Observations and Experiences here in Melbourne, AUS.. according to Me :-)
.. In General
- Dont be surprised if there are people who would smile at you or greet you "hi, how are you?" sa street, sa supermarket, sa mall and etc. Normal lang sa kanila yun. Pero sympre iba na ang usapan kung nakipagkwentuhan na ng matagal :p Kung saglit lang like about the weather "what a fine day today", normal conversation ng mga strangers dito
- Pedestrians are strictly being followed.
- 80% of the people you will see on the road are: (1) listening to music through their ipod or music application from their cellphone (hmm…wala akong napansin na mp3 player o music player na hindi ipod); (2) wearing sun glasses; (3) typical bag is mailman type of bag or bags with long straps that you could place it diagonally from your shoulder.
- People normally wear clothes in layers because Melbourne is known to be the city with "4 seasons in a day". One scenario: cold in the morning (say 13C); by lunch, it is as hot as a summer day, by afternoon, you will experience showers and some occasional rains and cool air at night (say 24C).
- Always apply sunblock! kahit malamig ang panahon, sunblock pa rin dahil mataas ang UV level :p
- May mga churches na kung saan may children liturgy sa sunday masses. The adults hear the sunday mass in the usual fashion. Kids will have their own mass/liturgy in a different room where guardians or parents or nannys are invited. Then they get to rejoined with the rest of their families during the offertory. Galing. Kids get to hear the gospel basing on their level. May mga activities pinpresent sa mga bata like story telling, coloring and etc na ang theme e base sa gospel for that sunday. Wish we could have this one in Philippines
- Stores close early … by 5pm, halos nagsasara na ang mga establishments.
- Victoria Market, one of known public market, closes at 3pm. Mga 1.30pm - 2pm, watch out na sa pagbaba ng presyo ng isda, lamp, beef, pork, chicken :p at maging sa mga non-edible items like bags, clothes, shoes etc.
..In Trams, Buses and Trains
- Tram Ticket is used also for buses and trains.
- Tram/Bus/Train schedules are accurate and on the dot! when it comes to arrival and departure :p
- Letting the people get off from bus, trams or trains first before going in.
- The person coming out from the train is the one who opens the train’s door. The train’s doors automatically close before continuing its trip.
- Strictly follow the sign: Never lean or block the train doors. Paiba iba kasi ang opening ng train doors. So dapat attentive kapag nagtra-train at kung saan bababa :p
..Grocery/Supermarket
- Buy supermarket items/grocery stuffs that would last only for 5-7 days. Every week, the supermarkets (i.e. Coles, Safeway) would drop down the prices of some items (at least A$0.50 cheaper) and the items for this week maybe on sale on the following week :-) So in most cases, it pays off when one waits.
- The quality of the supermarket/grocery’s own brand is relatively good (i.e. butter, margarine, cooking oils, bread, noodles), I hardly recognize the difference between branded items from not-branded products. But if branded products are on sale (or part of the grocery’s weekly specials - which means on sale hehehe), they are even cheaper than the supermarket/grocery’s own brand.
- It is best to consider the price per gram or per kilo before buying. In that way, you could maximize the value of your money.
- The cashiers are friendly, kind and courteous. Their usual greeting when you approach the cashier is "hi, how are you?"
- There is a limit in the number of withdrawals you can make in the ATMs otherwise going beyond the allowable withdraws would cost you A$1.00 or A$2.00 extra per transaction. Another option to withdraw money is to request the cashier to give you extra change. For instance, if your change is A$2.00 and you need A$20.00, tell the cashier that you want money out of additional A$20.00 and such will be debited automatically from your ATM account that is if you are paying ETPOS (or using your ATM card). And this withdraw is not counted to your allowable ATM withdraws for the month. I believe this is similar to the priviledges being offered by BPI ATM cards, except that you cant withdraw money through your malling/grocery transactions.
- Uso dito na kapag nagsusupermarket o may bibilhin sa malls, dala nila ang kanilang so-called "Green Bag" (right now, the bags come in different colors, minsan may design pa like winnie the pooh, the simpsons) - a reusable bag for shopping purposes. In this way, you are helping the environment by not using any plastic bags.
…In Monash Uni Library
- You can bring your books, laptops and etc inside the library.
- The library has self-service counters where you can check out the books you are going to borrow by yourself
- You can renew books online! Cool! Galing!
- You can borrow DVDs like The Day,After Tomorrow, Hayao Miyazaki’s films, Star Wars episodes 1-3 and etc. Galing noh
- If there are books you wish to borrow from other campuses or libraries within Australia that are recognized by the University, you can search through the University’s online library system. Simply change the library database. And if the books are from different campus, you can request to have it deliver to the nearest campus you are in. Cool diba? :p
..till next posting…
