By Amanda Chan (Australian National University, Canberra, Australia).

So here I am, back in Manchester, typing up what might possibly be my last blog post on ‘Manchester on the road’. Even after being back in Manchester for a month, I still couldn’t believe how I have already finished my exchange in Australia. Anyway, let me update you guys on how I am coping.

Questions to expect when you are back: How was your time in Australia? Do you miss Australia? Are you keeping in touch with your friends? How is it like being back? What is the biggest difference?

As you can tell from my previous blog posts, I have had a great time in Australia. I do wish I could have stayed longer, travel more but well there are just so little time and so much you want to do. And yes, even being in touch with my friends I still miss them and I miss Australia. It is nice to be back in Manchester though. There were some weird moments when I first set foot back in Manchester, when everything looks the same but feels different as I have been away for half a year. But once I got to meet all my friends, and hear them say “It’s nice having you back, it feels like you were never away”, all the weird feelings were gone.

The weather in Australia and Manchester has to be the biggest difference and hardest to cope with. Even though Canberra can get quite chilly at night and in winter, the coldness in Manchester is on another level and the rain makes it even worse. After having several walks under the rain in Manchester, and being emerged in the typical Manchester weather where you get sun, cloud, rain and hail all in an hour of the day. Together with layering up to deal with the cold and neglecting the fact that I miss the weather in Australia a lot, I can announce that I am fully used to the weather in Manchester and I am coping well.

Talking about the weather and rain, I have been keeping up with exercising and playing Frisbee in Australia, hoping not to fall behind when I get back to training in Manchester. But it seems like I have miscalculated as I forgot to rule into account the weather difference. Running on dry, fully managed grassland under the sun and running on muddy, barely managed parkland under the rain is totally different. I felt like I couldn’t run nor change direction during my first training back in Manchester, playing sports outdoor on the muddy ground is what I am still coping with now. However, getting to play with my teammates again and laugh about being muddy makes everything better. 🙂

My time at Australia was also a nice and refreshing break where you get to do courses you couldn’t do in Manchester and that reinforced my passion in my degree. Thanks to the multiple meetings and chains of emails with my academic advisors, I have realized after just having weeks of lectures how well the modules I did in ANU last semester links with what I am doing at UoM this semester.

Lastly, some reminder for international students who are/ are considering going abroad. This only applies to those who have been to police registration when they first came to UK, if you are not sure, please go to https://portalcms.manchester.ac.uk/crucial-guide/academic-life/immigration/policeregistration/. Unfortunately, our university website doesn’t notify us that we have to report to the police if we will be leaving UK for more than two months in which if you are studying abroad you will. You will have to report any changes in address or other status and when you come back to Manchester after studying abroad within 7 days as well. For more information, please refer to http://www.getready.salford.ac.uk/page/policeregistration.

Even though this might be my last blog post here, feel free to email me asking about my degree, my time abroad or getting into Ultimate Frisbee.

See you! 🙂