Albanian Life!

Hey!

So it has been a reeeeally long time since I have posted anything here, and I thought it might be about time I updated!

Last time I wrote a blog post, I was still a student – well, not anymore! Early in November, I finished my Honours thesis and presentation and officially completed my medical imaging studies. Hello new radiographer! At the cocktail party the university put on for us to celebrate on the day of our final presentations, many of my fellow newly qualified radiographers were excitedly discussing the interviews they had had, and in some cases, the job offers. I hadn’t had any interviews yet, and the same thing happened the following night, at our end-of-year bash, when several more people had heard from one of the large radiology companies that they were being offered positions.

I tried to hide it, but I was frustrated and jealous – I worked just as hard as most of them, and probably harder than some others (=P) and yet I hadn’t had a single interview. The next day, that changed. I checked my email the afternoon after the party and there it was, my first interview, and, as it turned out, my first job!

And everything that happened after that was kind of a crazy whirlwind. I had a trip to Sydney planned with my mum and brother, so off we went, and among many other things we did while we were there, I finally got to meet my tweetpea, Val!

But in the back of my mind the whole time was the knowledge that when I got back, it was time to start work – time to start a whole new chapter of my life.

The job I accepted was as a regional reliever with the Western Australian Country Health Service. WA is the biggest single state not just in Australia, but in the world, and Country Health provides services to every corner of it. My first posting was a three month block (later revised to ten weeks) in Albany, around 400 kilometres (250 miles) from my home in Perth.

There was plenty of stress and tears, but I made it here in one piece, and now, amazingly, I am coming to the end of my time at Albany Regional Hospital. The people I work with are great, and I have had the amazing opportunity to train in a more specialised area than just general radiography, which is apparently super-rare for new graduates. I’ve got myself all set up in my little unit, and I’m really enjoying it =)

Everyone that heard I was moving to Albany seemed to be really excited for me – many of them because Albany is a great holiday spot! My place is about halfway between the town and the beach, which is awesome, and is only about 45 minutes from my grandparents who live in the next town along the coast, which is handy when the rest of the family are almost 5 hours away!

It was a big change, but it has turned out really well! There were the token paperwork dramas at the start, and of course I was sad to be leaving my family behind, but I settled in here and got to love the hospital crew – I’m going to be sad to leave!

And, as I have told several people since I have been here, I still have a spare room, so if anyone is down this way in the next couple of weeks… drop in! Haha =)

Hope all of you are loving life and embracing the new year with all it has to offer. It already seems to be flying by!

Much love,

C xoxo