Some first impressions

I’ve been on Australian soil for a whole four hours now. I’m pretty much a local, right?

After having my hand luggage sniffed “BorderForce” style for traces of anything that might cause a pandemic here and every letter of my visa scrutinised by a big scary bald guy, my supervisor, Lindy, picked me up from the arrivals gate. She even held a card with my name on it, which made me feel pretty important; I thought that only happened in films! The drive into the city took us past all the main attractions and the traffic meant we had a chance to chat; she seems really lovely and chilled out. I thought we were even going to get the opportunity to go to the lab straight away when she got a phonecall from a frantic technician about a leaky incubator, but unfortunately the matter was under control before we could bust in ninja-style. Probably for the best, as the jet lag was making me a bit delirious by this point.

After a half an hour drive along the river, we got to the little apartment where Ivana (the other Bath student, a girl from Slovakia) and I will be staying for the first week. It’s right opposite campus and, while being nothing special, is cute and ideal while we get our feet in the city. It’s got a little kitchen (kitted out with essentials by Lindy – cute!), living room, bathroom and a bedroom each (as well as a kind of cresh room with a highchair and baby cot; not sure what kind of students have been living here). There’s a supermarket nearby, which I plan to try out when the free food runs out!

Our little apartment block (we're the bottom left!)

While being extremely tired, I was determined not to mess up my bodyclock by sleeping at weird times and so dragged myself out for an explore. I wandered around campus, which is huuuuuuge, but pretty quiet as it was the weekend. I managed to get online in their library to tell Mum I hadn’t died, before heading to the riverbank. The view across to the city is really gorgeous, but I think I was a bit too shattered to appreciate it. From there I took a few wrong turns on the way back to the apartment, which told me that I shouldn’t leave the house again until I get some shut eye! Despite still being winter here, it was 20 degrees today, so it’s only going to get hotter.

With everything done and dusted for today, I’m currently kicking back in the lounge in front of The Great Australian Bake Off (with no iPlayer, it’ll have to replace my weekly Paul and Mary fix) and waiting for Ivana to get here. The plan for tomorrow is to venture a little further afield, but nothing too strenuous before meeting Lindy on Monday morning for some orientation. More soon!