By Bethan Rowsby (The University of Sydney, Australia)

G’day! The posting of this blog is a little late as I arrived in Sydney about two weeks ago (!!!), but here’s what I thought and felt pre-departure!

I had everything sorted; visa, health cover and my flight, everything except where I was going to live when I arrived in Sydney. Whilst this was a deliberate decision (I didn’t want to go into university accommodation due to the cost!), it was the thing I was most nervous about. I took my mind off the nerves and my looming departure date by travelling up and down the country, visiting family and friends and saying final goodbyes before I left! However, it didn’t fully hit me until the night before my flight that I was actually leaving my homes in London and Manchester for a year. And that felt awful! I was definitely excited for my trip, but at that moment I really didn’t want to leave.

Whilst I was still in Manchester, my mum had rung me and told me that she’d bought me a massive suitcase for my trip, and she wasn’t lying! I’m pretty sure I could fit myself in that case. Because I was ill before my flight (and also due to my lack of proper preparation) I ended up packing the day before and off I went hoping I had remembered everything – passport: check, sun cream: check. I for sure had the essentials.

In the lead up to leaving I researched areas in Sydney that I would want to live in, considering factors such as being close to the Uni and the general safety and reputation of the areas. I found there are plenty of great suburbs to live in in Sydney and I’m really happy with where I’ve ended up – in a shared house near the Uni with 7 other girls who are super nice ♥.

I’ll be posting again in the next few weeks as I settle into Sydney and uni begins!

Bethan