Chris and I decided to move to Sydney so that I could obtain my Master's degree in Speech Pathology. No, this is not the typical path for newlyweds from South Carolina but then again normal would be boring. There are many challenges involved in moving abroad sorting visas, airfare, finding a place to store the stuff accumulated back home and find a place to live in our new destination (much more difficult than anticipated). I studied abroad in Melbourne during my undergraduate program in 2007 and fell in love with Australia. I loved the laid back chill factor most of the people lived by, hopping on a tram and being greeted with a "G'day, how ya going," life at uni was great and getting lost in various cities, or the middle of no where in New Zealand completely surrounded by sheep, was exhilarating to say the least. These memories and the love for travel Chris and I share, motivated my return to Australia. However, this time there are a number of significant differences. Then I was in an undergraduate program taking mostly dance classes (my second major in college), the American dollar was much stronger than the $AU, and I was not a broke newlywed.
Though it is different from before it has offered new opportunities, it was a bit of a shock to the system to go from living in Ghana to the cost of living in Sydney (absolutely ridiculous!). Life in Sydney has certainly been an adventure so far, even on a budget we always manage to find something to do even if its just wondering around the city. One new experience was Christmas on Bondi Beach (since seasons are opposite here).
We do miss little things from home like American biscuits, and Southern Barbecue (our favorite is Roger's BBQ in Florence, SC) the price of food and drink in general
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| A True Buttermilk Biscuit (in AU biscuit means cookie) |
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| Typical meal from Roger's BBQ |
and more importantly our family and Trevi (our dog now with Chris's parents).
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| Me and Trevi |
My program at the University of Sydney is 2 years. I have successfully completed my first semester which consisted of a great deal of stress, reading and reviewing more peer reviewed journal articles than I even knew existed and complex case study projects. Hope its worth it!
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| Proof that I did my homework! |
Chris and I decided to move to Sydney so that I could obtain my Master's degree in Speech Pathology. No, this is not the typical path for newlyweds from South Carolina but then again normal would be boring. There are many challenges involved in moving abroad sorting visas, airfare, finding a place to store the stuff accumulated back home and find a place to live in our new destination (much more difficult than anticipated). I studied abroad in Melbourne during my undergraduate program in 2007 and fell in love with Australia. I loved the laid back chill factor most of the people lived by, hopping on a tram and being greeted with a "G'day, how ya going," life at uni was great and getting lost in various cities, or the middle of no where in New Zealand completely surrounded by sheep, was exhilarating to say the least. These memories and the love for travel Chris and I share, motivated my return to Australia. However, this time there are a number of significant differences. Then I was in an undergraduate program taking mostly dance classes (my second major in college), the American dollar was much stronger than the $AU, and I was not a broke newlywed.
We miss you! I know you two are having such an amazing adventure, but I can't wait to see you again! :)
ReplyDeleteJillian