"Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent in the ideas of living."

Miriam Beard

Wrapping Up

The past week has been pretty busy. I was assigned a new assignment, working on an information sharing policy. It's basically the procedure staff will complete when they need to share information about a client with a different agency or organization. I'm really glad I've been able to take on this assignment because it's a great opportunity to explore and experience a different area of social work. To allow myself some time to get part of it done before I leave I stopped going to the Op Shop on Wednesdays and used the remaining Wednesdays and Fridays to work on the policy. While continuing at Ingle Farm and Magill I've been getting things together and getting ready to go home. It's a bit strange to think about going home, it seems way too short even though I would very much like to see friends and family. I'm looking forward to sharing and building more on my experiences after I return.

The Melbourne Experience

My trip to Melbourne was definitely an awesome time. I'm not sure how much a person can experience in a day and a half in a city like Melbourne, but I did as much as I could. The afternoon I arrived I took a bus from the airport to Federation Square which is home to Melbourne's visitor center. They were incredibly helpful even though I walked out with much more on my to do list than before. I started off walking along the southern edge of Melbourne, South Wharf as they call it. Melbourne is divided up into several districts which makes it fairly easy to know where you are. I rode the tourist shuttle that circles the city and provides a running commentary from the driver who tells about the history and significance of different sites around Melbourne.

The second day I started off early with the Queen Victoria Markets and then went on to the Immigration Museum, Aquarium, Polly Woodside Maritme Museum, wandering of the streets, and Eureka Sky Tower.

Melbourne was awesome, but I was really looking forward to the bus tour that took me back to Adelaide. I left Melbourne early Saturday morning and my favorite part of the weekend began.

The tour went along the Great Ocean Road which offers amazing views and is home to the 12 Apostles (although there are only 7 left), London Bridge, and Loch Ard Gorge. After we came to the end of the Great Ocean Road we turned inland and headed to the Grampians National Park.

12 Apostles

Loch Ard Gorge

Grampians National Park holds a lot of history. After hiking and climbing Hollow Mountain we stopped at Victoria's state Aboriginal cultural center. It was so cool to learn about the Aboriginal people of the Wimmera region and see the differences from the Aboriginal culture in Alice Springs. Over 120 different Aboriginal languages were spoken before migrants arrived in Australia. It's incredible to think that they spoke so many different languages, yet had much of the same beliefs.

Map showing areas where different Aboriginal languages were spoken 

Wimmera Country - Hollow Mountain, Grampians National Park

There are only two weeks left of my time in Australia. They'll be filled with hours spent at Ingle Farm and at Magill where I've taken on a new assignment. I've been asked to form a draft of an Information Sharing Policy. It's basically a procedure that staff must follow when sharing information about a client with another agency or organization. I'm looking forward to the new experience and everything I can learn from it.