Carly's+Blog

Welcome to Carly's City Experience blog. I hope you enjoy.

Day 1: Today was the first day of the 3 day City Experience. After meeting up with friends, we all caught the train up to Federation Square to find everyone else. The first stop this morning for us all was the Shrine of Remembrance, which after a short walk up St Kilda Road, we arrived to. I have been to the Shrine a number of times before, but I am always fascinated to come back and learn more about the wars Australia has fought in. Today was great because we had a guide(Bernie) to talk to us and give lots of information. Bernie talked a lot about World War 1, which went from 1914 to 1918, and a little bit about World War 2, which went from 1939 to 1945. He conveyed th life of a soldier, leading up to the war, during the war, and after the war. It was actually really sad. The people in World War 1 had no idea what they were getting themselves into, but if they got back they would be traumatised forever. I hate war, and listening to him talk about it made me put myself in their shoes and feel quite deeply about the subject. It was the most informative time I have been to the shrine, and probably most emotional. After our time at the Shrine, we headed back to Fed Square, which was now swarming with the lunchtime crowds. As we only had 20 minutes for lunch, my friends and I raced through the hustle and bustle to find a decent food shop (not Macca's!). Amazingly, we bought subway, ate it, and raced back to the Square with 5 minutes to spare. This started the second part of our trip which was a visit to Urban Seed. Walking up the ritzy part of Collins street we came to a church and gathered inside to discuss the issue of homelessness. The class came to the conclusion that the stereotypical "hobo" only made up about 10 per cent of the 100,000 homeless people throughout Australia, so it was quite incorrect. The city kind of has a hierachy- the more money one has, the higher they are up in the hierachy. That places homeless people all the way down the bottom. To be able to do anything in this city, you need money. It was sad hearing about this because many of the homeless were young kids, or victims of domestic violence and abuse. They had to run away from their own homes because they couldn't even feel safe there. We continued on through the alleys, hearing of their initiatives like Laneway Cricket and their cafe Credo, which invites rich people and homeless people to come together for a free meal or game of sport. As a massive sports fan, I love how sport can break down barriers between all kinds of people and make them equal. We came to alleyway that was notorious for heroin addicts to inject themselves at. Urban Seed had placed in facilities like water taps, white lights and big metal bins among other things to make this place safer and cleaner. This was a touchy subject with me. On one hand, it was good that they were trying to help these people by giving them things to help make it cleaner and safer when they are injecting, so that they get no diseases or collapsed veins. But on the other hand, it was kind of encouraging them to inject drugs and do heroin. It was a very controversial subject, and one that I still haven't made my mind up on. What I do know is, hearing all their stories made it hit home. It made the issue feel very real, standing amongst it all. When the guide was talking about drugs, it made me feel dirty and gross, and I just kind of wanted to get out of there! I do feel so sorry for them, but even with all the stories about them being good people, which I'm sure most of them are, sometimes some of them make me feel scared if they're high on drugs. I have been in a situation with a person on drugs, and it is scary. I feel really sorry for the young people who are homeless, because they are so innocent, and should be living a happy childhood, not trying to survive on the streets. Sometimes I wish we could look past the bad hobo stereotype, but it is hard.



After Urban Seed, Maria, Katherine and I dawdled around the city for a bit, then caught the train(that we nearly missed!) home. Today was a good day. There were some big topics like war, homelessness, drugs and money that we confronted and discussed, and the things we did gave me a different perspective of it all. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit lighter on the world issues, because they are hard to confront at times. Can't wait for the scavenger hunt, go my team!



Day 2: Ever since the start of the morning, catching the train to meet up at Federation Square, it has been a rush. Yesterday I was the first of my friends at the station, but today I had the Kath and Kim power walk on to catch the train. It was all good though, and we made it to Fed Square in good time.

So on for today was the Scavenger Hunt, which I was really quite excited about. Julia, Katherine, Maria and I made a group, and as soon as we had our maps and worksheet, we were off. Looking probably a bit like lunatics, we ran to ACMI to pick up a brochure, then to Flinders st. Station to find the times to go to some random place. It was really quite fun and fast pace at the start, and I'm sure some of the business people thought we were idiots. But, us four girls were determined to navigate the city and complete the Hunt. From there, we followed some cryptic clues to the Immigration Musuem, the Intercontinental Hotel, and the ANZ banking mueseum. Most of us hadn't really been to this part of town, so we had to navigate as best we could. Maria was trying to fill out the sheet, Julia looking up the internet on her phone, Katherine taking the pics and me trying to figure out where the hell we were and where to go next! It was 3 hours of absolute mayhem. Next stop was a visit to the Arcade, where we took a picture with Gog and Magog. From there we went past Scots Church and on to Collins street to find this laneway painting. It was an absoulte fluke when we did find it! Travelling consisted of walking, powerwalking, manic tram rides with us all falling over, running and train rides. It sounds crazy, and it was, but I was having a ball! Next we went to the Old Treasury Building, where we needed a few answers from. We asked the tour guide, but she wasn't going to give them to us that easily! So she sent us downstairs to the underground gold storage rooms, which was really scary because it was dark and deserted. We got the answers we needed though, and walked to Parliament House to count the steps (41 by the way). From there we had to find this hotel we had never heard of down this side alley. After a bit of confusion, we found it, and the information we needed. We were walking out of the laneway, trying to figure out the next clue about arches and eating. I turned around and saw the arches of Chinatown and thought, "That must be it!" Yet again it was another complete fluke, but we were happy to take it. Happy snaps under the Chinatown archway, then on to another tram. *Hint: ALWAYS hold onto something when on a tram. I don't know how many times Maria stumbled over! We took a photo under the clock at Melbourne Central, stomachs growling and trying to resist the urge to shop. We bolted into the train station because the train we needed was leaving in 1 minute! With half an hour left, we still had to get to the mint and Flagstaff Gardens. Luckily, they were right next to each other! Emerging from the underground train station, we realised we were right there! We got the picture in front of the Mint gates in record time, and made a quick dash over the grass to the pole in Flagstaff Gardens. The grass was all wet, and our shoes and feet got absolutely soaked! YUCK!!! What a great thing to have on a FREEZING Melbourne day! We had finished though, we just needed to get to the finish line.

