Piece of advice for all of those considering studying abroad: Save up way more than you think. Like, seriously, work away the entire summer before you go because before you know it your savings account will be completely obliterated and you’ll be eating oatmeal for every meal of the day.
Let’s just say I may have spent a little more money on cocktails and fancy vegan meals than I probably should have my first month here. There are so many cute little bars and restaurants in Sydney though — it’s so hard to resist!
Not to fear, however!
After finally bringing myself to the career center at my uni, I managed to create a pretty good resume — in my opinion at least — and got myself a job!!
I’ve been going to this one vegan cafe in Glebe, a suburb of Sydney, for about a month now. It’s been a new tradition of mine to go to Glebe markets every Saturday for some thrifty finds and then running across the street to Real Grounded for my vegan specialty coffee fix. Considering I spent too much money and time there anyways, I ended up dropping off my resume and cover letter.
I dropped off my resume on Tuesday and since then (six days later) I’ve already managed to get an interview, a trial and ended up working 17 hours! So essentially, I moved to Sydney to become a waitress at a vegan cafe — and I couldn’t be more content 🙂
I’ve been putting off getting a job here because I didn’t want to miss out on fun travel opportunities. Luckily for me there’s a 20 hour per week work restriction on my student visa so I should be able to work just enough to support my impulsive travel urges. Now Thailand and New Zealand seem like a reality and I don’t need to get anxiety over paying for the train or buying coffee before class.
Also, working here makes me feel like a local. I live here, work here and go to school here. I even opened up an Australian bank account … like, how local can I get?
I look forward to continue working here and being able to fund my future trips! More Vegan waitress updates to come!
Reut Golan is a marketing major. She is studying at the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia for a full semester.
The global experience, as told by SDSU students 
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