This past week was my second week of classes at Collarts, and also happens to be one of the most important weeks of the year for Victorians. At Collarts, regularly scheduled classes went on Monday through Thursday. Perhaps my favorite in-class activity I did this week was a live recording of a three-person ensemble for my Small Group Recording class. I played guitar, and we attempted to record a cover of “My Hero” by the Foo Fighters, despite some of us not knowing how to play the song and none of us ever having played together. The recording session was fun, and I got to know some of my peers better which is always exciting.
What does this have to do with the rest of the state of Victoria? Well not too much, except for the fact that all Collarts students have today (Friday) off from class as the state celebrates a public holiday for the AFL Grand Final tomorrow. Today in central Melbourne, the area around the Australian Rules Football stadiums has been converted into a fanzone featuring food, entertainment, and games open to the public. Footy fans from around the country and the world gather on the eve of the Grand Final every year, as it is one of the most important sporting events in Australia. This year, the Collingwood Magpies take on the West Coast Eagles for the cup. Since Collarts is located primarily in Collingwood, I’ll be supporting the Magpies tomorrow, and as a sports fan, I’m excited to see what the day is like here in Melbourne.
Everyone may be off from work or school today, but I’m also off from school on Wednesdays as well, so this week I decided to check out the penguin colony on St. Kilda pier. I’ve come to enjoy walking along the beach up to St. Kilda, but I hadn’t checked out the pier yet. Apparently, the pier and its artificial jetty were built to protect Olympic racing yachts in the bay. Not too long after that, Little Penguins, (yes that’s really what they’re called) colonized the jetty, making it one of two man-made structures in the world that penguins have willingly colonized. The penguins are most active at dusk when they return from the bay to feed and groom each other before going to sleep for the night. When I arrived at the colony, there were about 200 people waiting for the penguins to come in for the day- these are some popular birds! When the penguins finally did come in they went back into their nests where the babies were waiting patiently for their parents, (and food) to return. This was definitely the cutest activity I’ve done since arriving here, but unfortunately it was difficult to take pictures as it was nighttime, and flash photography was prohibited as it can blind the birds.
View of Melbourne from St. Kilda pier
Between visiting the penguins and gearing up for the big football weekend, I’d say I’ve had a very Victorian week, and I can’t wait to see what next week has in store!
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