I made it! I’m finally in Sydney and settling in. There’s something exciting about being in a new place–anyone can tell you that. I’ve found, however, that my favorite excitement comes when I move somewhere, rather than go to a place for vacation. I love knowing that I’ll have time to find a favorite coffee shop, a favorite trivia night, and a special secluded area where I can get my studying done. The buzz of picking up your whole life is tempered by the un-rushed feeling of regular living.
I have been fortunate enough to have Northeastern let me study abroad twice, which means I’ve been able to experience my favorite feeling several times. I wanted to be abroad again because I want to take every chance my school will give me to experience new areas, and hopefully still do some academic learning in the process.
Speaking of academics, I am nervous about the classes I’m taking this semester, they seem very difficult and I’m worried I won’t be able to balance exploring Australia with maintaining my academic performance. All of my roommates have at least one day a week off from classes–two of them only have two days a week–but I have multiple classes each day, and a lab or tutorial every day as well. It’ll definitely be interesting to see how well I handle all the stress as the semester continues.
Last night my roommates and I came together and talked about all the different places we want to visit while we’re here, and ways to make them cheapest. When I studied in Amsterdam, and when I’m in Boston, I was disappointed by how few places I got to see outside of the city I was in. My goal for my time here is to not leave with that disappointment. I want to wander around Melbourne and go diving at the Great Barrier Reef (before it dies) and see the Great Ocean Road. I know that I’m the kind of person to get really wrapped up in schoolwork, but I don’t want that to get in the way of my adventuring. I think making a physical list will help focus my travels, it’ll keep me from forgetting what I want to do.
Over the past two weeks, I keep getting hit by the realization that I live in this beautiful place. I keep annoying the people I’m with by forcing them to stop doing something and look at the view, or listen to me be in awe of something that just happened. I am so excited to become familiar with this city and this country and this culture. Hopefully I’ll come out of this a little wiser, a little more adventurous, and a filled with a lot more wonder for the world.
