AmiexExchange 18: A Big Community Of Love in Melbourne

I meant to finish this post before I left Sydney but procrastination got the better of me... and there was no wifi on the train and I'm simply lazy. So yes, here it is finally published a week later. This post is inspired by a single event that happened on the day I left Melbourne, when I was running around for last minute errands... I saw this girl crying on a bench near my neighbourhood. She was speaking on the phone, and she just hung up the phone.

Normally I would have probably cast her a side-wards glance to make sure she's not suicidal and continued my way. You know, don't be kaypoh (a Singaporean colloquial term for being busybody). But something clicked inside me. I think it's the Melbourne (possibly Australian) culture that has influenced me to poke my nose into other people's affairs. 

What is the Melbourne culture of love?

I wouldn't have believed it until every other day I experience, or witness how Melbourne comes together as one big community that cares for one another and rushes forward to help those in need without hesitation. There is no bystander effect. It might be confirmation bias but at least there are occasions that make me think this way... there are instances that really warm the cockles of my heart and make me fall in love with the city again and again. Not because of glitzy lights or grand architecture, not because of the fancy coffee beans or the spectacular graffiti. It's the people.

One of the times was when a woman pushing a baby pram fell over because she didn't notice the uneven road kerb during White Night... and all of a sudden, five or six complete strangers stopped in their tracks and rushed over to help her up: one righting her pram and comforting her baby, another helping her sit on the kerb and stretching out her leg, another running to get help from a nearby ambulance. On other days, pedestrians and passengers help one another whenever they see anyone carrying heavy luggage or baby prams from the trams because there is a high platform to climb onto (or from) whenever we need to board it. The initiative to help is innate in Melbourians. They are also most well-known for being extremely generous to beggars, bringing hot meals to them to make sure they don't go hungry. It makes me proud to be one of them, at least for six months.

Anyway, back to the story on the girl crying on the bench. I don't know why, but I just felt very strongly that I can't walk away from her without doing anything, not even talking to her to let her know she's not alone. I went to grab a chocolate bar from a nearby convenience shop, scribbled down a motivational quote on a restaurant namecard, and walked back to the bench, where she was still sitting. 

She was on the phone again, seemingly not talking to someone who caused that situation because it sounded like she's explaining the cause of her agitation. Not a good time to talk to her, I guess. But I was quite in a rush to go home because I had a train to catch, so I just stuffed her my very impromptu cheer-up gift. She shook her head to refuse it, probably thinking I'm some creep. But I smiled and awkwardly forced it into her hands and said 'it's for you' and turned away, just catching the last bits of her face, brightened up and happy. And I felt amazingly good. Not because I can show-off that I did something good to the world, but it felt tenfolds more rewarding than if I had bought the chocolate bar and ate it myself. It's a very small thing to begin with, but I feel like I have the pass the kindness and goodness on to someone else after receiving so much from this city.

For the past few weeks that I've been here, I received so much help from people, genuine, sincere and warm people that don't demand any bit of reciprocation at all. A stranger I met offered to show me around the city for an entire afternoon, one showed me directions by drawing makeshift maps on post-its dug from the recesses of their bags, and many more that I cannot remember...

This culture is very self-sustaining once nurtured. Melbourne is the most livable city in the world because it houses a lot of international brands and restaurants, but most of all, at least from my point of view, it's such a beautiful place to be because of the people in here.