Saturday morning I spent quite a bit of time Skyping and by the time I was done I only had about 20 - 30 minutes before I had to leave for my train to make it on time, but I wasn't dressed or ready or anything. I tried to get ready quickly, but I wasn't all to motivated and I actually thought about just not going and having a day at home. I got ready, packed my city bag, packed some snacks, and made my free hugs sign, and left. I was a little worried because I was going to be 15 minutes late and I didn't want it to be awkward being the last (very late) person or showing up after they've already started, which could also have been a problem if they already changed location to start hugging. The night before and all morning I kept wondering how this would all go - would everyone think we were nuts and make all our effort pointless? would security try to make us stop? would no one show up?
Luckily, with all the signs, balloons, face paint, bright colors, etc. the group was extremely hard to miss and they were all still on the stairs at Flinders Street Station - our meeting location. I introduced myself and everyone was so welcoming and friendly. The original group included 5 au pairs from the facebook group (myself, 3 French, 1 English), 2 au pairs from Couch Surfing (English and Japanese), 2 locals from Couch Surfing, and 3 travelers from Couch Surfing (1 Italian, 1 American, and 1 I don't remember). Everyone immediately bonded and were instant friends.
We started off our day of free hugs by doing one big group hug with each other and then some individual hugs with whoever was around you from the group. From the start people were showing interest - not by hugging, but by stopping and looking, reading our signs, asking questions, etc. We started diagonally across the street since security at Flinders Street and Federation Square aren't to fond of free hugs. We decided that all in one group we are a bit intimidating and each person was ending up with 12 hugs, so we moved location and broke into groups a bit, while staying in the same general location so we didn't get completely split up.
The Route/Groups: The group I broke off into included Dave (the guy in front with the blue shirt and green free hugs sign) and Rich (who is behind the camera in the above picture). We walked on the opposite side of the street from everyone else because we felt that side was being neglected and needed hugs. We walked up Swanston Street and turned left on Collins Street. We walked the one side of Collins Street, until we hit Elizabeth Street, and then walked up the other side of Collins Street. Then we met up with the rest of the group. As a group we spread out on the corner of Collins and Swanston and hugged. Next about 5 of us walked through a couple arcades, then afterwards met back with the rest of the group and did the same route Dave, Rich, and I had done. As a group we hugged our way up Elizabeth Street to Melbourne Central Station, took a break for lunch, then went out and did some hugging at the State Victoria Library. Afterwards we hugged our way down to Bourke Street (corner of Bourke and Swanston) and stayed there for quite some time. This was the best hugging location because the two streets that made the corner were fairly busy streets and were near some major locations. Every time the light changed there was a new group of people crossing the street from either side of the corner and there was also a constant flow of new people coming in from the two streets that met at the corner. Then we hugged back to the library and finished our day of free hugs there. Our final group consisted of all 6 of us au pairs and then a new addition from Couch Surfing.
Overall people were generally very receptive. We did get some nasty facial expressions, people who practically ran away, people who ignored us, etc., but we just laughed it off and kept going. Honestly, the rejection was completely forgotten about every time someone said yes, because that was really all that mattered. We did discover however, you are more likely to get a hug if you hold your arms open ready and waiting for a hug with your sign in one hand off to the side, than holding it with two hands in front of your body. Okay, okay, okay, enough with the boring logistical stuff - Here are the stories!!
- After a hug with one lady she told me she had just had a tooth out 2 hours ago and really really needed that hug and I hugged her again. (corner of Swanston and Collins)
- I walked to a group of 3 guys (in their 20s) and they refused a hug, well I ended up circling back around several minutes later, reoffering my free hug and after a bit one of the 3 decided he could do with a hug (Collins St)
- I hugged a shop keeper in an arcade (Block or Royal) and one in a shoe store of Melbourne Central (his name was Sam)
- We hugged a guy and he asked us if we would wait because he was meeting his bald headed, big nosed friend Paul (his way of helping us recognize him) and Paul loved hugs. When Paul arrived we all acted very excited to see him (which surprised him since we all knew his name) and gave him a huge group hug. (Melbourne Central)
- I hugged a man who told me afterwards that he is from Auckland, New Zealand and was leaving for home today and then said, "What a beautiful memory to take with me". (Victoria State Library)
- I hugged a woman who was holding the hands of 2, around seven year old girls. While hugging she said, "I've had the worst day. You just don't know how much I needed that". The look on her face was heart wrenching.
