Bhumi Shukla (University of Sydney, Australia)

After months of waiting, the time has finally come. I can officially say that I’m off to Australia to start my new adventure. Here’s to new beginnings!

Semesters in Australia are the complete opposite to semesters in the UK. When it’s their Semester 2, it’s our Semester 1 (but it starts late July – so it’s a bit earlier).

I’m all packed & ready to go! Although, I’m not looking forward to my 25 hour journey to get there. I still haven’t sorted out my accommodation, hence I’m leaving 2 weeks earlier than uni starts to leave plenty of time to find something. From reading previous blogs, I learnt that finding accommodation in Australia was relatively easy – especially through different sites, such as flatmates.com! Initially, I’ll be staying in a hostel near USyd (that’s the local nickname for University of Sydney, sort of like UoM). Hopefully I’m able to find something relatively cheap as accommodation in Sydney can be very expensive.

One thing I’ve packed for my 6 months there is lots of sweaters! I’m going there during Australian winter, which is basically around the same temperatures as British summer, but I shouldn’t underestimate the power of the wind.

A really great thing about USyd is that it offers a wide range of activities for Exchange students. You can partake in things such climbing the Harbour Bridge and Breakfast with Koalas for really, really discounted prices. Also, in term of academics, USyd offers Exchange students a rare opportunity to apply for internships!

My eagerness to get to Australia is already killing me and I cannot wait to post all the pictures from my time abroad to make all my friends back in Manchester very jealous.

I’m ready for you, Sydney. See you very, very soon!