Post exchange thoughts - Suitcases (well and truly) back in Perth

I'm not the first to say it, and I definitely won't be the last: returning home after living overseas is weird.

While abroad, you have a local cafe, maybe a few dance classes each week, a particular sort of biscuit you're partial to that isn't available in your home country. You know which laundry to go to and how much change you'll need, you know not to go outside with toast because a seagull will steal it, and you know the best nachos are at East Slope bar. You adapt to life in your new country, and pretty soon, it starts to feel like home.

Which is all well and good, until none of those little things matter any more because they're not at your actual home and the memories only serve to remind you of what you're missing. However, it's not all bad: being back in Australia has made me appreciate the life I have here (a river nearby! Cheap public transport! Summer!) while living overseas has made me want to see so much more of both my country and the wider world.

To those who I met while I was away: thank you. You have honestly enriched my life so much and I now cannot imagine who or where I would be if I had not met you all. It's impossible to name you all, but I'll mentioned a few of my travel buddies/ exchange friends: Winnie, Erika, India, Michaela, Kassidy, Celine, Leah, Liz, Jackie, Hillary, Hailey, Grant, Amy and Phil. Thank you so much for making my time at Sussex so much fun. I know I have a little family in you all (and all the other exchange students at Sussex) and the experience would not have been what it was without you. I'm writing this now, almost three months since I saw you all last, and I miss you so much but I cannot wait to be reunited with you one day.

Also, thank you to my family who I spent time with in England: The Queallys (Maureen, Jade, Emma, Michelle and Lisa) and Taryn, thank you for letting me stay with you and showing me around your wonderful towns and cities! I was so happy to meet/ spend more time with you and I will definitely return one day. Thanks to mum and dad for letting my stay with you for a week in France, and Alicia for coming along (as well as meeting me for dinner a few times in London) - I have amazing memories from that week and I'll never forget the endless banter and ice cream.

To the locals who were already there and made Sussex feel like home: Laura, Nora, Rachel, Deanna, the Irish girls (Grace, Aisling, Erin, Clare, Chloe), the Ballroom dancers (especially Amy, Lizzie and Megan), the Swing dancers, my flatmates (especially Alex) and everyone who I met while I was at East Slope bar, in classes, and everywhere in between. You all made my time at Sussex so special, especially because I didn't think I'd meet any Brits at all! Thank you for welcoming me with open arms, showing me around, inviting me to your houses and in general giving me such a fantastic experience. You are some of the kindest, most hospitable people I have met in my life and I will be back to the UK to visit you one day soon!

To everyone back in Perth: thank you for putting up with my relentless Facebook posts, blog spam, photographs and so on. Thank you for asking questions and being (well, at least appearing) interested in my travels, and if you're reading this - thank you for making it to the last post of Suitcases to Sussex! Who would have thought that I would actually see this little project of mine through - I hope you've enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thank you for welcoming me home with open arms and putting up with my constant nostalgia.

Coming back to Perth hasn't been the awful reality hit I thought it would be - it's been a new adventure in its own right and while I don't think I will ever stop missing Sussex and England in general, I have new adventures to look forward to and I know that I will be back.

And because it would have been negligent to leave things without a few Taylor Swift quotations:

"I wish you knew that I'll never forget you as long as I live. I wish you were right here, right now, it's all good... I wish you would".

"We found wonderland, you and I got lost in it and we pretended it could last forever".

"Come back, be here".

And, of course: "Long live the walls we crashed through... I had the time of my life with you".

What an adventure!

Until next time,

Laura

Study abroad: FAQs

How did you afford it?
I worked. A lot. As I had wanted to go on exchange for quite awhile, I started saving very early and worked even harder once my position had been confirmed. I also took our a student loan with the Australian government and won a scholarship from my university. I sold my car (but I didn't end up using as much of that money as I thought). Mum and dad helped me out a bit as well, which was really kind of them.

Did you get homesick?
Nope. Of course I missed my family and friends, but it was very, very prevalent in my mind that I would be returning home after a few months and so it was so important for me to enjoy every second of while I was away. I was mindful that I would be with my loved ones so soon, while I wouldn't get the same opportunity in England again.

What was your favourite place?
I have a few favourites: Stockholm, Edinburgh, Isle of Skye, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Amalfi, Florence. But of course, London and Brighton hold special places in my heart.

Where did you go?!
Quite a few places! I was so lucky! Munich, London, Brighton, Paris, Cambridge, Bath, Prague, Edinburgh, Isle of Skye, Glasgow, Cardiff, Morocco, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Berlin, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Aix en Provence, Waterford, Dublin, Split/ Dubrovnik (and everywhere in between), Milan, Cinque Terre, Florence, Amalfi. Phew!

What do you miss about being away?
I miss the independence and being able to hop over to a different country in the click of a keyboard mouse. It's weird things that I miss - the English chocolates, my bedroom in Brighton and how I only had a suitcase of stuff with me (instead of how much random stuff I have back here in Perth). I miss my grades not counting at uni (ahh, that was wonderful), but most of all I miss the people who I met while I was away.

Would you do it again?
In a heartbeat.

