-
Navigating the End. Some Reflections and Tips After Coming Home.
By Alex Moore, Australian National University (ANU), Australia I found myself sitting back in my childhood bedroom, a year and a day after I first left to go to Australia, feeling like the past year was just a figment of my imagination. It’s hard to comprehend everything that has happened when you are back where you started. I was excited to see my family and friends again, and it’s been so nice to catch up on everything we have missed. But it’s also strange as people talk about their graduations and finishing the uni chapters of their lives. I think, especially because I live very rurally, the change in pace…
-
How I Made My Journey Home More Interesting
By Alex Moore, Australian National University (ANU), Australia The thought of another 24-hour+ travel day was slightly daunting, but I managed to find the first and only layover I have ever been excited for. I found a $950 (c.£475) flight home that involved a 15-hour layover in Tokyo. This meant that I had a 9-hour morning flight from Sydney (a lot cheaper than flying anywhere from Canberra itself), then an evening and night in Tokyo before the 14-hour flight into London. I landed in Japan at around 5 pm (after having the whole row to myself), so I quickly got the train to my hotel to check in, shower, and…
-
How to Pack for a Year at ANU
by Alex Moore, Australian National University, Australia When it comes to packing, I definitely got caught up in thinking about Australia in the summer. However, as I have learnt, Canberra winters are no joke. When you arrive in July, it will be around 10-15 degrees, so you may want to reconsider packing your puffer. It may not sound as cold as the UK, but for some reason, the cold just hits differently out here (and their buildings aren’t as insulated as they are at home, which doesn’t help). The saving grace of winter is that it does not rain to the extent it does in Manchester (thankfully), and the showers…
-
Preparing for College Life at ANU
By Alex Moore, ANU, Canberra Australia Accommodation is a massive part of organising your year or semester abroad. At ANU, this looks very different to the accommodation you would have experienced in first year. Each accommodation functions as a college, complete with a committee and its own social events and balls. There are both catered and non-catered, but I’m writing this from the perspective that I have spent my year in a non-catered hall. The main culture shock is the fact that instead of having a flat of say 10 people that you know and share your kitchen and showers with, you are now in a college where you are…
-
How the Uni Work at ANU Compares to UOM
By Alex Moore, ANU, Canberra Australia When I was preparing for my year abroad I have to admit that the academic side of the move did slip to the back of my mind. But I also think it is important to understand what you will be doing at your host university as there are some differences that I have noticed in my first semester here at ANU.
-
The Wildlife They Don’t Warn You About
By Alex Moore, ANU, Canberra Australia Before I moved to Canberra everyone I told would mention the spiders and snakes in Australia. I thought I was going to see a huntsman round every corner, but in my nearly 7 months of living here I have seen only one (and that was on K’gari island). What I wasn’t warned about was the birds and their swooping season. This is something that happens from July to November where birds, mainly magpies, are nesting and raising their chicks so they become extremely territorial. I have been on a run around Lake Burley Griffin and had a bird swoop at me and claw at…
-
Surviving Your First Long-Haul Flight
By Alex Moore, Australian National University, Australia The thought of having a 24 hour+ journey was definitely a daunting one and they are a very different experience in comparison to the short European flights that I had taken before. That being said there were a few things that I did that made the experience slightly easier and less stressful.
A study abroad journal by students, for students.
