Festival!

Thanks for the comments - I miss you guys! I'm so jealous about next weekend too :( I've been trying to figure out a way that I could jet to ABQ, grab my festival dresses, and still make it to Florida. Oh, and I have to be fresh and not jet-lagged on Monday, because I have 12 days to write a very long report. Don't think it's going to work. Can we go to MagFest (please please please???) I haven't watched the water going down to see which way it spins...but I'll check :) I arrived safely at my hostel yesterday, went for a run, and went out with my two new Irish friends Orla and Michelle. They're really cool girls. There are a ton of Irish people in Melbourne, actually. They have really neat accents. Last night was fun too, but I finally had to take off when the Irish/English rugby game came on. It was a little intense for me at 2:00 a.m. :)

Today I took a train for 45 mins to Mordialloc and saw the Duhks! It was really fun - I just love the festival atmosphere. I walked around for a while, waded in the bay, and saw a few bands. I also saw some Tibetan monks. They were there with their own area/tent from a local monastary. I didn't get to see them chant, but I watched them making a sand drawing.

It was really, really hot today. I think it was about 40 C, which is about 104 F. I thought I was going to have a heat stroke. I tried to stay out of the sun, but I had a beer, a gatorade, a lemon soda, and about 9 bottles of water, and I still felt dehydrated! The Duhks show was good but short - I got to see their new singer for the first time. By the time they came up it was 4:00, so it was a teeny bit cooler, but still hot. Not too many people by the stage, but people slowly started to drift up while they were playing. I danced like crazy and was all dirty and sweaty by the time they finished! I went and talked to Tania and Sarah afterwards, but only for a minute. I really wanted to hang out with them or something, but I never have the guts to ask. They were kind of busy and no one else even came out. I just can't think of a normal sounding way to be like "Can we hang out?" I don't want to be like a crazy stalker - "Hi - I'm your biggest fan. Can I follow you around and be your friend?" Nope, that line won't work. It's a dilemma.

I'm moving hostels tomorrow to a place down by the beach. The place I'm in now is a total dump. Ryan would be indignant. I don't think he'd stay here (love you, baby :)) I don't really care though - the people are nice, and it's a bed! The showers are unisex, which is interesting... This week I'm going to try to get a little bit of a tan, and not get stung by a jellyfish. Not sure what else I'll do, although there's a wildlife sanctuary in Healesville that I'd like to visit. Have to take a bus though - could take a while. Also, everyone keeps telling me that I need to go do a tour of Great Ocean Road, but I hate going on touristy stuff like that. I'd prefer to rent a car and drive it, but I'm scared to try to drive on the wrong side of the road!