The Move

So today I finally made the move that was set in motion all those months ago when I put down that I would do medicine here at Melbourne. I write this on my familiar laptop at a desk that I don't know, in a room that I don't know, in an environment that I have no experience in (college), in a city that I barely know. The room is in that familiar state of 'unpacking', with things strewn across the floor and desk as they await my brain arbitrarily deciding where they should live for the next indeterminate time. My time here has been a whirlwind of meeting new people, trying to impress them despite them talking as if they speak essay. The tour was great but it's filled my head with names and locations that I can't quite reconnect. I have two keys, none of which look anything like keys -- one opens most doors but not all, the other opens some doors but not most, one will replace the other soon, but I can't remember which is which for any of that. On the topic of keys, my wallet will soon explode from them -- not only do I have the two keys from college, I also have a medicare card, HBF card, my red cross card, soon it will have my student card as well, and sometime soon I will get myself a concession card for the public transport here (a myki card, I think it's called). All of those cards are additional to ones that I already carried in perth (eftpos, mastercard, driver's license, etc)! Phew.

The good news I guess is that for the moment there's no undergrads here, which means I can settle myself in quite nicely. Being a graduate student I'm part of something called the Middle Common Room (MCR) here at the college (undergrads are in the junior common room, JCR; admin staff and others like the master and chaplain are in the senior common room, SCR). The orientation for MCR is in a week and a bit, so we're all going to arrive fairly soon. People apparently are arriving in a trickle though, which is great because it'll give me that chance to get to know people over time instead of in one great whack. Also, being no undergrads around there's no big parties happening and overall college isn't intimidating at all. Just a warm and welcoming place so far!

I've put the 5 medicine textbooks that I could bring with me on the bookcase, and they stare down at me even as I type. I fear for my safety when I sleep. Tomorrow is a day for shopping and handing in forms for medicine, but then I must study or I'll be left behind in the very first week of the course -- I promise you, books!

Meanwhile, quite a few tears are shed back home unfortunately =( it's so hard to leave behind your whole family, the missus, and all your friends, just to pursue your own dream. It feels selfish in some way! It's all part of the bigger picture though.

Step one into the future complete. A billion to come, all increasingly difficult. This blog will cover it all, so it's time to buckle in and tighten the suspenders!


Yours, from Melbourne,
Circle