Seohyun Lee

We arrived at Melbourne very early in the morning. Despite being exhausted from the long flight I remember everyone being so enthusiastic of the activities that were planned for the day. Once we arrived at our Holiday Inn  we had some time to adjust to our new rooms, explore the surroundings, and unpack our bags. After that we went to the Lume. This was deifnetly a highlight of this interim trip as the breathtaking exhibitions felt as if it completely transcended me into a different world. 

This day consisted of us visiting several streets filled with graffiti  and street art of many artists. It was very interesting to learn about the process, certain graffiti norms, and the artists behind each of þhe graffiti paintings. The highlight of þhis day was deifnetly the spray painting workshop. I've worked with spray painting before, but never used it to create art. Spending almost 2 hours cutting, sketching, and spraying was honestly a very therapeutic experience for me which I really enjoyed doing (although the end product was pretty disappointing). 

This day we got to kayak down the Yarra river in Melbourne. Although it was a pretty tiring experience I got to really enjoy the beautiful view of Melbourne while kayaking. After that we went over to the MMIT university to engage in a smart phone workshop. During our time there we also got to explore the beautiful  campus of MMIT and some of the history behind the buildings. 

This was probably my most favourite day. We first got to go to the Alexandeer Mcqueen exhibition at the Nationall Gallery of Victoria. Although Im not interested in fashion at all, every exhibition and installation were truly mesmerizing and beautiful. My friends and I took great photos there. After that we were given free time to explore Melbourne on our own. We wentto a mall to go shopping and I bought some clothes and jewelry. That evening we also celebrated Nikitas 17th birthday with the rest of our interim group. 

This day we went to visit the Healsville sanctuary. The best part about this trip were probably the bus rides where I got to view the beautiful countryside scenery of Melbourne. At the sanctuary we got to see a oot of exotic animals that I've never seen before. It also gave me a lot of nostalgia of the times when I used to go visit the Singapore Zoo when I was young. On the way back to our Inn we also stopped by a chocolate factory. There I bought a lot of gifts for my family back in Singapore. 

On our sixth day we spent the first half at the victoria market. Here I got to buy a lot of gifts for my family and friends back home and even some for myself. It was a great experiences as I got the chance to support local businesses. After that we headed to the National Gallery of Victoria for the second time. Since we were in a guided tour this time I got the chance to learn a lot about many of the pieces displayed in the gallery. It was interesting learning about the cultural significance, how they retrieved the piece, and the controversy surrounding each of the pieces. That evening we got back to our Inn and changed into our formal attire. We then went to watch The Mary Poppins musical. This experience was yet again another memorable experience. I'm usually not the biggest fan of musicals but something about this one made it stand out in comparison to the previous ones Ive watched. 

I remmber this day þo be an execeptionally hot day. We started off by attending a workshop with NIDA. This was another very insightful experience as I got to learn the backstory of how NIDA started and its purpose. Later that day we got some time to pack our belongings, and then we headed off to the moonlight cinema. THis was byfar my favourite moment in the trip. During the movie I remember being distracted by the stars In the sky and the beautiful sunset,  I also had a great nap.