Now that I have been home for a couple of weeks I have had a bit of time to think about the highlight of my year. With studying in Australia where the weather is almost always lovely and everybody spends a lot of time outside and at the beach, it has been difficult to decide on my favourite things.

I have reached the time of my year abroad where I am having to start to think about packing up all of my things. I still can’t quite believe that I have been in Australia for over 11 months, the time has gone so quickly!

It is true that when choosing the University that you want to spend your year abroad at, it is important to consider the academic side of your life as well as where you think you will have the most fun. For me, I chose the University of Queensland due to it’s broad physical geography module choice and facilities such as the Heron Island Research Station (where David Attenborough filmed the Great Barrier Reef episodes). However, it is also necessary to consider that for a variety of reasons, you may not always end up completing the modules that you first seek out.

I’ve only been in Brisbane for three weeks but am doing my best to get stuck in. So far it’s been an incredible three weeks of exploring, and I could not be loving the Australian way of life more! My first few days in Oz seemed fairly surreal. My mind and body were confused from jet lag and I had no real idea or concept as to where I was or what to start sorting out first- bank card, sim card, somewhere to live? It sounds like an obvious choice to find a house first, but when you need to pay deposits and you’re charged an arm and a leg…