Touchdown

I think I am ready to find a job as real estate agent in Adelaide. But let me start from the beginning of this rather lengthy story. 

Elvira and myself arrived in Adelaide two weeks before commencing studies and work respectively. This would give us enough time to find an apartment, move in and set up our "base camp" - that was the theory anyway. With hindsight this was a rather naïve plan. 

Firstly we were only looking for a six month lease term - not good! Aussies like to rent out for 12, so if anyone applied for a year we were out. Period. Secondly we needed something furnished - even worse. Finding an affordable flat in Adelaide is like looking for a grass patch in the Sahara. Wanting a fully furnished apartment is asking for the blades to be lush green rather than brown. Not very probable. And last but not least we did not have an Aussie -> English translator with us. Otherwise we would have known that "you'll hear from us on Friday" means that the very earliest time to expect a call is Monday (althogh that is a brave estimate - Tuesday might be more like it). I don't have a problem with that but having this information is vital to plan accordingly.

Clearly were not moving in before the two weeks went by. But we did have a promising application in the pipeline and on Friday (21.09) the real estate agency confirmed that we could relocate on Tuesday (25.9). Since I did not receive a call to pick up the keys (confirmation in Aussie is a synonym for a vague statement) I phoned the agency on Tuesday morning - only to find out that they were very surprised by my call. Their plan was handing over the keys on Saturday 29.9 (definitely translation issues!) - and we had checked out of our hostel already. Argh!

Not taking the risk of further Aussie -> English misunderstandings I went to their office and was not going to leave without the keys. They were handed over to me with the comment that we might not have electricity... WHAT? Availability of electricity obviously isn't a prerequisite for a "move in ready" apartment in Australia. 
Jumped on the phone and rang the electricity company whilst picturing how the two girls (especially Inessa but also Elvira) would react to the proposal of a lukewarm, candle cooked soup and brushing teeth with headlamps on... 
Surprisingly the electricity company was very speedy - at 16:55 we were officially on the grid. The girls were cheering as if they were Thomas Edison demonstrating an effective light bulb for the first time. And I was happy about not having to sell them the whole scout thing as something romantic and unique (although that is exactly my opinion).

So yes, we have moved in and we like our little flat. A big step towards feeling at home. And if anyone wants to move to Adelaide in the next few weeks / months: drop me a message for translation services or other hints. Office hours are from 9 am - 5 pm...;)

Clockwise starting from top left: Entrance, light well in front of the flat, one of the bedrooms and the kitchen