It’s cliche to say, but the holidays really are my favorite time of year.
Many of you are probably still eating leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. I would ask you to save me some, but I’m not sure they’ll make it to next month (let alone next week). Now that Thanksgiving is over, Christmas lights and decorations will finally be making an appearance in parks and shops back in the states! Spoiler alert. They’ve been up since the beginning of November here in the U.K. I know, crazy talk!
Being abroad is a constant adventure. Every day, I learn or experience something new about European culture.
One of the biggest cultural differences I’m experiencing is school. I often get asked what school is like in America. People ask me loads (look at me using some British vocab) of questions about my experiences in high school. Did you have a prom king and queen? What were football games like? How was your class schedule?
I really had no idea how different school was in Europe.
Proper pub food should be enjoyed from a pub! That’s what my British friend told me when I mentioned that I absolutely needed to try every traditional British meal during my time here. I’d like to think I live a pretty healthy and active lifestyle, so going out to eat is not something I do often. However, this is definitely as much of a need as a want.
Though the skies aren’t as sunny as San Diego, the U.K. is certainly a beautiful place. There’s a lot I can say about my first couple weeks abroad, but I thought I’d share a few of my first impressions.
One of the best things about studying at University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) was the 10-week semester. While all my friends in San Diego still were still studying for finals, I was finished with my semester and ready to travel home. At this point I had a few options, I could go home a few months early and twiddle my thumbs or I could take a detour and travel through Vietnam. I picked the latter.
Four hours after my last final exam I was on a Tiger Air flight straight to Melbourne (pronounced Mel-Bin)! I heard a lot of negative things before making the trip, ranging from “You only need two days to see everything” to “Aww the weather is crap.” In my opinion Melbourne might even be better than Sydney depending on what you are searching for!
You will find many amazing places and things to do around Sydney, these are my favorite!
Surfers Paradise doesn’t sound like a bad place to visit when you need a break from busy Sydney, am I right? Unfortunately, I didn’t get to surf because of strong winds, but I still made the best of my two-and-a-half day excursion to the Gold Coast.
If you’re studying in Australia, you get two “stu-vac” (study vacation) weeks. One week off mid-semester and another week off right before finals. Sadly, nobody really studies during these periods and travels instead. In no way, shape, or form am I condoning travel during these times. However if you do have some free time and find yourself in Indonesia here are some must-dos!
Alright maybe not barreled, but I did stand up on a surf board for the first time ever!
The global experience, as told by SDSU students 