My year down under

A few weeks from now I leave the wonderful land of Aus’.  The land of kangaroos, Bundaberg Rum and koalas!

Getting there

Getting to Australia was a completely new experience for me; it was the first time I was going away on my own.  Within 26 hours I was in Australia, but it was a few days before I went out to see the land down under.

My first thought after arriving in Australia was: “Wow it’s hot”, and that was in the peak of winter.  Finding my way around Brisbane’s City Centre (or CBD as the Australians like to call it), I was bombarded with a lot of information: the scenery, the people, the customs, everything!

Starting University

This was rather frustrating at first and also worrying.  Here I was having to find my way around campus, attending lectures, doing work, etc.  I couldn’t even find half my classes the first few weeks!  As time passed I realised that my work load was a lot more constant than back home, every class giving out assignments, mid semester tests, along side the final exam.

First semester was an eye opener for me, it was the time where I was learning about Australia, and I learnt a lot.

Summer

I have only ever felt such heat before once in my life.  Australian summer is hot, VERY hot.  For a person like me coming from summers in the 20-25C range, to go to summers in the 35-40C range was almost painful – it was very wet though.

I visited Melbourne and stayed with a friend I knew.  Melbourne is a glorious city, as is Brisbane, and my time roaming about the city was very good.

My sister also came over and we visited the surrounding area of Brisbane: Mouth Cootha, Fraser Island, Surfers Paradise, and most of Brisbane.  She took away a lot of photos but I took away an experience of a lifetime.

University again

My second semester at university was a lot easier.  I knew the customs, I knew my way around and I was pretty prepared for the workload.  Little did I know that the workload would be larger then my first semester.  Right now – which is the last week of the semester – I am neck deep in assignments and projects for classes.  I have two presentations to give and two reports to finish in the next week.

Looking back

I am glad I came to Australia and will be encouraging people to study abroad like I did.  I have had my ups and downs in Australia but I still would have come if I knew what was going to happen.  To me it’s been the ultimate test for me: to see if I can thrive in a completely alien environment, and I can say it has been successful.

The Future

Like all things, they must pass.  In the next 3 weeks I’ll be flying back to the UK and starting placement work.  Luckily I was able to secure a Software Development placement for Thales, which will take up most of my (British) summer before I start back at university again.

So after a year I have come full circle.  A year on my own, fending for myself, has taught me a lot and shown me a lot.  Coming to Australia has given me lots of experience, and will hopefully help me in the future.  However, I am slightly homesick, while I will miss Australia I miss home also.

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