The main meeting of the day was a "handover" with Lindy, which involved returning all the equipment I've been using, telling her where various reagents are stored and filling her in on what needs ordering before the next Bath student arrives. We also went through my final "programme outline, learning and objectives" form, which gets sent off to Bath as part of my assessment for this year. It asks for a mark out of 5 and a comment for various categories like communication, critical thinking, interpersonal skills etc. I was absolutely delighted with what Lindy had written about me, which was very complimentary. I experienced a huge wave of pride as I realised how far I've come since starting out in September as an absolutely clueless undergrad; she told me that I've become an integral part of the team who gets along with everyone and I'll be sorely missed. Most importantly, she also stressed that (if I were to choose to persue a PhD after I graduate) I should get in touch as they'd be happy to have me. As someone who, before the start of this year, was dead set on escaping education as quickly as possible, I now find myself seriously considering it. Three more years in this beautiful country, all in pursuit of getting "Dr" in front of my name, would be an incredible experience. There are huge hurdles to overcome to do it, such as getting a visa and a scholarship, but having my name on three published papers (fingers crossed!) would definitely help my case. We'll have to see what the future holds!
I was just returning to my desk to make some last-minute progress on my discussion, which has taken a bit of a backseat during all the excitement of the conference, when Lindy popped her head round the door. She was emailed by ASMR to check I'm attending the dinner, because I won a prize for my presentation! I'm so unbelievably happy to have done so well at something I've always associated with extreme nerves. Only Andy and I were successful out of the entire lab, which is predominantly PhD students, so that's an absolutely huge achievement for me as an undergraduate student. I'll have to find out tomorrow evening whether the prize takes the form of a large cash sum, but in either case it's a fantastic way to end my time in Australia. I was on cloud nine to such an extent that I couldn't focus on work for the rest of the day! As is tradition within Team Fitzgerald, Ivan, Marcus and Ryan took me to lunch at the University Club, which is members only and pretty fancy. Sitting in the winter sun with a cold one, chatting to three people who have become firm friends during this incredible year, made me realise how lucky I am and put a melancholy twist on the fact I'm leaving in two days' time.
Back at home, I was met with someone who was just as excited to be finishing as I was. Jess handed in all her final assignments today, meaning that university is finished for her forever! Candice was visiting with Maggs (their Mum) for a few days, so it was big hugs and compulsory champagne all round. I grabbed a quick shower before we headed to Bread in Common in Fremantle for dinner. It's an incredible building that I've only visited for breakfast before, so it was great to see it all lit up in the evening with dangling fairy lights. We had Prosecco over a girlie catch-up, accompanied by probably the most unbelievably tasty food I've had since arriving here. Sharing plates of snapper, cuttlefish, beef cheeks and lamb ribs, all garnished in beautiful, fresh local veggies with Yallingup wood fired bread dipped in olive oil. Yum! We then had desserts and cocktails, because I hadn't ingested enough calories yet...
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| Pretty cool, right? |
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| Jess and her lovely mama |
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| Old Fashioned a la Ryan Gosling |
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