I. Departure

I'm actually turning 23 this year, and it's the fifth year I've lived in Adelaide, and time definitely flies. I just want to reflect a bit on my journey during the time here.

Studying abroad at 18 is always a life-changing, nerve-racking event. For an 18-year-old kid, I still remember feeling excitement and fear at the same time, knowing my life was about to change forever. I had never been to any Western country before, so the culture, the people, and the scenery were going to be completely different, upside-down, basically. My mum worried about all of this even more than I did. We spent weeks going through checklists of what to bring, as I tried to pack my whole life into just two suitcases.

It's kind of fun to think about it that way, like an optimisation problem where you're trying to maximise the probability of settling in smoothly. You need to be practical, but there are also things that are technically useless yet emotionally meaningful, so you just have to balance the trade-off.

It was also tough knowing I had to leave all the friends I'd had in my life for years, especially when I would know no one at the new place. But it was exciting at the same time, a whole new chapter, new people from all around the globe. We had some farewell parties and it was just really nice to see everyone before I left.

Then it happened. I flew to Adelaide, which was a bit of a random choice since most of my friends were heading to Sydney or Melbourne. I was the only one who chose Adelaide, purely because of the university and the scholarship they offered. But here I am, five years in and counting, so I guess it wasn't as scary as we all thought.

II. Settling Down

I arrived in Adelaide three weeks before the semester started so I could have enough time to get used to the new environment and adult life. This was when you have to do everything by yourself, and you just can't call your parents for help. It was quite funny that I had to video-call my mum to teach me how to cook, including how to cook rice without a rice cooker (sounds ridiculous, I know).

Things started to get better as I explored more and immersed myself in the nature of this place through hiking trips. Below is from my very first trip to Waite Reserve, and honestly, what more could you ask for than a swing perched on top of the hills? (Sorry in advance for spamming photos, they tell the story better than I can.)

After that, things got even more interesting when I landed my first job as a soccer coach for kids on weekends. It was a lot of fun and, surprisingly, it taught me how to be more confident because you're a coach now, after all (for two-year-olds, but still).

One of the most memorable days I'll never forget went something like this: we went out clubbing and got home around 2:30 AM, I woke up at 7:00 AM for work, then headed straight to a little town up in the Adelaide Hills for the most Aussie sport I've ever encountered: Rogaining.¹ I ended up walking nearly 30 km across all those activities in a single day.

Exhausting? Absolutely. Unforgettable? Without a doubt.

I started making more friends too, which made everything feel more like home. This was one of our first hangouts with people from completely different continents who all somehow ended up in Adelaide together. What a random coincidence, but I'm really grateful for it. Beer, good food, good conversation, what more could you ask for?

III. University Life

University was honestly not as bad as I'd expected. Lectures and lab sessions were quite engaging and fun, and I genuinely enjoyed it right up to my last semester. I picked up a lot of new things and met people from all sorts of different backgrounds and cultures, which was really refreshing.

I was also lucky enough to land a position as a Research Engineer at the university, which turned out to be one of the best things that happened during my time here. I learned an enormous amount from it. It was stressful at times, but absolutely worth it, and I came out the other end with some solid papers to show for it.

Outside of academics, one of the best things I stumbled into was the Adelaide University Mountain Club. It completely changed how I experienced Adelaide. What started as a casual sign-up turned into regular camping trips out into the hills with campfires going late into the night, no phone signal, just people, stories, and the kind of sky full of stars you forget exists when you live in the city. There's something about sitting around a fire in the middle of nowhere with a group of people that strips everything back to something really simple and good. Those trips are a big part of why Adelaide holds such a special place in my heart.

To be continued...

That's a wrap on Part 1. We covered the nerves of leaving home, the early days of figuring out adult life, the friendships, the wild one-day adventures, and the university years that shaped me more than I expected. There's still a lot more to the Adelaide story, and Part 2 is coming soon. Stay tuned.