Australia
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The Library Always Finds You: A Semester in Sydney, One Year On
By Meg Luddington, University of Sydney, Australia I am writing this as I enter the very final week of my degree. Outside my window is Manchester, a city that I love, even when it is raining, as it currently is. Endings always make me reflective, and a time I try to gather my thoughts on the chapter that has just been. As I reflect on the university chapter, I keep finding that many of my fondest memories are not from Manchester at all, but from my semester in Sydney.
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2 Hobbies I Discovered In Sydney
By Yaryna, University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia 1) Surfing 🙂 I attended my first Surf Camp last semester. What struck me most about surfing is the adrenaline you feel. As we put on our sticky wetsuits, lugged our incredibly heavy boards, and sat in a circle to discuss safety, I felt discomfort and mild annoyance – not at anyone, just at the sheer level of exertion at 7am. But as we entered the water, and the waves towered above me, I suddenly became completely absorbed. I was determined not to be dragged away by a rip current or pushed back onto shore. I was also desperate to catch my…
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Creating a home in Sydney
By Kirsty, University of New South Wales – Sydney, Australia Moving to Australia felt like a huge step, moving so far from friends and family, and basically starting my social life from scratch again. However, the anxiety was unnecessary. Once arriving, I moved into a shared room, it seemed very strange to share a room with a stranger, but it was one of the best decisions I made. I immediately felt at home, and got to become close friends with my roommate, and we started hanging out daily, and she helped me get settled in Sydney instantly. Through meeting my housemates, I immediately clicked with them and had a friend…
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3 things that shocked me about Sydney
By Yaryna, University of Sydney – Sydney, Australia Rise and grind Sydney, like the rest of Australia, is extremely health conscious. People here live with their circadian rhythms. Everything opens early and closes early too. There was one distinct situation that highlighted this stark difference to me. I was staying at a hostel on the Gold Coast and couldn’t sleep at all because of a snoring man in the bunk bed next to me. I accepted my losses and left the hostel at 5am to go see the sunrise on the beach. I was shocked to find an open café next to the beach, already bustling with people. After ordering…
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Keeping up with hobbies whilst on exchange in Melbourne
By Amelie Duroux, University of Melbourne, Australia What I hadn’t expected when I moved to Melbourne for my exchange was how much I’d miss the activities I would do every week in Manchester. When you suddenly leave that life behind, there’s nothing making you continue these activities, but I hadn’t realised how much they had contributed to my identity and given me structure in my weekly routine. Luckily for me, I found ways to keep most of these hobbies going, and also start some new ones. For example, in Manchester I went bouldering with my friend every Monday. I was worried that I wouldn’t find anyone who liked climbing in…
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Life at ANU and in Canberra: What to Expect
By Lily Amos, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Coming to ANU as an exchange student, there is quite a lot to get your head around — a new city, a new campus, a new academic system. Here is what I wish someone had told me before I arrived. Courses and Academics ANU runs on a major and minor system, which means that as an exchange student, you may (depending on your course) have a lot more freedom to explore subject areas outside your home degree than you might expect. For me, studying Politics and International Relations, this has been one of the best parts of the whole experience. I’ve…
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Festivals, Events, and Why Canberra Surprised Me
By Lily Amos, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Before I moved to Canberra, my expectations for its social calendar were, honestly, modest. It’s a planned city, a government city, famously described as “a good sheep station ruined” — not exactly the language of a thriving events scene. I was wrong, and I’m glad about it. Canberra turns out to have a genuinely packed festivals calendar, and the city’s layout — all that green open space, that lake, the mountain backdrop — actually makes it a spectacular setting for big outdoor events. Here are the highlights worth knowing about. Canberra Balloon Spectacular Every March, hot air balloons launch over the city…
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All about Melbourne accommodation: where to live whilst studying on exchange
By Amelie Duroux, University of Melbourne, Australia It can be so tricky to know the best place to live at university, especially when you are moving across the world to study abroad. I personally had no idea which accommodation to choose when I was preparing to move over to Melbourne, and ended up choosing the accommodation that the majority of the other University of Manchester students chose. The student living culture at the University of Melbourne is so different to the UK universities, because the majority of Australian students do not move away from home – they continue living at home and commute into university, sometimes with journeys which are…
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Discovering Melbourne coffee and brunch culture and working in a café
By Amelie Duroux, University of Melbourne, Australia One of the most exciting things about moving to Melbourne has been realising you can never get a bad coffee. Good baristas and coffee culture is so distinguished here that every cup you have is of such high quality. Part of the reason I wanted to come to Melbourne was for the brunch culture – I had worked for a couple of years in an Antipodean brunch café in London, which made me want to experience Australian coffee and brunch, and I had said this in my application for my exchange year abroad. Melbourne have claimed to have invented the flat white, which…
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Taking Student Journalism Worldwide: My Experience at The Mancunion vs Woroni
By Lily Amos, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia When I moved from Manchester to Canberra, I knew I was signing up for a new continent, a new university, and a new climate. What I didn’t quite expect was how different student journalism would feel on the other side of the world. This year, I’ve had the very fun, very chaotic experience of taking my student journalism “career” international — from The Mancunion at the University of Manchester to Woroni at the Australian National University. It’s been eye-opening in the best way, and it’s really changed how I think about what student media can be. I’ve spent two years at The Mancunion while studying in Manchester. In…
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Why You Should Join a Society During Your Year Abroad: Friendship, Travel & Greener Choices
By Lydia, Australian National University, Australia Going on a year abroad is an incredible opportunity to explore a new country, experience a different culture, and grow as a person. But if you really want to make the most of it, I’ve found that joining a society is one of the best ways to do so. During my time at the Australian National University (ANU), I joined the competitive cheerleading team, and it completely transformed my experience. Before I joined, I wasn’t sure what to expect as I hadn’t cheered since high school. I thought I’d meet people in classes or at events, but nothing compares to the connections you make…
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Life in Australia’s Cultural Hub
By Arthur, University of Melbourne, Australia. Melbourne is often regarded as the cultural hub of Australia and it didn’t take long for me to see why. From its buzzing cobbled laneways filled with street art and outdoor bars to the sheer diversity of its food and music scenes, Melbourne has so much to offer for anyone looking to indulge in the city’s creative energy. Each suburb has its own distinct culinary identity- Carlton was known locally as ‘little Italy’ and was famous for its Italian restaurants and gelato, the CBD was filled with an incredible mix of Asian cuisine and other areas like Richmond and Footscray offered authentic Asian and…