First we went down the wrong street, then I couldn't get my MYKI to touch off (kind regards to the public transport of Melbourne), but we got the tram to the State Library and we were thrilled! We could finally sit down and get out of this freezing cold, wet weather! But it wasn't over yet. We looked around, and no one was there. Great! We're the first ones! We walked inside and couldn't find any teachers. Where was everyone??? Maria made a call to Mr. Bellis, and he said everyone was at Federation Square. But weren't they supposed to come here? Oh well. We decided to meet the others there at 1 and have our lunch break. We went across the road to Melbourne Central, and I had Mexican! YUM! It was so good being able to sit down, because we were exhausted! We had a bit of a shop too. To get to Fed Square, we decided to catch the train to Flinders street. Sure, easy. But yet again something had to go wrong. At the Melbourne Central Train Station, there were no trains going to Flinders street, and the ones that were had been cancelled! Crap! So, we needed a second plan. We just caught the train down Swanston street, which placed us directly out the front of the Square. Finally! It was funny though because Katherine thought the tram wasn't stopping there, so she shouted out "STOP THE TRAM!" Maria, Julia and I were in hysterics! We ran up to meet our classmates from D1 and D2, and had a bit of explaining to do with the teachers. Because the weather was so miserable, the Street Art tour had been cancelled, and instead we paid a visit to ACMI. I was kind of happy for that, because I didn't feel like walking around outside any more!

We had a look at an exhibition on Australia's Film history, and it also had optical illusions too. It was really fun exploring and finding out some new things about film. There were some cool interactive exhibitions as well! After looking, we were done for the day. But, I wasn't ready to go home just yet. Maria, Katherine and I decided we deserved a treat for all the running around the city today, so went to the Lindt chocolate cafe at Southbank. The food was expensive, but with reason- it was delicious! I had a dark iced chocolate and a macaroon. They also gave us a free macaroon too! There was so much chocolate, of many different types and flavours! But, I felt so full! Before catching the train home we went and had a look around the new Hamer Hall. It was very nice, but everyone was staring and we didn't know if we should be there. So it was of to Flinders street. The one last thing we wanted to do was conquer our fear of the scary escalators at Parliament Station, so we stopped there. Now, if you've never been to Parliament station, it has huge escalators. HUGE. And, they are REALLY steep. We faced them though and climbed up them(even though they were scary!) and went on the train to home. Click on this link for an awesome video from ACMI: [] Today was a really manic, fun and crazy day! It was really good to be trusted to go off into the city on our own. I think we gained a lot of independence navigating the city on our own, and learned to use the public transport. I also went to a lot of places I have never been before. Even though it was cold and wet, it was still a great experience. I loved trying to work out where we were and where we had to go next. It was always fast paced and manic, and I realised I love working in situations like that. It was a great way to see the city. It was my favourite part of the 2 days in the city. I am really tired now though, and am enjoying just chilling out!

Day 3: The 3rd and final day of city experience occurs not in the city at all! This morning all the girls met up at the Strathmore Uniting Church for a morning of local learning. No early trains to catch, no places to find in the big city. It was all relaxed and local. First up was a self defence class in the hall. The teacher Gabby explained to us tactics of how to defend ourselves, and ways to prevent being attacked. We need to look confident when walking around, especially when alone, and always be on the lookout in case anything or anyone suspicious was nearby. It made me think that you really do have to be careful, even if you are just walking home from school. I walk home from school everyday, mostly alone, so it made me think I need to be really careful. But, I learnt some great tips to keep safe. At the end, we also learnt some kicking(to the groin!) techniques, and blocking techniques.

After the self defence class, the boys joined us in the hall and the police came in to talk to us about Sexting and Alcohol. They showed us a video of a young girl who was pressured into sending a nude photo of herself to her boyfriend. Then when they split up, the guy sent the photo to everyone, as a means of getting back at her. The guy got serious charges pressed against him, and ended up on the sex offenders list for being in possession of child pornography. The girl was a victim of severe bullying and embarrasment too. It made me think that you need to be really careful with what you do, because one small mistake and you can face serious consequences. For the girl, she really shouldn't have taken the photo, and now she can't really go back to her school because everyone will judge her and constantly talk behind her back. For the boy, he is now on the sex offenders list, which means he is restricted in getting certain jobs, going to certain countries etc. I would never do anything like that, but it made feel like I have to be really careful on things like facebook, texting and social media outlets like that.

Lunch was provided today, and we had Domino's pizza. I was pleasantly surprised. It was nicer than I thought it would be. We played some games in the hall, and then we had Rory and Ms Kokanakis(sorry for the spelling, it is probably wrong!) talk to us about who we are. They said we are all different, but that should be celebrated, not made fun of. They said most of us wouldn't fit the stereotype of our gender. I thought about me. I don't really like all the girly things like makeup, shopping etc. I love playing sport and training, and I'm happy with being me. Sometimes we may feel left out, but it's okay because we don't always have to try to fit in. But people don't and shouldn't make fun of us just because we are different.

It was good spending the cold, rainy day in the hall today, but it felt like we were being talked to ALL DAY. We also had to sit on the hard floorboards all day which was really uncomfortable. It was good, and I learnt some things, but I prefered it when we were out and walking around, learning by doing things physically. That is just the way I like doing it.