Sunday 11 April 2004

Rest and Relaxation

It's always good to get away for a bit after the hectic weeks of university classes. Initially I only meant to go down to Geelong as a favour to my best friend, who's due to start classes at the Deakin University Geelong campus (ooh, Pudtz, I can't wait!)... I happened to mention that fact casually in passing to my friend, Chris who lives in Geelong. To my surprise, he invited me to spend a couple of days as his guest!

Geelong has a reputation for being a bit of a hole to most Melbourne locals. To someone who's not from Australia, i.e. me, it seems like a whole new place to explore. I think Chris was very amused when I told him how excited I was to be visiting Geelong. His parents picked us up at the train station and I was initially a little apprehensive to be intruding on his trip back. I shouldn't have worried. His parents are incredibly warm people. I felt very much welcomed into the household.

He lives in this suburban house that reminds me of one of those old English houses. It's all red brick, with rose bushes in front, opposite the local post office. It's not just a house, it's a home. One of those places that you can relax in. His family reminds me a bit of the Brady bunch, for the lack of a better word. It's one of those ultra-functional families. His parents are total sweethearts; his dad makes coffee/tea/hot chocolate/Milo for the family, his mum cooks while they sit around and talk, his grandfather is almost blind and a bit hard of hearing, but totally adorable, and his younger brother is this good-natured guy with a penchance for random statements. There's an easy camaderie about them, an easy flow of conversation and the like.

We arrived in the evening, so we didn't really do anything until the next day. Chris took me out for a drive around the city while his mum made sticky buns (yum!). The city's a bit small, very quaint and beside the waterfront. There's not much of it, but it seems nice. Relaxed. The waterfront is definitely the best feature. There's a port of some sort and a slight stretch of beach, and has several restaurants beside the sea. Very laidback, very beachy. It's got all these random bollards of characters scattered around the area, which add to the beach atmosphere.

We also visited his old school, and I was struck my the difference between the schools here and in Malaysia. His school is gorgeous. Once again, very English castle-type thing going on. A lot like Harry Potter. I envy that. My old schools had ugly 70s architecture. Oh well, I digress.

I played midi-golf for the very first time! For the record, I wasn't very good. I digress. I absoulutely sucked (think totally missing the ball). Chris was very encouraging despite the fact that I took an average of 8 strokes to drop the ball into the hole. It was more fun than I gave credit for. Or maybe it was just our attitudes and the company. :)

It's nice getting a little rest and relaxation. I got a much needed break with a casual friend who's become a good friend, and got reminded a bit of being with a family unit, which I miss. Here's to good holidays.

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