It took 18 hours, 3 airports, 2 airplanes, 6 movies, 4 hours of sleep, and thousands of miles to get me back to Minneapolis. One week ago today, I returned from the 3 greatest months I have ever had, and it has been a week of adjustments. Changes of note include: The biggest thing was readjusting to Minnesota time, which took about 5 days. Being awake until 5 a.m. is never a great time, but it was reassuring to see all my Australia friends logged on to their Facebooks in [...]

The day that I really never actually thought would come is now here – my last day in Australia. The major success of my departure is this: After being in basically a permanent panic attack about packing for the past week, I did it! Assuming my suitcases aren’t overweight, I will be able to bring my entire closet back to America – in addition to so many souvenirs and excessive amounts of Tim Tams (of course I only learned they had jumbo packs on my second to last day here). [...]

My birthday was a few weeks ago, and to celebrate some friends and I went to the Beijing Aquarium. At the aquarium we saw tons of different kinds of fish, jellyfish, sharks, sting rays, sea turtles, sea lions, dolphins, and beluga whales. After the aquarium we went to a really great Chinese restaurant for dinner. One of my friends even made a pie! Needless to say it was a great day! Beluga whale being fed Mammal show Table 1 Maple almond pecan pie!

This finally feels like the end. Last night, everyone in the program got together for a final group dinner at Doytao Thai restaurant in Newtown. When we walked in, we were given a Post-It that I don’t even remember writing that listed my 3 goals for my time in Australia, as of the day after my arrival. Mine read:   1. Climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge 2. Go to the Great Barrier Reef 3. Try and learn to surf   ….and, I was 1 for 3. But I’m not upset [...]

The bucket list, 3 months after having originally written it: 1. Take a picture with a kangaroo and/or koala 2. Climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge 3. Go to a show (or at least take a tour) at the Sydney Opera House 4. Visit the Great Barrier Reef 5. Become a master of Australian slang or, even better, develop an accent! 6. Explore the Australian Outback 7. Avoid seeing any spiders the size of a dinner plate 8. Go skydiving [Dear family - pretend you didn't read that one :)] 9. Spend excessive [...]

I have lived an absolutely incredible three months in Sydney, Australia. I was looking through my old pictures today and remembering all the different things I’ve done since arriving here, and the beginning of the trip seems like a million years ago. I’ve decided to post a little highlight reel, featuring my favorite moments of my time abroad: 10. Camel riding – I mean, it’s just kind of a cool thing to say I did. 9. Blue Mountains hike – When we all really got to know each other for the [...]

This weekend marked my last full weekend in Sydney, as next Sunday I will be spending my day in the airport and over the ocean. While I wish I could say it was a crazy last weekend full of good stories, I must admit that it was not. The end of the semester here is just like the end of the semester back home. Even if I got to relax the other 12 weeks, finals week never fails to stress me out. Even though two of my finals were last [...]

It’s crazy how many things can change in three months. Was it really just January that I was crying at the airport before going to sit at the gate by myself and wait for my journey across the world to begin? And is it really only ten days until I’ll be at the airport again, but this time with all the friends I’ve made? I remember first walking in to our apartment – big and completely clean and empty. It didn’t feel like a place that was going to be [...]

In early February my parents came to Beijing for two weeks to visit and go sightseeing. During the first week we visited Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, and the Lama Temple. Reunited! Campus in winter Forbidden City Great Wall at Badaling   The following Sunday was Chinese New Year, the country’s most celebrated holiday. Also known as Spring Festival, Chinese New Year is a traditional holiday based on the lunar calendar, so the exact date changes from year to year. My good friend [...]

The past 3 days, Julie and I have been enjoying a wonderfully long weekend in Melbourne. We knew we had to take one more trip before the semester was over, and Melbourne was on both of our lists. We had a great time exploring the city and relaxing but, as with Cairns, I once again confirmed that I made the right choice by studying abroad in Sydney. While both of the other cities I’ve visited have been great, there is no where else in Australia that I think I could [...]

The title of this post is based on two things: 1. It’s almost time for me to fly to Melbourne 2. It’s almost time to head back home Melbourne is obviously the more immediate flight – Julie and I take-off at 6 a.m. tomorrow morning to ensure we can spend 3 full days there. Our taxi is picking us up at 4:30, and we are feeling pretty proud of ourselves for figuring out our flights, transportation, hostel, and activities while we’re there. We’re also looking forward to the Melbourne weather [...]

As my time in Sydney starts to come to a close, I’ve continued to learn more every day. However, I’ve found that as time goes on, I find myself needing to learn less about the country and instead discovering more about myself. I haven’t written down my new knowledge in a while, so I thought I’d post it to remind myself one day of everything I’ve accomplished on this trip: 1. I have accepted that I do, in fact, have an accent. As Minnesotans, I think we always argue that [...]

Last night, seven of us went out to eat to celebrate Tim’s 21st birthday. We went to The Orient Hotel in The Rocks and had a great dinner. [Fun fact: any place that ends in "hotel" here is actually a pub]. It was decided that we all wanted to try and surprise Tim with cake when we got back to the apartments. We split up all over the place, and Julie and I went to the grocery store to get cakes. We successfully gathered everyone in the apartment and got [...]

Sorry for the title, all of you back in Minnesota, but I had a wonderful weekend of sunshine. [I feel for you, I really do, and I'm so glad I'm not experiencing snow and tropical 30 degree weather right now.] If it makes you feel any better, I spent the first gorgeous day, all day Saturday, in the library. And by all day, I really do mean all day. I hadn’t done too much of that this summer, and it reminded me what real college life is like. I’m pretty [...]

Another Tuesday, another adventure around Sydney! Julie and I have kind of made it our mission to explore as much of the city as we can every Tuesday, and today was no exception. She finished class super early, so we had planned to go and visit Luna Park, an amusement park we see every time we go over the bridge or walk around Circular Quay.    I will not lie, this is the most terrifying entrance to an amusement park that I have ever seen. Not entirely sure why we feel [...]