Good bye Melbourne

Well it is time to say goodbye to Melbourne and Australia.  We are about half packed,  We had charcoal chicken for dinner tonight and Graham had his favorite - chicken schnitzel.  There are many things we will miss but it is the little daily things that will likely standout.  The bakery and meat counter, our favorite cafe and coffee.

 I'll miss the politics - watching a parliamentary form of government has been fascinating - the labor party called a caucus because they were dropping in the polls (an election was called for September) and they took a vote for leader of the party.  A challenger won and by the end of the day there was a new Prime Minister. Poof - just like that.  It promises to be quite fun between now and the election - which may be moved up.

Of course I'll miss the interesting sights and sounds and smells around the city.

 

Flinders St. Station

This is a real person - no idea how he stays up

Federation Square

Victoria Parliament

The old city centre

St. Patrick Cathedrial

The department had a wonderful luncheon for me today to say goodbye.  In the end my role was as much one of being a consultant around the development of the Masters of Counseling program as anything else.  Hopefully this is a way I have been able to contribute, utilizing my experience and expertise, leaving behind something of myself in the future form of this program.  My colleague - the course coordinator - Kathleen Gregory has been wonderful.  An amazing woman who is a practicing Buddhist, has doctorates in both philosophy and psychology was trained original as a Lacanian analyst and later trained with Michael White at Dulwich (she has a recording of him doing a session with her).  We had some marvelous, challenging and exciting conversations throughout the semester and I think served as a great foil for each other to grow a bit.  One of my goals was to make a connection with faculty here that would  carry on in the future.  I believe I have succeeded in that goal at least.  Reflecting on my experience I will walk away with a clearer sense of my identity, a richer story of myself as a professional.

To go back to the travel log a bit - posting some pics of places we enjoyed and have not yet put up - here are some views of St. Patrick Cathedral.  This Gothic Revival Cathedral is the center of the Archdiocese of Melbourne.  It is located in East Melbourne, adjacent to Fitzroy Gardens, below Collingwood and adjacent to the CBD.  The first mass was said here in 1858 and it is a magnificent structure with so much detail you could spend weeks of discovery, looking about. 

State Library of Victoria

Our days wind down and we begin to prepare to fly home.  It is amazing how much stuff you can accumulate in a short period of time.  I spent this evening going through stacks of papers, brochures, maps, receipts etc.  It is striking how much we have settled in and how much we have done.  Melbourne, Victoria and Australia have become quite familiar to us.  It will be sad and a bit unsettling to leave at the end of the week.  It seems like we have just gotten settled, to know our way around and we are leaving the familiar.  I suspect that home in PA will seem strange when we get there. 

I have a few last things from Melbourne to post over the next few days.  My last views, a last window into the city. 

This is the State Library of Victoria.  Located on the edge of the CBD, close to RMIT & the University of Melbourne.  It is an amazing building - a place you could sit and read all day losing yourself in the quiet atmosphere.

Just some photo's I like

Some phtos that give a feel for Melbourne that I haven't put in anywhere else:

Ian Potter Gallery

We also went to the National Gallery of Victoria - Ian Potter Gallery this past week.  This gallery - located in Federation Square - houses the collection of Australian artists. Of particular interest was the aboriginal collection. While much of the art may look abstract it is actually a form of storying and recording the history of the artist and their people. Each piece tells a particular story and the colors reflect the part of Australia they are from - the red center, tropics, coast etc.

Just a few of the amazing pieces in the collection: