After not seeing your boyfriend in four months, a hug is a great way to start your two weeks in Australia together. A hug serves as an effective way to express a variety of sentiments, from "Hello" to "I love you." A hug can occur anywhere, at any time (but is not recommended while driving). Experiment with length of hugs, because the length of a good hug depends on the situation. While this varies from couple to couple, a long hug is generally appropriate upon first arrival of your boyfriend while a short hug is generally appropriate before going to class. A hug will make both of you happy, and it fits in your limited budget.
2. Explore the city
Melbourne offers endless entertainment for the reunited couple. Try making homemade sushi from Queen Victoria Market ingredients, exploring cheap deals in Chinatown, seeing the wild penguins in St. Kilda at sunset, walking along the Yarra, and grabbing a drink now that you're both legal in the same country for the first time. Note: it is easy to just show your boyfriend the stuff that you know. Try to see the city again as if it were new by walking into stores you usually pass by, taking risks in choosing restaurants, and allowing yourself to get lost. You may discover something new about your city together!
3. Get out of the city
Take a trip! Look for cheap flights and accommodation deals. Your boyfriend flew across the world - it would be a shame if he only saw a small fraction of all that Australia has to offer. Choose a place where you have not yet been, so you can explore together. For example, you may wish to spend a couple of days in iconic Sydney where you can climb the Harbor Bridge, take a tour of the Opera House, walk through the Chinese Friendship Gardens, visit the Taronga Zoo, grab great fish and chips at Manley Beach (explore the city). There, you may also opt to take a day trip out to the beautiful Blue Mountains where you can hike, take great photos of the exotic Aussie flora and fauna, and see wild kangaroos (get out of the city).
4. Live like you're "fair dinkum"
Feed into the stereotypes. Don't you remember how excited you were the first time you saw a kangaroo here? Bring him to Queen Vic Market and show him boomerangs and Aboriginal art. Feed him a roo burger. Point out eucalyptus trees and magpies. Let him try the accent (he may be surprisingly good at it). Get it out of his system.
Then live like a local. Grab a $1 7-11 flat white in the morning, and a 50 cent ice cream from Mackers at night. Drink local beer, cider, and wine. Sneak on the trams. Go see a movie on the discounted night. Eat Tim Tams and show him how to perform the perfect Tim Tam Slam. Say funny words like "Ta" in social settings. You know, the usual.
5. Let him take a walk in your shoes
While you two may speak frequently to ease the stress of maintaining a long distance relationship, it may be difficult for your boyfriend to visualize the activities, people, and places that make up your every day life abroad. Give him a tour. Show him your favorite spot on campus. Take him to a rehearsal to meet the cast. Cook in your ghetto apartment kitchen, showing him the many appliances that have tried to kill you. Let him see you frantically finish a bio lab the morning it's due. Read him the monologue you'll be performing for your creative writing class. That way, the spaces developed through long distance are filled in, and when he finally does go home, you two feel a lot closer than you did before he came.
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