I have successfully made it through the first month of my semester abroad (and let me just say, that’s a great goal to achieve)! My time has been filled with exploring the great city of Sydney, but also organising uni life, and so here is a summary of what my first month has been like…
As we all know, the flight to Sydney is a long one which is why everyone dreads it. However, after that experience I found myself in a country I had never been to before and thus I forgot about the past dreadful 24 hours. The initial thought of there being so much to do was quite overwhelming, but the known fact that I was going to be here for a semester allowed my first week to be time to settle in.
One of the first things I had to deal with when I got here was to try and find accommodation. You may think I was silly to leave it last minute, but this was not my doing. Therefore, this leads on to my first point of advice- try and understand the culture before you go. I know that might seem slightly odd, as it’s only Australia- they don’t speak another language, but knowing how they go about their daily lives is key. For example, in Southampton it’s normal to start looking for accommodation a few months before you intend to move in. Well in Australia, that’s way too eager. They tend to prefer very last minute accommodation, as in when you are actually in Australia trying to find a permanent place to stay. I thought this was mad and it went against every instinct I have, however even on the University of Sydney’s website they suggest the same. Therefore, this is where I found myself in the first week. This may seem like a scary thought, and at times I would have agreed, however there is help out there, such as the amazing website ‘flatmates’. Through this and the university Facebook pages I managed to view lots of rooms and finally chose the one I can now call my home. So all went well!
The Sydney home
The first week in Sydney was made very easy by the University. They organised ‘O-week’ where there were talks, parties and social events. Only a few things were compulsory, but what this week provided me with was time to meet other international students, to get to know my whereabouts on campus and to explore the city. The University also planned weekend trips and day trips, as to which I chose the ‘cultural cruise’. The cruise took us around the Royal Opera House, under the Harbour Bridge and to a place called Goat Island. We stopped off here and watched a Traditional Aboriginal Performance.
The University of Sydney
The Royal Opera House and Harbour Bridge Aboriginal Performance on Goat Island
In addition, the other main highlights have been venturing to the Blue Mountains, watching the Parade of Mardi Gras and spending my birthday celebrating in Aussie style- bbq, drinking and taking selfies with Koalas.
Unfortunately, I have admittedly had some trouble with sorting out my modules here in Sydney. There is no actual Geography degree. They have something called ‘Geoscience’ which involves a combination of Geography, Geology and Geophysics. I have never done the latter two before, but I had to choose them as they were the closest thing to my degree in Southampton. I knew this prior to choosing Sydney as my host University, but for some reason it didn’t put me off. I guess I’m here to experience new things, so why not a new subject! I even went one step further and decided to take an Agriculture module, where field days in farms shearing sheep are due to come (I’ll let you know how it goes soon). However, I can happily report back and say that I am getting on well with my modules, as there is plenty of support here in Sydney but also the staff from Southampton- you’re never alone!
My experiences so far have been full of sunny weather, Aussie BBQs, meeting new people and exploring a new city and country. I don’t think anyone could say there is a single negative in this opportunity so far! I have still yet to experience much of Sydney or Australia’s offerings, but the beauty is- I have plenty of time to do so. On that note, in the near future I’ll be blogging again soon to inform you about my latest adventures!