Arcadia Australia

It was Arcadia’s last orientation in Melbourne City and of course, the weather put on quite the show.

From 107 degrees on one day to 62 the next – Melbourne is known for having 6 seasons all in one day. We had them all – dry heat of summer, strong winds of Autumn, rain – any day at any time, cold wintery moments, lucid springtime colours when the Melbourne people finally stop wearing 6 layers of textured black and of course, the illusive perfect middle ground where you get to enjoy and revel in the perhaps seemingly unstable level of complete satisfying delight.

It began with a trip down to St Kilda to explore the food, fashion and culture where the locals all hang out. Followed by some check-in time at the hotel to settle and push through the urge to nap. We all perked up in the afternoon with mint slice, minties (mint candies), and the introductory "Welcome to Australia" team quiz, where students all learned some new slang. There were some great creative answers and engaging team players and all students were able to get to know their new Arcadia Family members for both staff and students.

We headed out to explore the graffiti of Hosier lane and a quick tour of the city before finishing with the best Gelati in town – Brunetti’s, practically an institution in Melbourne and the best cure for jetlag. Saturday was so bright we all enjoyed a morning walk in the sunshine around the foreshore before we settled in for the presentations, learned about marsupials and finished with the evening tour of Southbank and the Eureka Skydeck.

Sunday’s indigenous guides led us through Melbourne’s botanic gardens and both staff and students were amazed and intrigued by the expanse and wealth of knowledge our guides had of both land, language and culture. Learning about plants I’d seen around the Aussie bush for years suddenly had new meaning and a heightened sense of the connectedness of us all. It was a great way to connect to each other, the land the students will be living on and the community they will be growing in.

May this be the most amazing semester for all our students in Spring 2019.

Enjoyed reading this blog? Learn more about Arcadia in Australia!