By Megan Hitchcock (University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia).
So since I last wrote I had to go to New Zealand unexpectedly, but other than that nothing too exciting has happened. As over here it’s the end of their academic year we had end of semester exams. I found it hard to get my head around the concept that I actually had to sit exams when it was 35 degrees + outside and the beach was calling!
College suddenly became a lot quieter as people settled down to work and I found that revising wasn’t so bad after all! I’m doing aspects of psychology I really enjoy out here and am finding the content really interesting, which really helped when revising. Some days I took my revision down to Matilda Bay, next to the famous Swan River in Perth, which was lovely – very different to revising in rainy Manchester! I found the exams easier than I expected, even though I’ve modules from faculties outside of psychology, so had to get used to a different style of writing.
As a revision break, I signed up to do the Perth Neon Run – essentially a fun 5km run dressed in bright colours, with DJs playing and a party afterwards. For someone that never runs normally at all, I was impressed that I managed to get around the 5km, but for the friends I was with 5km was a walk in the park so I definitely had to make sure I kept up!
As I was unlucky enough to have my last exam at the very end of exam period, the last week of revision had to be combined with packing up my room. As in college here it’s their big summer holiday so everyone (even internationals) have to move out of their rooms, even if (as I am), you are coming back next semester. Many would think that this would be a simple process as I’m an international student; I came on a plane so I can’t have that much stuff right? Wrong. Very wrong. After numerous hours of sorting through my stuff I managed to divide everything into three piles – one lot that I don’t want at all over the three month holiday which went into storage at college, another that I might want to access over the holiday whilst I’m in Perth, that went to my cousin’s who lives in Perth, and the third pile which is currently with me on the plane to Sydney. So after a LOT of sorting (I definitely do NOT know how to pack lightly!) I am beginning my three-month adventure with a trip to Sydney! It definitely feels like a holiday away from a holiday, but what I have in store for the next three months is definitely going to be pretty epic. First stop Sydney for a week, and I’ll keep you updated on what I get up to next!