Do you think that you have changed since going away?
I do. I think I have matured in a way, gained confidence and also gained independence. I feel happier, I can cook (marginally) better, I think that I am kinder and I am much more accepting of other cultures.

Is there anything that you would change about your experience?
I wish I had gone over with a little more money - I was able to do almost everything that I wanted but a bit less stress about possibly draining my bank account would have been nice!

Would you recommend studying abroad?
More than anything else. Exchange has been one of the highlights of my life, and the absolute highlight of my university career so far. I have come home feeling completely different, incredibly happy, and much, much better adjusted to being a university student.

Exchange by numbers
Time away: 7 months and 2 days
Time at Sussex: Just short of 5 months
Countries visited: 12 (14 if you don't count the UK as one country)
Amount spent: Let's just. Yep. Not even.
Pairs of jeans torn: 4 (2 from climbing into bunk beds)
Number of times I made my 9am Friday class after getting to bed at 4am after Thursday student nights: 10/11. Not a bad effort if I do say so myself.
Number of friends I made: At least 3.
Photos taken at Stonehenge: 300
Classes studied: 4
Classes passed: Also 4. And the best marks I have received in my university degree so far...with none of them counting for anything!
Overnight bus trips: 2
Plane trips: 15 over my entire time away.
Train trips: too many to count
Number of times I ordered 2kg of spinach, thinking that it was an acceptable amount: Once. It's the kind of mistake you only have to make one time, I think.
Memories made: Millions! And, after looking at my camera, it seems like I photographed the majority of them.

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any other questions about exchange, please feel free to ask me - I will talk your ear off but I'd love to tell you more about Sussex, and I'd really love to help if you've considered studying abroad yourself.

Suitcases From Sussex (?)

All good things must come to an end, and, unfortunately, the time has come for me to leave Sussex.

When I arrived on the 15th of January, I was so excited. I wrote a little note in my phone to open once I had finished:

'I'm writing this on the train from London to Brighton. Just said goodbye to mum and Rachel - it was really sad however once I got on the train, I was so excited. This is where it begins! Six months of excitement, new experiences, wow. I'm hoping that I fit in well and don't kill anyone or myself with my cooking'.

And here I am, five months later, filled with new experiences and adventures, and no: not an ounce of food poisoning.

In all honesty, I didn't think that it would ever end.

The strange thing about exchange is that it is not a holiday, it is not a trip - it is this strange, exciting and wonderful new life that you're thrown into for 6 months and then, just as rapidly, plucked from again. 

So, aside from too many new clothes and souvenirs, I am bringing with me an awakened adventurous spirit, a new found confidence in myself, many memories and, perhaps most importantly, some beautiful friends.

When I go home, I want to continue exploring. I want to see new things, try new foods and explore new places and I can do all of this in Perth. But the focus for now is on Brighton, and what it was: the special place it held in our hearts and the memories that we've wrapped our hands around and held close to our souls.

So, here's to assignments submitted way too close to deadlines.

To new friendships.

To new hobbies.

To travel.

To sunsets over the Sussex Downs.

To fish and chips on the Brighton Pier.

To the murderous seagulls who were far too high on the food chain.

To Taylor Swift singalongs.

To adventures, to new memories, and to the time of my life to date.

The journey is not over for me yet - I still have over a month left overseas and I can't wait to explore Italy and Croatia with the wonderful Brittany. However, the main part of my adventure is over and while I already miss it dearly, I am so grateful for the opportunities I have been given, the people who I have met and the places I have seen.



Bye Sussex, thanks for everything.

Final days in Brighton

While travelling is always so much fun, I was so happy when I got back to Brighton to spend time with my beautiful friends before we headed back off to our separate corners of the world. I was panicked when I only had days left in Brighton. There were so many things I still needed to see and do; so many things I was yet to tick off my bucket list. And then, of course, so many goodbyes I needed to say: to places, to things, but (the hardest), to people.

So, three days left. Day 1: I headed into town with Jackie and Michaela, with the mission to eat everything and see everything.

Stop one was Burger Brothers, the iconic burger shop that was one of those things I kept meaning to do but didn't get around to do doing until I only had a few days left. I went for the chicken burger and it was absolutely delicious. While they weren't the easiest things to eat - by the end of it, I think I had more burger on me than in my mouth - they get a definite 10/10 from me. They are well worth the hype.

We sat in the park eating them, sporadically getting sprayed by the waterfall when the wind changed direction and constantly getting harassed by the seagulls. For all the complaining I have done about them, I will miss my white feathered friends at least a little bit.

That's a lie.

After a walk around our favourite places, we had a smoothie and bought some cake to eat on the beach. We also managed to finally get 'that' iconic Brighton photograph. You'll know the one I'm talking about. 

Thursday was the day eight of us committed to ticking our final Brighton things off our list, starting with tea at the Blackbird tea rooms. Cake, tea and scones for everyone: a truly fitting farewell to our favourite pastime. Discussion centred around our lives post exchange (what even is a post exchange life?), our friendships, the food, and our favourite memories from the past few months.

