The title almost sounds like my parents visiting prompted me to do some uni workā€¦


So due to most of my family living in Australia, my parents have been traveling around and came down to see me last weekend. It was lovely being able to show them around ā€˜my cityā€™ and they treated me with meals out and a wine tour around Barossa Valley ā€“ which is supposedly a must do in Adelaide! I got so many facts from that tour Iā€™ll probably just do a separate blog with a load of Adelaide fun facts!
We managed to make it down to Glenelg beach, even if it was freezing; visited the South Australian Art Museum which was lovely; walked around the park behind uni which has the TorrentsĀ river running through it; explored central market together; listened to a not very good guitarist play good songs at a guitar festival; and then of course the aforementioned wine tour (including Handorf ā€“ a cute German village in the hills). Funny story, Dad noticed Handorf had a shop claiming to be the biggest seller of German clocks in all of Australiaā€¦though you canā€™t imagine thereā€™s huge competition for that title can youā€¦

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Glenelg beach with the parents

It was definitely easier saying goodbye to my parents for the next few months having already settled in here. I empathise more with those who had to hug them goodbye then jump on a plane for 24 hoursā€¦!
I still cried thoughā€¦. But anyone who knows me knows I cry at anything so I guess that doesnā€™t say much. Iā€™m hoping Iā€™ll only cry twice whilst here (ignoring all diss related stresses) when;
1. Parents leave (check)
2. I have to leave and say goodbye to everyone
I was chatting to my flatmates about all this and we all were in agreement about the idea of having to say goodbye to each other and everyone weā€™ve met here already feels like a hard task, and it hasnā€™t even been 3 weeks! So at least Iā€™ve settled wellā€¦! I do have my brother coming to visit me in two weeks though, which I can’t wait for!
Lectures have continued to be goodĀ ā€“ tutorials start next week which Iā€™m excited about! The department back home doesnā€™t do small group chats on psych topics (basically seminars), though by the sounds of it, the tutorials or ‘tutes’ here sound a fair bit like seminars ā€“ so Iā€™m excited to try a new style of learning.


So, my spontaneous job:
On the Monday I got an email from uni with details of three jobs, one of which was an advert for a treadmill runner, $30 an hour, 13 hours, all this weekend. Sounded easy enough, they just wanted you to be fit enough to run for 5-10 minutes on a treadmill on and off. After a few emails and an interview, I got the job and have spent the past three days at a cardiology conference, at the convention centre down the road. Iā€™ve basically been showing how a wireless ECG stress test works for a company called Device TechnologiesĀ and itā€™s been great! The guys are all lovely, and the work is easy money (I also get free foodā€¦that definitely is a perk ā€“ meals with more than 3 ingredients that I donā€™t have to cook).

Hooked up to the ECG machine
Hooked up to the ECG machine

The job did mean I didnā€™t get to join the girls on a tour of Haighā€™s chocolate factory, which is a famous Australian brand of chocolate, but heyho!


After I did my last shift at the convention centre, I felt a bit bored and lost as everyone was out and doing things, so after doing some work I decided to go for a run and explore Adelaide a bit, and it was gorgeous! Today has been the first time I’ve felt a tad out of sorts, and I think the rush of settling in has finally dropped enough for me to feel a tad blue… Yet, even saying that, I still am so so glad I decided to take this semester abroad, and it would be weird if you didn’t miss home or felt a tad blue a little bit – so don’t take my last sentence as anything against studying abroad – it’s the best decision I’ve made since choosing Southampton…! Anyway, so when I saw a duck with her ducklings waddling behind her, and they crossed the path in front of me and all hopped into the water in a line, it made me smile so much! Also lots of pelicans and swans around by the water – I’ll pop in some pictures from that…

Under King Williams street bridge
Under King Williams street bridge

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I feel like these blogs will slowly get more monotonous as I fall into a routine here, but I think thatā€™s a good thing!Ā I like how I have started to develop a pattern and our flat has habits and weā€™re learning more about each other. Weā€™re also having a cheeky Nandos on Monday as a flat which will be our first meal all together! Exciting times!
Anyway, happy reading,

P x

Parents visiting and spontaneous work

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