhappy here, nor like I wanted out.  In fact, I thought I was having a great time.  I mean, I have been having a great time, fully due to the incredible soulmate-like-friends I've made and the memories we've been creating together.  I really wasn't aware that I was coming across so cynically while talking about my experiences, though.  I'd explain this by saying there's a certain dry humor you pick up after living in Korea in order to accept and live normally with so many vague cultural differences that seem absurd and it obviously can't translate to anyone who hasn't lived here and done this.  No thang, right?  It's just the way we roll on about living in Korea and it  makes us laugh.  "It's funny because it's true, duuurp."

BUT!  I've thought about it more seriously.  While I don't mind living here and I am growing a lot and learning a lot and blah blah blah, I definitely am looking to be wow'ed.  There's no wow-factor here.  And I learned this past week that I really need that.  I need to stare out a window and sigh over the sky and the fields and the free range cows, sheep, and alpaca's (Australia has alpaca's?).  I need to eat more food that makes me moan blissfully.  I need to stare at beautiful, interesting people expressing-not-oppressing themselves.  This I need, I need this.

My re-negotiated contract at Omni ends in 2 weeks, and due to many infuriating complications created by my boss there, it's a legit possibility that I'll be forced to find a new country to explore, which despite the hassle and looooong stretch from my original plan, I will just have to roll with.  I simply can't do anything about the small power a disillusioned boss wants to dangle over the heads of his outgoing foreign teachers.  My co-worker and I are fighting it and hoping for the best for the sake of our original plans, but I definitely see potential in opening different doors, given my recent enlightenment.

Wherever I go and whatever I do next needs to be awesome and it has to make me sigh loudly and smile to the point that strangers think I'm crazy and possibly on drugs.  Mama's on a mission.

I need:
-A blue sky.  Oh God, I need a blue sky.
-Grass!
-Moan-worthy food
-Culture!   Real, for real culture.

Also, for the record, my backpack has now touched 6 continents.  Booyakasha.

And on that note, this post has officially lost direction.  Stay tuned for actual tales from Melbourne.