Cora Funk | Fall 2024
Hello again everyone! On August 19, when UT begins the Fall 2024 Semester, I will be heading into my 6th week of the semester here in Sydney, Australia! It is really strange to be on such a different schedule than everyone back home. Not only am I “ahead” in the school year, but it is winter time and I am 15 hours ahead of my family in Nashville, TN. So you may be wondering, how have I adjusted to life in Australia? Today I am going to share how I have acclimated to life in Sydney and hopefully provide you with some useful information about how to approach living 9,000 miles away from home.
Adapting to the Environment
Before arriving in Sydney, my brother warned me that Sydney can get quite cold at night and that most houses/apartments do not have central heat. Unfortunately, I did not take him too seriously because I had never pictured Sydney as being a cold place. Let me just say, I found out the hard way that Sydney can get cold. The first night I was here, the temperature got down to around 38°F and without central heating, it got pretty pretty cold inside. And oh yeah, I only had one small blanket! But you live and you learn, and the next day I trekked to the store to get a space heater, which has been one of my best purchases here in Sydney. So please do not be like me – make sure to do your due diligence on investigating the weather at the place you will be traveling to.
Incorporating Routines
I am a creature of habit and when I arrived in Sydney I knew that I needed to incorporate some of my old routines into my new life in Sydney, but also create some new ones. Through this, I was able to feel more at home, despite being so far away from Nashville. With my routines, I was also able to decrease my level of homesickness and ensure that I kept my health and wellbeing a top priority.
First, I make sure to go on a run everyday. My runs here in Sydney have been amazing! On my runs in the US, I see birds and an occasional squirrel or chipmunk, but here, I see lorikeets, kookaburras, masked lapwings, cockatoos and much more! Most days the weather is perfect for running, so it has been amazing to incorporate this routine into my life here in Sydney.
Another thing I do every week is go to church. My faith is a really important part of my life and so I make it a priority to grow deeper in my faith, even while being away from home. Not only do I get to strengthen my faith, but I also get to build community with members of the parish I attend. Now, a routine that I have picked up is taking public transportation. Sydney has a great public transportation system, composed of buses, subways, trains, light rail and ferries. Before coming to Sydney, I had taken public transportation in some US cities, but by no means was an expert. But now that I rely on public transportation, I am getting the hang of it! As I said before, make sure to incorporate some routines from home into your life abroad because that will make the transition feel more comfortable, but also be willing to try new things!
Adjusting to Academic Differences
And lastly, I would like to talk about my transition to school in Sydney, Australia. The format of school is quite different from UT. Instead of going to the same class multiple times a week, as we do at UT, there are different types of classes you attend each week at Macquarie. Most classes have online lectures that you complete on your own time, and in addition, there are practical classes (lab-type classes), tutorials (discussion-based classes) and Small Group Teaching Activities (practice with the material from the lecture). As far as tests go, many of my classes have bi-weekly tests/quizzes, which is pretty similar to UT. I have definitely had to adjust to the different types of classes, but I have to remind myself that anything new requires an adjustment period.
I hope that everyone has a great start of the Fall 2024 semester and I will be excited to keep you posted on my Australian adventures in my next blog!