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
Sunday, 6 September 2015
Saturday, 5 September 2015
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.
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.
Bye Sussex, thanks for everything.
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