Sydney Life

As exams finish, first semester comes to a close and the holidays begin, I wonder why, with my parents still in Europe, I am still sitting here. Is it because I have nothing better to do? Am I in shock that my first semester of university is over? Are my legs broken?

No.

No dear readers. My legs are fine, if not a little hairy. I sit here still because of my undying desire to tell all of you about my first semester at the University of Sydney, so that you might know a little of what to expect before you get here yourself. I say “might” because to be honest, I haven’t exactly been here that long.

So here are five things you should know about Sydney before your first semester.

There are certain things that come with the status of being a student. Coffee, iPods, lectures, Facebook, clubs and societies, moving out, getting a job and yet still being poor, just to name a few. There’s also study and exams. And with study and exams, comes procrastination. Ever wondered how people just not procrastinate and actually manage to get things done? (these are a rare breed indeed at uni) Ever aspired to such a level? Well, I have, and now you can too.

As a fledgling uni student, you quickly become accustomed to the plethora of costs and expenditures associated with this new phase in your life. Also, one is often faced with the situation where one’s parents, in all their infinite wisdom, have decided that it is time for you to extend your horizons, challenge yourself, and start paying for all your own stuff! Greaaaat, we say.

I took this snap outside the White House when I visited Washington D.C. earlier this month. I have always had a secret desire to be like C.J. Cregg from the West Wing, so I am thinking of taking him on, becoming his press secretary and creating a Rags to Riches legend with which even Barack Obama could not contend.

So, I finally got the magic letter.
The letter I’d been waiting and waiting for.
The letter *drum roll* was to say that I was officially going on exchange to the University of Ottawa, Canada, next semester!

Given the recent weather of "mega precipitation", once again I have had to re-teach myself how to expertly manoeuvre myself around uni through the (seemingly) never ending barrage of rain. Picture this: my umbrella was rapidly buckling under the weight of the constant rain and the high winds, so in spite of having an umbrella I'm sure I ended up more wet that I would have without one. Also, my shoes were canvas AND had holes in them - which has taught me that canvas shoes, although trendy as, are not the best kind of shoe to wear in wet weather.

Everyone will have to combat rain at uni at one point or another. Whether it's a freak storm, seven days of non-stop rain or just a sun-shower, here are some handy tips to survive uni in the rain!

AS we dance our merry way into that delightfully disturbing period described as the ‘End of Semester Examinations’, I’d like to devote this delicious diatribe to something, anything that doesn’t involved diastereomerism.

Try as I might, however, the method for turning ethanoic acids into acetic anhydride, the formation of polysaccharides, not to mention the redox reactions of some strangely obscure functional group, all seem to keep coming back to haunt me as I try to sleep at night. ‘OoOoOoO JOHN. We’re the friendly yet somehow threatening nylon (pentamethylene diamine and sebacic acid derivative) Sheep of the Great Chemistry Apocalypse…

Which leads me, as you undoubtedly expected, to the experience of studying Science at Sydney Uni.

Herein are my tips on coffee around campus. If the availability of good coffee and snack-holes near campus is important to you, Sydney Uni is the place to go. Quick Disclaimer: only one of these places are actually on campus. There are other places, like the USU-run coffee carts, but they aren’t renowned for their culinary standards. They are more about getting snack-food for studying, like Pods. Pods ....

Apologies firstly for the low word count of this blog. I have exams coming up, the stress of which renders me incapable of pretty much everything - including studying for exams.
Secondly, it has recently come to my attention that an alarming number of people aren't releasing the full potential of their calculators. I have a trick, taught to me at the tender and impressionable age of 7, that will make you and your CASIO the talk of the town.

Given the previous blog you would probably be surprised that I actually have time to write blogs at all. I am surprised I have time to write blogs. In fact, I should be in a pre-exam fit right now, but procrastination is a calming ailment. So here it is, the second-half of my long, long days on campus