Day 265! Well today’s the day! I’m finally moving out of my friend Sam’s house and moving into a hostel in downtown Melbourne. I’ve appreciated and enjoyed my stay with Sam’s family, but it’s time to move on to my next adventure!

I woke up this morning and still had the task of packing up my things. Thankfully I don’t have too much to pack… but with the addition of some new clothes, I was going to have to reorganize some things.

After a bit of finagling I was able to stuff everything into my two bags.

I also had my weekly FaceTime with my parents this morning! It was really nice catching up and hearing what’s been going on with them the past week.

After our call, it was time to head out! Only Jane was home, so I was able to thank her one last time. She told me I’m welcome for dinner anytime, which is such a nice thing to say. There’s a solid chance I take her up on that!

With that, I donned my bags and headed off on my walk towards the train station.

I’ve gotten pretty used to this walk and even with the big bags it wasn’t so bad. I’ll miss the train ride, but it’s time to learn new train routes and get more used to getting around inside the city.

I got off at parliament station and had another couple minute walk to the hostel. The hostel is called The Mansion, for good reason… it’s huge, and it’s where Immy has been staying the past week or so.

I wasn’t able to check in quite yet since it was before 2pm, but I was able to complete my paperwork to make a quicker check in process. I also had access to the inside of the hostel now, so Immy and I set out for a trip to the grocery store so I could fill up my little cubby for food.

We set out down the road on a bit of a walk to the nearby Aldi. But on the way, we popped into a 24/7 gym where we both signed up for a free week trial. I’m super pumped to get back into the gym again and was planning on going later in the day.

We continued on to Aldi, where I did my first grocery shopping in 9 months. I actually had to think pretty hard about what I wanted, what was realistic to make in the hostel, what would be cheap and healthy, etc. So this grocery trip took a little bit of time. I also had to buy a bag since I didn’t have one, but I’d be able to use it to keep my refrigerated items separate from other peoples.

I ended up spending around $50 Australian for my week’s worth of groceries. Which is about $1.66 USD per meal, not bad! I got bread, beef, rice, tortillas, tomatoes, cheese, tuna, and some non perishable snacks (I’m probably missing a few things).

We headed back to the hostel to put away our haul. I then cooked my first hostel meal, I was super hungry!

The kitchen is fairly easy, it’s a bit too small for everyone here… but it has everything we could need in a kitchen. Also everyone does a great job of cleaning up after themselves, so all the dishes are practically available whenever.

I made myself two tuna melts with tomatoes, which were very tasty! It’s been a while since I’ve had tuna.

The table was also filled with travelers, which made eating a nice time of chatting with new people and also with people I’ve met over the last week.

After I finished eating, it was time to check into the hostel!

I was put on the top floor and even though I paid for a 7 bed room, I was put in a 6 bed room and got lucky and got a bottom bunk!

I didn’t spend long in my room because I wanted to go to the gym. I was really excited to go and I knew if I didn’t go right then, I might not have gone.

So with the wind sweeping my hair in all sorts of directions, I headed out back down the street to Zap Fitness.

I was a bit concerned with working out because my shoulder was still a bit off. But I still was able to have a really nice push day (chest, triceps, and usually shoulders but I skipped that today). It felt really good to be back in a gym. Working out and diving don’t really go hand in hand because of DCS sickness, so it’s been 3 months since I’ve worked out!

I had slightly over an hour workout before heading back to the hostel for a shower. I then made my way to the TV room to lounge, hang out, and read. But LOST was on and my new friend Q, from England, wanted to play some chess. So we played for a bit until I had to leave the hostel again around 4:45pm.

Why was I leaving again? Well, it was finally time to buy myself a coat! I left the coat I had been wearing at Sam’s, since it was his friend Christian’s coat. But I luckily found a nice bomber jacket on Facebook marketplace for $35 AUD.

I hopped on a train to South Yarra and made my way to an ATM before heading to purchase my new jacket.

This is some of the first Australian dollars that I’ve had myself. They’re quite colorful!

I made my way down the street to the sellers apartment and they met me outside. The jacket fit perfectly and was exactly what I was hoping it would be. They gave me $5 AUD in coins back and I went on my way… I’ll probably just use them to top up my train card at some point.

Today was a very nice day out but by this time it had started getting a bit chillier and drizzlier. So it was good timing that I got this coat!

I made my way back to the hostel and right as I got there Immy told me her and Q were going on a walk to South Yarra… and I was like, “I just came from there!” But, I had nothing else to do and a walk sounded nice. So I joined them.

The main reason we went on the walk was because Q wanted to check out a pickup soccer match to see if people were wearing cleats or not. But we weren’t paying attention to any directions and ended up going the wrong way at one point… so we ended up calling it quits and heading back to the hostel.

I walked over 20,000 steps today… lots of walking being done.

When we got back to the hostel, the kitchen was packed with people making dinner. So I grabbed a bag of peanuts that I bought and sat in the TV room with Immy, Q, and our other friend Lewis until it quieted down.

I eventually was able to cook up my rice and beef to make my first home cooked dinner in quite some time.

I kept it very simple for my first meal back, but I plan on spicing it up as I go. It’s a bit tough with the limited space, but I enjoyed cooking again!

I chatted with travelers as I ate and then went to the TV room again because Monday nights were movie nights! They had snacks in the TV room and were playing the movie Superbad, which I really like!

Unfortunately the movie stopped working mere minutes before the movie was finished. But it’s okay, I’ve seen it before. I then hung out with people in the kitchen area for a bit and snacked a bit more before calling it a night!

I’m super happy to be back in the hostel setting. It may cost (a lot) more than staying with Sam’s family, but having people my age constantly around to hang out and the freedom of cooking when I want are a huge plus! I’m excited to see how this first week of hostel life in Australia goes, but I have a feeling it’s going to go very well.

– Elie