I took most of today to rest, as the fatigue was catching up with me. A group of us walked to a café across the road to fetch breakfast, which we brought back to The Faculty Club to eat at the long tables in the dining room. I love the atmosphere of this building and the surrounding gardens. If someone could transport this whole place to Perth for me that would be great!

I went back to bed for a few hours in the middle of the day, then spent the afternoon reading and listening to the goings-on outside my window. Others trekked into San Fran for one last hurrah or went to meetings with academics.

In the late afternoon/evening we attended a graduate admissions information session and a mixer with some of the graduate students here. It was interesting to hear about their different fields of study. All the Scholars are getting very good at their elevator pitches; I’ve started watching people’s responses for any surprises. Guests are always very interested in those of us incorporating culture in our studies—that doesn’t include me at this stage, but hopefully when I’m back home I can make the most of my family’s knowledge and start my own cultural learning journey!

This evening I had a lovely dinner with two of the other Scholars, the scholarships coordinator, and Richard. I ate four ribs and a lot of kale salad and a lot of cake! And finished it all off with a nice cup of tea.

We have to be down in the lobby at 4.50am for our ride to the airport, so I’m going to jump in the shower and head to bed. This time tomorrow I’ll be writing from New York!

A t-rex skeleton in the Sciences building! (I love dinosaurs)