Brisbane - Adelaide

Yes...WOW. That's what I use to describe my recent holiday. I have returned to Brisbane a few hours ago. To recap - after my exam, I went to Adelaide to visit one of my best friends, Ruth. After spending a week in Adelaide, I flew to Sydney to see another very good friend, Dave. So, here are the stories.

Brisbane - Adelaide:

Adelaide was COLD. Really. It was. Not funny at all. Upon arrival, the cabin crew announced that it was 9 degrees and raining furiously. Tis was very cold. After getting my luggage, I waited for Ruth to come and pick me up at the airport. She had to get a friend to drive her there as her right foot had suffered some partial thickness burns due to a ruptured hot water bottle (note to self and everyone else that's reading this: DO NOT USE HOT WATER BOTTLES - electric blankets have made advances and are considered much more safer). After getting to Ruth's house (absolutely gorgeous and full of eclectic charm), we got out some wine and chatted for several hours before going to bed.

The next day I drove Ruth's car to uni - driving her old car (which was a stick) was quite a thrill! My experience in driving standards is quite minimal. After some shaking starts and stalls, I was able to navigate (with the obvious help from Ruth) through some of the streets of Adelaide.

I think that the biggest thing about going to Adelaide, apart from seeing Ruth again, was to see her friends and the sort of life that she is living there. She has talked about her friends and Adelaide to such great lengths that, at times, I felt as if I were there by her side. I met some of her closest friends there, and I'm so glad that Ruth has been able to cultivate this community around her. Hmmm...what am I say?! This is Ruth! She cultivates these sort of communities wherever she goes. :)

I didn't get to see much of Adelaide, apart from the beach in Brighton/Seacliffe, some of the Adelaide Hills, Flinders University, a major shopping centre (I helped Ruth do some shopping for a few key items for an interview she had for her 3rd year placement), and numerous cafes and the like. However, from what I have seen, Adelaide resembles a large retirement village nestled somewhere within Scotland. The houses are all made from stone and most of them only have one floor. The concept of condominiums and flats is new (unlike Brisbane, which seems to springing up new condos/flats left, right and centre). The CBD has the highest concentration of tall buildings, but even then, it's not that impressive.

My lasting legacy in Adelaide will have to be my cooking (my my, aren't I being modest). For three of the nights, I cooked dinner for Ruth, Cathy (her fantastic podiatrist-cum-artist housemate) and some of their friends: Italian, Indian, and Thai, but not all at the same time. :) Ruth told me that the friends that were over for the dinners were still raving about the food.

Even though I was on holidays, I attended a couple of lectures with Ruth and some of her friends. I even took notes! Not only that but some of her friends asked their clinical tutor if I could do a clinical coaching session with them. Fortunately I had my University of Queensland medical student badge. I was given an introduction into the wonderful and exciting world of rheumatology. I even noticed things about a couple of patients that the 2nd years didn't pick up. There goes for being a quiet person to tag along. :)

The rest of the time in Adelaide was filled with marathon conversations and catching up with Ruth. Even though we live in the same country and are able to talk over the phone, there is something to be said about being in a person's physical presence.