Emma Hyunseo Choi

Day 1: Feb 18, Saturday

This was the first day of interim. We arrived in the Melbourne airport and headed to the hotel, then the Lume. The Lume is an art gallery displaying different art works by Monet in various forms. For example, there was a huge 360 screen displaying videos of art and there was also a real life structured painting of one of Monet's artworks. 

Day 2: Feb 19, Sunday

On this day, we got a chance to explore Melbourne's street art. We also went to a graffiti workshop where we made our own stencils and spray painted the design on to a canvas. This was a memorable experience because I've never took the time to observe and notice the importance of street art. In the afternoon, we took the tram and went to St. Kilda Beach where many different music festivals took place. 

Day 3: Feb 20, monday

In the morning of day 3, we went to a guided kayaking session. I've kayaked several times prior to this session so I was very excited. My partner, Mr.Koebnick, and I kayaked through the beautiful Yarra River, following the instructor. It was such a nice experience, especially because it was so different from my past experiences of kayaking in Sentosa. After this session, we headed to RMIT University where we had a smartphone photography workshop. We learned various different techniques of taking photos on our phones and tried them out ourselves. 

Day 4: Feb 21, Tuesday

On day 4, we visited the National Gallery and did a backstage tour. We were able to look at various theatres and learn about the systems and designs used for performances. It was really interesting to learn about the designs because I've never thought about the purpose behind it. After this tour, we headed to the Alexander Mcqueen Exhibition. We looked at numerous different clothing designs and the way everything was displayed was so fascinating. In the afternoon, we got free time so my friends and I went to Melbourne Central and shopped. I really liked the shopping time we got because there were so many stores in Australia that I've never seen in Singapore.

Day 5: Feb 22, Wednesday

On day 5, we drove 1.5 hours to the Healesville Sanctuary. It was fascinating to see a different side of Australia, especially the big farms we saw on the way to the sanctuary. At the sanctuary, we got time to look around and we saw many different Australian animals such as emu, kangaroos, and koalas. We also got a chance to look at the bird show. After this, we headed to a bakery in Healesville and there were so many different pastry options to choose from. Because of the long drive that we went on back and forth from Melbourne to Healesville, this was one of the most tiring days, but it was also such a fun experience.

Day 6: Feb 23, Thursday

In the morning, we went back to the National Gallery, but this time, for an art tour. We learned about different paintings, most memorably, those created by the indigenous. In the evening, we went to Her Majesty's Theater and watched the Mary Poppins musical. The songs were familiar from the movie version which only made it better when listening to the actors sing. There were so many cool scenes like Mary Poppins flying above the audience and Bert walking upside down from the ceiling. My friends and I were all amazed by how cool the technology worked. The last musical I watched was Wicked a few years ago and this was uncomparable to Mary Poppins.

Day 7: Feb 24, Friday

NIDA (Improv) + Blindside Exhibition + Moonlight Cinema (Avatar)

In the morning of day 7, we headed to NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) for a workshop. I was put into the improv group, which I hadn't signed up for. I was a little intimidated because improv was an area I've never touched before. However, with the friendly instructor and my friends around me, I was able to enjoy every moment of the workshop. During this time, I learned about how actors communicated just using body language and not words. After the 2 hour session, we headed to the Blindside Exhibition in which we learned about how artists are able to book locations for 3 weeks to present their work. It was really interesting to learn about this because this was something I was completely unaware of. The artworks presented in the gallery was very unique and interesting. Finally, during the afternoon, we went to the Moonlight Cinema where Avatar 2 was played. The screen was much bigger than expected and the overall cinema was extremely nice. This day was so jam-packed and very memorable. 

Day 8: feb 25, Saturday

On day 8, we returned back to Singapore. During this trip, I was not only able to learn more about art and theatre from various perspectives, but also able to make new connections with many people.