Side note: aren't my friends gorgeous :)

Our next stop was the Ferris wheel. It was one of those things that we'd always had in the back of our minds as something we'd have to do one day before we left, and all of a sudden it was almost (but not quite) too late. 

I'm not saying we sung Taylor Swift songs in line/ on the wheel...but I'm not saying we didn't, either.

While the locals don't exactly swim often at the beach in Brighton, we decided that it was something we had to do. Well, at least dip our toes in.

The Brighton Pier is as beautiful as it is iconic, and we soaked up the sun (thank you England for giving us such nice weather!) as we treated ourselves to fish and chips. And a little bit of Pimms, of course. It's basically a fruit salad anyway.

Everyone I met on exchange holds an equally special place in my heart, but the wonderful Winnie (above) was my next door neighbour and so we shared a lot of things (filthy kitchens, bathrooms that clogged, helping each other with groceries up four flights of stairs and bread loans) with each other over the five months we could call Sussex home. She made constant smoke alarms (including one where I had literally just put a mud mask on and lay back to relax for 10 minutes...it's okay, I got it off before we went outside), dodgy bathrooms and many a late night so much more fun, and it's not good not having her next door any more (side note: we could talk to each other when our windows were open). 

I spent the afternoon wandering around town, drinking tea and looking at a few shops. It was nice to be able to say a (kind of) goodbye to my little home.

Brighton is so, so beautiful. Looking at this next photo breaks my heart a little bit.

Not as much, however, as saying goodbye to everyone did. That's the next post, and be prepared for a lot of sadness and angst. No one tells you how hard leaving your study abroad home is!

Dublin, Ireland

Coach travel within Ireland was the way that I went around, and so at about 1:30pm on Saturday the 6th, I took the coach from Waterford to Dublin airport, where I met with my two travel buddies for Dublin, Hailey and Hillary who had flown in from London.

After a bus and a walk, we found our accommodation and, I have to say, we were absolutely spoilt. Hailey had found us a fantastic AirBNB that was in walking distance from everything important - the Temple Bar area, Trinity College and food shops. Perfect. In the evening, Hailey and I headed out to a few bars to watch some Irish dancing while Hillary stayed in for the evening - she'd had her last exam that morning and so deserved a bit of chill time.

Our first full day in Dublin was spent on a walking tour, because after not having done one for a week I was having slight withdrawals. While we were waiting for the tour to begin, Hillary, Hailey and I had a look around the parliament building. We returned here in the first few minutes of our walking tour, where we were told of the celebrations that had occurred here a few weeks earlier when gay marriage became legal in Ireland.

Trinity College Dublin was absolutely stunning. Yep, I could live here.

Day 2 brought with it blue skies, quaint villages and the Cliffs of Moher. What an amazing day! We kicked things off in a quaint little village, with just enough time to have a look at the harbour and coloured houses before heading off to an old church and cemetery. 

We had a quick stop at some beautiful cliffs (not quite the Cliffs of Moher but incredibly impressive, none the less) and then stopped at a pub for a traditional Irish lunch. I went with the Irish stew and it was everything a stew should be: thick, warm, delicious...and served with a heaping of bread. Unfortunately I didn't take any photographs of the lunch because I was too busy scoffing down my share, but take my word for it: an Irish stew in Ireland is not one to be missed.

And then it was time for the big finale: The Cliffs of Moher. I know there are too many photos (you should see the other 300 that didn't make it onto this blog post) but can you blame me? The weather was perfect, the company was perfect, the ice cream I accidentally bought and ate was perfect...honestly, the day couldn't have been much prettier. 

On the way home we had a quick stop at a little town that also had a little castle (see below) and I managed to make a little bit of time to grab a quick snack for the bus. You've gotta do what you've gotta do.

While everything we saw was incredible, the tour company (Paddywagon Tours) was not one I'd be recommending. I hate to leave bad reviews, however this tour unfortunately did not gather the highest of praise from any of us. A departure from Dublin ten minutes late than planned put our tour guide in a shocking mood and this did dampen proceedings for the rest of the day as he constantly brought this up. You may also have noticed that there is a lack of information detailing about the stops along the way to the Cliffs: that's because not much information was given. However, awkward grumbles by the tour guide aside, we were able to see so much of Ireland in one day (we basically drove across the whole country) and we had plenty of time to explore the Cliffs. All in all, the day was a good one. 

So, my thoughts on Ireland:

Ireland is so, so close to my heart and I really wish that I had had longer to spend there. Four full days was not enough, however it opened my eyes and mind to the beautiful culture and lovely people that this very unique country contains. While Ireland is not famed for its beautiful weather, we had gorgeous clear skies and the phrase '40 shades of green' was so visible in the many fields and woods that we passed on our travels.

After such a wonderful few days, it was impossible not to add more of Ireland to my bucket list for my future travels. Next time, I want to meet more of my family, see where my Grandma grew up in Monaghan, reach Belfast and travel again to Dublin and Waterford. The people in Ireland are so kind, and with the accents, what's not to love?

Ireland, you were beautiful, but it was back to England for a few days for some sad goodbyes to my newfound lifelong friends.

Next stop: Sussex!