Hello hello from Sydney!
It’s now the thick of the semester; you’re starting to know your way around the streets, leave core memories in small corners and folds of the city, and feel the rhythm of each week as steadily as your own pulse. Yes, the food is phenomenal and everywhere. Yes, there are fireworks every Saturday at 9pm in the harbour. No, I haven’t woken up to spiders in the fruitbowl or snakes in the toilet.
Although I’ve tried my best to avoid measuring out how much of my exchange is left, I know that somewhere, a couple paces ago, I stepped over the halfway mark. The last couple of months has been the most wonderful blur of unexpected conversations with strangers and new friends, swims and walks, autumn colours… and my list of places to explore and things to try is still ever as long and beckoning! One of my favourite things about Sydney is that the summer season tails out really long (though it’s fair to say that we’re transitioning into the cooler months now). This is perfect if you’re into spending time in the bush and along the coast – even in late April there are occasional surprises of balmy days with a high of 27℃.
Having two days out of the working week free of classes has been a big help – this gives you freedom to scoot around the city on days off, and comes in clutch as study-focused days when the semester starts to get hectic (and if your free day occurs on a Monday or Friday, well congratulations because now every week has a long weekend). Course enrolment works a little bit differently at USYD in that class time slots don’t operate on a first-come-first-served basis… this means no more struggling to get into the portal at 7am with the same panic of trying to buy concert tickets! Instead, you simply log on anytime while timetable preferences are open, rank your time slot preferences for each course, and everyone gets allocated at the end of the period. You’ll still get allocated even if you missed your chance logging in; it’ll just be completely random. So there’s a slight hint of chance involved in the course enrolment process, but I would highly recommend spending some time here so that the rest of your semester feels streamlined and forgiving.
On that note, my assignments are calling – three out of the four courses I am taking this semester are coursework-only, with assignments consisting almost entirely of essays. I can already hear some of you groaning, but (speaking as a conjoint Arts student) I’ve really enjoyed the types of writing my assignments are challenging me to, as well as a lack of examination-style time pressure so that I can craft works I am proud of.
Give your body a stretch and take a big breath. Until we meet again!
What a pleasure to read and have a taste of second-hand experience overseas. Thank you for sharing your academic journey. I’m even beginning dreaming my own!