Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The Awakening of a City
There’s nothing quite like watching a sleepy city come tolife. This morning, I woke up before the sun and headed into the CBD. Sittingat a coffee bar with a steaming latte in my hand, I watched figures appear outof the darkness from all directions. Slowly making their way towards theirmarked stalls among the many rows of silver metal containers, they soon would transformthe emptiness into the bustling aisles of the Queen Vic Market. One at a time,tarps were raised, fruit and veg was arranged in brightly coloured rows, clothingwas hung up with large ‘Winter Sale’ signs, cheap jewellery was lined intogleaming rows and Aussie knick-knack souvenirs were piled up into massive heaps.As the sun began to rise, taking the chill out of the air and streaming lightinto the large, covered bazaar, the chatter and banter steadily gained volumeuntil it became a dull roar.
Finishing the last sip of my coffee, I wished the baristas agood ‘aye and ventured over to one of the flower stalls where a large bucket ofsunflowers had caught my eye. Naturally, I had to buy one – because on thisbeautiful morning, it just added an extra reason to smile. I then turnedtowards those rows of hustling stall owners to pick out a few more little souvenirsto bring home. I could spend hours roaming up and down the rows, especiallytaking care at the fabric stall where I admire all the new bolts that have comein since the last time I stopped by.
Unfortunately though, my time was cut short due to a thing calledwork. Making my purchases, I rushed down Elizabeth Street toward MelbourneCentral Station to catch the Glen Waverley train to Tooronga. (This has nowbecome my daily routine. I think for a later blog post, I need to remember totake pictures of the schedule boards at the train station to show you all theridiculousness of what some of the suburbs here are named. Things likeCraigieburn, Kalkallo, Nunawading, Woolloomooloo (yes, really) and Yarrambat.)
Today is Thursday and by now, everyone in the office isaware of my trip to the states. No, they aren’t wishing me travelling merciesand safe wishes. Instead, they are throwing at me their requests of gifts tobring back to them. So far, the list consists of: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups,Twizzlers, Levi Jeans, ingredients to make S’mores and aged whiskey. I don’t knowwhether to be embarrassed at how they perceive the American consumer market orthrilled they asked me to bring back these ‘treasured items.’
Well, about this time in two days, I will be boarding theplane in Tullamarine, Melbourne to head first to Sydney – then LA, then Dallasand finally landing in Atlanta. And I have to say, I can’t wait to see everyoneand hug their necks! And all I want as soon as I land is a Chick-fil-a Lemonade!
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