- I knelt down to the eye level of an around 4 year old girl who was crying. I said, "My, you look very sad. The sun is shining, the sky is blue, and you are holding daddy's hand, you are a very lucky girl. Can I give you a hug to help your tears go away?" She hugged me and by the time she walked off she wasn't crying anymore.
- Two guys, not together, were walking past me. The first guy said no to the hug, the second guy hugged me. Next thing I know the first guy had turned and circled back around and said, "On second thought, I will actually take that hug". (Melbourne Central)
- A group of 3 very tall guys (in their 20s) were nearby so I asked if they wanted free hugs. When the first guy said yes, his friend decided he should get a hug too, and the 3rd friend decided if everyone else was getting a hug he wanted one too so they group hugged me. Afterwards I looked way up and asked, "Why are you guys all so tall? Do you only hang out with tall guys?" Their response was, "We're English. We're well bred. It doesn't help that you are just a half pint yourself".
- Standing on the opposite corner I could see a group of 3 guys eyeing our free hugs group so I held up my sign and shouted, "Do you guys want free hugs?!" They shouted back a unanimous, "Yes!" So I ran across the street disregarding crossing lights and cars and into the arms of the big guy who picked me up and spun me around twice (random fact: He's from Spain). The guy with the sunnies and dreds picked me up and spun me around once and we chatted a bit. The other guy hugged so hard I thought I might break.
- I wasn't part of this hug, but I watched it take place: I was on the escalator with 3 other huggers. 2 were directly behind me, then there was a business man in his suit behind them, and then another hugger behind him. He was kind of standing sideways and the one hugger (behind him) offered a free hug in her loud, bubbly way and he kind of mumbled a no and turned around to put his back to her. His face when he turned around and saw two more free huggers staring at him was absolutely priceless. The 2 asked if he was really going to turn down the free hugs now and he froze. The 3 huggers did what we do best and group hugged the business man.
- We were on the Melbourne Central side of Swanston Street and all these people on the Library side of the street started yelling that they wanted hugs. Many of these people were dressed as different characters - anime, pirates, cowboys/girls, etc. We ran across the street and gave them all hugs and then chatted about what we were all doing. Turns out they were doing a K-Pop flash mob to Gangnam Style. (I'll try to post a video as an update to this blog, but for now, here's a picture)
Considering we hugged for 5 hours, if I were to share every story the post would go on for days, but these are most of my favorite stories. If I think of any others (I left the list at home) I will update the post. Free Hugging in the streets of Melbourne you run into all kinds of people - travelers, tourists, business people, homeless or close to it, skateboarders, hippies, statue people, circus people, performers, footy fans, etc. You run into people with all different stories - wealthy, lonely, single mother, just attended a funeral, extremely intelligent, etc. You also run into people of all different ethnicity. One of my favorite things about free hugging was watching the people you least expected say yes to a hug - the guy in his suit with his sunnies and briefcase, the big ol' guy in his footy gear, or the preppy guy in his skinny jeans and name brand tee. I also liked watching the joy spill on peoples' faces when you offer them a free hug because they were sure you were just going to skip over them because someone couldn't possibly want to hug them - the lady with the dirty jacket, missing teeth, and one eye or the guy struggling to speak, with ripped up shoes, selling a newspaper/magazine on the side of the road. The guy I'm hugging in this picture was one of those people:
Even the people who thought we were nuts ended up smiling or laughing, which was what we wanted (to brighten people's days), so we didn't mind. It was surprising how many people asked us why we were doing this, what organization we were with, or if we were psychology students from a nearby university. When they asked why we responded, "Because you are smiling" or "You're smiling aren't you?" People were delightfully surprised to discover most of us were travelers with no other motivation than to simply make people smile. It was cool when at point we were walking in somewhat of a spread out line and if you were in the back of the line, by the smiles on people's faces you could tell who had already had a hug. If you were in the front of the line, rejection didn't matter so much because you knew someone towards the back of the line would get them.
Giving free hugs to hundreds of strangers in a foreign city with no judgement on anyone and for the pure motivation of making people smile on a day with blue skies and sunshine, was such a blessing and wonderful opportunity. It resulted in a day full of new friends, smiles, laughter, and hugs - and as you know... that is definitely my kind of day!! =D
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