September was good to me and I can't seem to find the right words to document it. It has been an eventful month, I found myself in 4 different countries and reached my degree's end point. I'm now back in Oman and it's the first time I document this series from here.
I woke up early on the 1st of September in Sevilla to catch a train to Cordoba. It was our last day in Spain and wanted to make the most out of it and see as much as we could. We took a 45 minute train to Cordoba, we took a quick walk in its old streets, bought myself a souvenir with my name in ceramic and visited the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. In terms of architecture, the Mosque-Cathedral was not as beautiful as other buildings we visited but I guess its understandable as its meant to be a place of worship. We spent less than 2 hours and we decided to head back to Sevilla to visit the Royal Palace. The palace was breathtaking and I can't explain the beauty of the details in the interior. Sevilla was definitely my kind of city and I can't wait to go back again. We ended the day by going to the airport to catch our flight to Portugal.
Our flight to Lisbon was in a propeller and I'd be lying if I didn't find it a bit scary. But we made it safely and now I could say that I've been in one and survived it. We did a lot of walking in Lisbon, visited the oldest bookshop in the world and bought a few books by Saramago, which is fitting since we were in Portugal. We walked up hill to the castle with a breathtaking view and walked around as well. We saw the old yellow tram, admired the azulejo covered buildings and enjoyed our surroundings. We had lunch at the Time Out which has some local restaurants and businesses under one roof. Our last stop was the National Azulejo museum, my favourite part of the trip. I loved seeing all the tiles in one place and I really wish I could turn one of the walls in my room into an azulejo collage! At night we headed to the airport to catch our flight back to London.
September was also the month my sister got rid of Twiggy, the wooden mannequin she has been carrying around and taking pictures of for 3 years. We went to visit Newcastle and she saw it fitting to leave him there, where it all started. My sister extended her stay for Eid and it was really nice to have her around longer. I spent my mornings in the library studying for my viva and my afternoons and evenings with my sister. Before she left, we filled her bag with as many books as possible so I have less things to ship back.
On the 16th of September I did a practice viva with my supervisor followed by a farewell lunch with the lab group. It was really nice to see them all after almost 3 weeks and catching up with everything including my trip. My supervisor prepared me well and on the 20th of September I defended my thesis and was officially done with my MSc. I still can't believe the year has passed and I'm done! I'm very proud of my progress this past year, I've learned a lot from skill to more about myself. It feels good to know that the main aim of going to do my MSc has been fulfilled, I'm now more comfortable and confident in the lab.
I'm now back in Oman and I feel I have rushed my trip back. I should have stayed longer and eased myself into coming back. The future is scary but I'll take it one day at a time until I sort things out. October might be tough, I'm already worried but as my favourite quote says: "“Somehow, something always happens just before things get to the very worst... The worse thing never quite comes.”
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