Culturing up in Melbourne

After visiting Japan and getting immersed in its culture, it occurred to me that I know very little of Melbourne and Australia's culture, even though I live here (and was born here).  Sure, we were taught Australian history in school, and made the obligatory trek to Canberra, but what do I remember from all that?  Random facts that barely serve the purpose of being answers to questions at a trivia night. Luckily for me I was born here, otherwise I might have trouble passing the citizenship test. (Clearly I am joking - because if anyone can pass a test by studying, it's me... I'm just unmotivated if there is no test!).  This is embarassing.

So, in an effort to culture-up, yesterday I went to the Melbourne Museum for the first time in forever.  There was an exhibition on The Melbourne Story - a look at the changing face of Melbourne since its settlement and it was so interesting to see how Melbourne has changed over the past 150 years. Even more interesting was a documentary where people of various cultural backgrounds provided a view on their version of Melbourne, and why they enjoy living here.

Melbourne doesn't have the urban sprawl of some of the huge international cities like London, Tokyo and New York, it doesn't have the sightseeing attractions of Sydney, the historical significance of Rome, or the culture of Paris.  What it does have is a population comprised of people from cities and countries all across the world, who have brought with them their culture and traditions.  The fusion of all these borrowed cultures in the one city somehow works. 

Perhaps more noticeably, Melbourne is a place with food streets dedicated to different parts of the world, which means you can always get authentic [insert cuisine here] for a reasonable price, regardless of what you are craving.

It probably shouldn't have taken a museum visit for me to realise that this is why I love Melbourne.