Back in Adelaide

It was so good to be back in Adelaide after being away for so long. I didn't realise how much I loved the place until I went back. On the last day in Cairns I was really excited, and felt like a child on Christmas Eve! Here's what happened during the first few days I was back.

The Flight

I was supposed to be flying out of Cairns at about 6am on 23rd Feb, arriving in Adelaide at about 10am. However, JetStar (the airline) made a monumental cock up. To cut a long story short, that flight was cancelled. Myself and my fellow irritated passengers were transferred to Qantas. I thought that I'd be back in Adelaide only a few hours later than intended, but this wasn't the case. My first flight was to Brisbane, and then I got a flight from there to Adelaide. I arrived ELEVEN HOURS later than I was supposed to. The most depressing thing was that all we got in compensation was a voucher worth $8!

House Hunting

As I couldn't afford to stay in my house while travelling, I had to move out before leaving Adelaide. This meant the first week back was largely taken up by finding somewhere new to live. I certainly didn't want to stay in the hostel I was in forever (even though it was a good one). I ended up looking at seven houses, and it was hard work calling landlords and travelling to one house after another. All of them weren't what i was looking for, they were either too shabby, too far away, the people weren't good or supposedly essential things (such as a living room) were missing.

However the last house I looked at was definitely the best house! The second I went inside I knew I wanted to live there. It's in a great location, in the city! That means I can easily get everywhere without having to walk for ages or get a bus. The house is right near the bustling Central Market and Chinatown, so I'm really close to one of the best areas of the city. The house itself is awesome. It's modern and has everything you could possibly need. And my housemates are a great bunch. Toby and Sarah from Australia, and Owen and Lyndsey from the US are really cool, easy going people to live with, and they have some great friends that have become my friends too.

Meeting up with old friends

The best thing about being back in Adelaide was seeing friends again. They say that if you spend a day in Adelaide and don't bump into at least one person you know, then you don't know enough people! I met up with most people who were left in Adelaide from last semester, and even though a large proportion of us went home, there is still a lot of us left here. Meeting all these people from different parts of the world has been an experience in itself. It was great to share stories with everyone about how they spent their summer.

The Fringe

Sleepy Adelaide woke up! Febraury and March is packed with activities going on in Adelaide. This is when South Australia lives up to its nickname as The Festival State. The Adelaide Fringe is the second biggest cultural festival after Edinburgh, and it all started with a parade and concert just east of the city. Some of us went to see this, and it was a good evening. The parade lasted for a couple of hours as people from all the events happening during the Fringe paraded down the streets, and the concert lasted well into the night.

Look out for entries soon on more crazy goings on in Adelaide!