A Winter Sojourn

I don't know where the phrase "a winter sojourn" comes from but it rings a bell. Whatever it's origin, it's quite true in my case as I'm flying off to Australia's other great city, Melbourne. I'll be spending some days there with family and friends. I look forward to seeing Melbourne again, a city I last visited 3 years ago at about this time.

Melburnians are not pleased with the way their city has been eclipsed by Sydney, which they consider to be about as cultured as Jerry Springer and nowhere near as entertaining. Ever since the founding of these cities, there has always been a rivalry between them. Until the 1950s, Melbourne was actually the more important and larger of the two. Until Canberra was officially made the capital in the early 1920s, Melbourne was the seat of the Commonwealth government. Canberra was chosen, like Ottawa, because it was in between Melbourne and Sydney, although it is considerably closer to Sydney. During a 19th Century gold rush, Melbourne was quite possibly the richest city in the world and in 1956, Melbourne became the first city south of the equator to host the Olympic Games.

After this, Sydney began to compete more aggressively and has now surpassed its rival. Most major corporations have their headquarters in Sydney, it is more populous and the usual first port of call for international travellers. Although Melbourne is not overlooked, when people think of Australia, they immediately think of Sydney. To rub salt in the wound, Sydney hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics and, coincidentally, 2000 is also Sydney's postal code.

Melbourne's great attraction is its cosmopolitanism and its cultural life. Melbourne is either the 2nd or 3rd largest Greek city in the world after Athens and Salonika (population statistics differ) and many more ethnicities are thrown into the mix. Plast (Ukrainian Scouts) Australia has its headquarters in Melbourne. There are the Melbourne Grand Prix and the Melbourne Cup, a horse race which the entire country watches and gets a day off for in November. Melbourne, with its trams and architecture, is distinctly more European than other Australian cities.

This week's big occasion was Canada's 141st birthday on Tuesday. I tried to find some way to celebrate but the weather wasn't great and the Canadian High Commission wasn't holding any functions. I just contented myself with wearing a Canada Day t-shirt and getting something to eat at the local pub. American Independence Day also passed without any fanfare, though I did wish an American colleague of mine a happy July 4th.

To pass the idle hours while I await the start of the 2nd semester, I've taken to watching movies on my laptop, in addition to other mundane activities. A floormate lent me his external hard drive and just before he left, I copied several movies onto my own drive. It's provided me with enough entertainment to help pass the days away.