Australasia
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Travelling Alone for the First Time
Kara Dillon – University of Otago Whether you are a frequent traveller or never travelled before, flying or travelling alone can be a daunting experience. Before making my way across the world to begin my adventure here in Dunedin, New Zealand, I had never flown anywhere by myself. So, the initial thought of spending almost 40 hours travelling and navigating my way through three international airports, seemed almost impossible to me – especially as someone who usually relies on their family to lead the way on every holiday! Despite my fears and apprehensions, I did in fact make it all the way to New Zealand. Reflecting on my journey, it…
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Why it is (sometimes) good to worry your parents: a case for solo travelling
By Meg Luddington, University of Sydney, Australia A decision to study abroad is usually enough to give your parents grey hair or encourage an already unhealthy relationship with the Find My iPhone app. That is before you even mention the idea of travelling alone either side of the study period at your new uni. But here is why you should do it anyway!
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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…
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Saying goodbye to Sydney :( some final recommendations and realities
By Logan Tilley, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia It has taken me a couple of months to get around to writing my final blog about Sydney as it just doesn’t seem real that it isn’t my home anymore. I remember seeing these goodbye blogs when I was excited to leave for my year abroad not too long ago and I didn’t think too hard about it as it was so far away. But, one of the realities of such an incredible experience to study abroad is that time does feel like it flies by quickly. Days are filled with new and exciting things to do and see and…
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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…
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A summer spent in New Zealand pt.2
By Maja Peach, University of Auckland, New Zealand Hello! I have decided to centre this blog around the rest of my summer experiences during my Nov-March break in New Zealand. In my last blog I wrote about my first workaway and roadtrip around the South Island. This blog will pick up from Christmas Eve where I started my solo adventures and began another workaway on my own.
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Why you should visit Esperance, WA
By Emma Pitcher, University of Western Australia Perth, Australia Some of the best beaches in Australia are in WA, and Esperance is home to a few of them. In the south-west of WA, Esperance is a fairly isolated coastal town, about 8 hours drive from Perth. In Semester 2 of my year abroad, I spent my break in Esperance. With a couple of friends, we drove straight there and stayed at a friend’s who lived there. If you drive straight there, you can make a quick stop at Wave Rock in Hyden: The drive there is pretty chill, it is quite a rural part of WA so you get to…
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The Exchange Comedown : Navigating Reverse Culture Shock
By Nina Vincent, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia Why Coming Home After Exchange Was Harder Than Leaving If you’ve found yourself on Manchester on the Road, I suspect you’re either deciding whether or not to do a year abroad, or maybe you’ve already been allocated your destination and are looking for more info before you leave. If this is you, I’m sure you’ve already come across loads of information preparing you for all the ways things will be different in your exchange country — culturally, academically, and socially. Living in a completely different place with a different history and culture… your way of life inevitably changes too. It’s great to be…
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How I spent my Summer Holidays in Australia
By Emma Pitcher, University of Western Australia Perth, Australia The best part of doing your year abroad in Australia is that you get an extra long break between semesters! Aussie summer holidays are over Christmas time so this gives you plenty of time to travel. Popular destinations included the east coast of Aus, New Zealand, and SE Asia as you’re so close. From Perth especially, it’s a shorter flight to Bali or Singapore than it is to Sydney. At the end of my first semester, I went to Kuala Lumpur and Bali, with a stopover in Jakarta, and then to Singapore where I spent Christmas. KL is a great city…
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East Coast Australia with My Adventure Project (MAP)
By Emma Pitcher, University of Western Australia Perth, Australia In my summer holidays in Australia, I decided to use MAP to travel the east coast. You’ll find that there are so many different options for travel agencies but I recommend that you consider budget, the itinerary, and reviews. Some tours offer guided tours (you’re in a group with a tour guide the whole time), which is more expensive. This might be ideal if you are solo and particularly nervous about travelling alone. Personally, I don’t consider a tour guide necessary which is one of the reasons I chose MAP. It has group tours that usually run cheaper than most “guided”…
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Academic Life at UWA
By Emma Pitcher, University of Western Australia Perth, Australia Compared to the University of Manchester, UWA is pretty similar in terms of academic life. You pick 4 units per semester. As an international student, you have to submit your unit choices to have them approved (choose units related to your degree and that have prerequisites you have). Make sure to discuss with your academic advisor as to what level units you should be picking. Each semester I chose two level 3 units, one level 2 unit, and one level 1 unit. My level 1 unit I treated as my “elective”, aka I did an intro level unit on anything that…
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Souvenirs from Sydney: Lessons from a Year Abroad
By Valentina Calcagni, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia About a year ago, I was anxiously scrolling through this very blog page looking for advice on being in Australia for a year – or perhaps something to convince me that signing up to leaving the continent was in fact a good idea. I remember coming across one blog post in particular. It was written by a girl looking back on her time in Sydney, which was coming to an end. In every photo, she was smiling; every other sentence, a classic blog-post line— “it’s gone so fast,” “it’s been the best year of my life.” As I read through her adventures,…
