I made it! I (temporarily) moved to study abroad in Australia! I arrived in Sydney on Tuesday, February 12 and have been nonstop since landing. I am staying in Glebe, a trendy, residential neighborhood outside of Sydney’s Central Business District. My roommates and I share a two-floor apartment with a balcony and are within walking distance to Darling Harbor – not a bad place to be for the next five months!
Day 1: Orientation in Sydney
My first day was a whirlwind. While fighting off jet lag I had to buy a sim card, grocery shop, and unpack. After all this, we somehow managed to rally for dinner out in Darling Harbor. My first legal drink and sunset experience Down Under was something I’ll never forget.
Day 2: Free Day in Sydney
Day two was a free day so we decided to make the most out of it and hit the beach. Watching Aussie surfers crush the waves , followed by swimming in the famous Iceberg pools at Bondi was so surreal. These experiences, paired with my first Aussie açaí bowl, were definitely “someone pinch me” moments.
Day 3: Orientation in Sydney
We had orientation pretty much all day Thursday and Friday. I got to tour both of the campuses where I have class – ACU North Sydney and ACU Stratfield – and meet students from all around the world. On Thursday night we danced the night away at Ivy, a popular, four-story club (with a rooftop pool!!).
Day 4: Orientation in Sydney
On Friday, we participated in an “Amazing Race” all around Sydney that oriented us to study abroad in Australia in the best way. We participated in challenges such as the “Tim Tam Slam” where we had to eat Tim Tams covered in Vegemite (ew), and perform dances in front of the Opera House.
Day 5: Traveling from Sydney to the Blue Mountains
On Saturday morning we left for a school-sponsored trip to the Blue Mountains! We took a bus about two hours outside of the city and began our trip at Echo Point Lookout to view the famous Three Sisters. We also took a guided tour of the Jenolan Caves. The tour lasted 1.5 hours and covered so much ground! We walked deep through narrow passages and stopped in large chambers to learn about the cave’s history.
In the afternoon, we saw a waterfall and drove to a field to see wild kangaroos! There were over ten of them just lying in the grass, waiting for us to feed them our trail mix! On Saturday night we stayed at a youth hostel in Katoomba, a quaint backpackers town.
Day 6: Blue Mountains, NSW
On Sunday, we did two hikes, or “bush walks”, through a rainforest down to a waterfall. We had a picnic lunch in front of a lake and stopped at Featherdale Wildlife Park on the way home to see and feed native animals. The weekend of study abroad in Australia was full of adventure and beautiful scenery!
Day 7: Study Abroad in Australia Orientation
On Monday, we had our Global Experiences internship orientation and spent the afternoon at another one of Sydney’s beaches. We got Bare Naked Acai bowls (SO GOOD) and swam in the rough waters of Manly beach. We stayed at Manly until sunset and ended our day with cocktails and burgers on the beach.
Day 8: Off to Fiji!
Tuesday morning I woke up at 3 am to head to Sydney International Airport to fly with seven other friends to Nadi, Fiji. We don’t start classes or our internships until February 25, so we’re hitting paradise for the next six days!
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