Throwback: Arriving in Adelaide
Let us rejoice for the South ÐÓ°ÉÖ±²¥n border has finally opened to international students!
To celebrate this wonderful news and opportunity for my fellow friends and readers from around the globe who are coming to Adelaide soon, I would like to share with you all the tale of when I arrived in this glorious city not long ago.
This 15th February marked the beginning of the 3rd year that I will be living in (and falling in love with) Adelaide. It’s surreal to think that I’ve spent 2 years away from home, exploring a foreign city on my own – well, not completely foreign since I’ve been to Adelaide a few times prior to my studies but still, doing it all alone gives the whole ordeal an even more special meaning.
So, let’s go back to a significant weekend in 2020. I had just finished packing my bags in the back of my parents’ car and before long, we were off to the airport. This was during the pre-pandemic days (Covid was just a local disease that we read of in the newspaper and not the evolving, world-touring virus it is now) so my cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends were there to send me off too.
As I waved goodbye to the people I love, a rush of emotions washed over me. The primary feeling being sadness, duh! I mean, the longest I’ve ever been away from my family was when I went to a Scouts camping trip in primary school, and even then, I faked my own stomachache in hopes that my mom would pick me up and bring me home (she didn’t, she saw right through my Oscar-worthy performance of being sick). Then came the nervous jitters because it finally hit me that I would have to learn to live on my own and well, be a grown-up, really.
But looking at the bigger picture, the excitement of navigating my way through a new city alone (think LadyBird when she got to New York) trumps it all. Of course, I still long for my family, friends and Malaysian food but it’s a melancholy feeling that I’ve learnt to live with.
After I got off from my 8-hour flight, I was instantly greeted by a cool breeze – a clear indication that autumn was right around the corner. I settled down in an empty room which was to be my home for the next two years and then proceeded to ugly cry as I FaceTimed my parents.
The next few weeks were filled with a feeling of euphoria – an intense excitement of making new friends, discovering unfamiliar places and finally basking in the vast freedom that adulthood has to offer.
O’Week was the first time I ever saw myself getting out of my comfort zone. I talked to countless students, some of which are still my friends to this day. Adelaide introduced me to a lot of my ‘firsts’ – my first ever Fringe show (acrobatics!), my first ever musical (Fangirls), my first-time cooking, surfing, and so much more!
I’m about to enter my 3rd year here and that euphoric feeling still hasn’t left. In fact, it’s only getting stronger as I continue to explore this city. I hope you’ll all enjoy your time here as much as I did and create your own sets of ‘firsts’ with Adelaide. See ya!