Home sweet home

So after a strange week in the hostel I finally found a permanent residence in Footscray.
Footscray has a bit of a reputation because of problems with drug addicts in the past. That is why most people responded a bit weird when I told them I had found a place to stay in Footscray.

I guess Footscray has changed the last few years, as I haven’t had any encounter with a drug addict so far and don’t particularly feel unsafe there. I guess what people dislike most is the fact that the suburb is totally deserted in the middle of the night, in contrast to the city and some other suburbs. But just because you don’t encounter any other living soul, there is nothing / no one to be afraid of.

Paul, 26 years young, has just moved to Melbourne from Sydney. He has been living with his parents in Sydney, but wanted to live on his own. Renting a house in Sydney is unaffordable, so he decided to move to Melbourne. Through his cousin he found a job at an internet provider.

At first I didn’t know what to think of Paul, but as I got to know him better I realized that I was very lucky to have found such a great roommate. He is a really nice guy with a great sense of humor. A part of him is clearly still a kid, which makes him very impulsive and creative. The photo here illustrates best what I mean; here you see him inflating a 5 by 5 meter wide and 2 meter high air castle that he bought for his little nephews and nieces inside his room.

That’s another funny aspect of our house; as there are only two bedrooms, Paul uses the garage as his bedroom. I must admit that it definitely could be an extra room, if you appropriately seal garage door by means of a fake wall. For the moment it is quit a cold space, because a lot of heat dissipates through the garage door in spite of the curtain that Paul hung in front of it.

But also if you’re in for a serious conversation about whatever, Paul is your guy. Even though he is a convinced Christian, he has an open mind, doesn’t try to convert you and is always willing to listen to your story. He is fascinated by physics, black holes in particular and loves sci-fi, especially Star Trek.

My other roommate is Michael, 22 years old and already has been married and divorced. He is ‘from the country’, which means that he speaks real genuine Australian. This has proved to be a kind of barrier in our conversations, as I frequently have to ask him to repeat what he said, before giving up trying to understand him. Luckily most of the times Paul is there to translate.