Sydney Life

play guitar for me one day asako!

also, great story about peter. i feel that we are kindred spirits. today i went to uni to revise - did a little bit of reading, fell asleep, went to newtown for lunch, came back to revise and instead took a SECOND nap, and then decided to go for a swim at the vic park pool. ahh... study... how i wish i knew ye better.

P.S. If "S" is for Shambolic, what do the "T" and the "U" stand for?

Ha. You can think of the "U" and "T" if you want, do you have a special word you use to describe situations of pure horror?

Also, where are your napping spots on campus!!!?

Peter tells me the downstairs couches of EA are good, and I have to admit I've tried them.

But today I think I sunk to new lows and had a nap under the access lab computer desk!

eeeeek

4 days left...

Hi!

I have to say, thank you Asako for the posts you have been writing over time about The uni of syd and many various things. It has been really helpful for me.

I was born in Australia, but I moved to Spain when I was 6. This year I will end school and I find myself with 2 strong options:

1. Stay in Madrid and study uni here.

2. Go to Sydney and study uni there.

Each options has its pros and cons, but I have to thank you for making the decision much easier for me.

I just have to ask you one question, maybe easy to answer or maybe very difficult:

Would you recommend the university of Sydney as a whole? Not only because of academics, also because of the people, activities, facilities, "thigns to do", etc?

Once again, thank you for all the useful information. It says a lot about you.

Good luck with everything

Mark

Hi Mark,

Thank you for your kind comment. I am very happy for you that you have made a big decision like moving to Australia to go to uni.

I know its a life changing decision and I wouldn't lie to you - so I'm going to tell you taht I really do love sydney uni.

We have one of the biggest o-week and clubs and societies programs in Australia (maybe even the southern hemisphere). Not that size is everything - but our union strives every day to make our student experience amazing. I dare you to find a student society that doesn't cater your interests..

At sydney you can study an incredibly wide range of subjects amongst beautiful sandstone buildings. Our campus is located one conveniently short busride from the city, and nestled among the suburbs of glebe and newtown which are known for cheap food, diverse bars and interesting shops.

If you are looking for somewhere to live we have lots of options too - lots of people who dont have family in sydney decide to live in college which is on-campus dorm accommodation. I know that the college kids have lots of fun amongst themselves and its a great way to meet people!

We also have an accommodation service to help with other types if you are interested (university owned and subsidides housing, or share housing).

Overall.. there isa lot to enjoy here. The student life is brimming with activity and there is always something free or cheap happening on campus!!! Hope to see you around

Asako

Hello Asako,

Thank you for your quick reply. Where do you get the energy to do everything? Please tell me what you eat, because I really need some of that energy for myself :P

The decision is not made yet (I would be entering next semester or year, so there is still time), but I think that I will go to Sydney and try to enter sydney uni.

You are right, this is a life changing decision. I live in Spain and could perfectly enter university here. Going to Sydney to live and study really means changing my life. Different place to live, different people, different culture... It also means "leaving behind" people that I know and love. So I needed more than just information about whatever course or about the campus.
I needed to know the perspective of someone who has been there, has lived it, and can help me get an idea of how it will "really" will be. Academics are important, but having fun is too.

So thank you (again!! sorry, I must be really annoying) for taking the time and effort of helping me. Your posts and comment have really helped me with it.

The information about accomodation is really useful, thank you (again! >.

Knowing that I will be able to get cheap foods, and easily go tobars and shops is something important. The proximity to the city is something very attractive too.
How is the nightlife there in Sydney? (and among syndey uni students!)

Of course that I am going to university to get a degree but I am interested in having a good time if it's possible ;)

All those societies and activities sound really good, I can't wait to see it for myself :)

And yeah, hope to see you too someday around the campus when I get there ;)

Take care

Mark

Hey Mark,
Thanks again for the comment. I love feedback!

About energy.. I didn't say I did everything at once! In first year at o-week it was VERY tempting to join lots of clubs (who am I kidding... I joined about 11!) but over the years my commitment has faltered.. Anyway I am very happily an active member of two societies now, the wind orchestra, and the psychology students society.

You will definitely have it easy with the Aus citizenship and relatives to live with. Can I suggest though that if you decide to come to sydney, to wait until the March semester? The campus is such a buzz at o week and its really nice getting to know fellow first year students when youre all newbies!

Lots of faculties run orientation separate to the union o-week (eg camps, transition days) where you can get to know the other first years or be buddied with an older year person.

The nightlife in sydney is great.. there really is something for everyone! We have 2 bars on campus so and we have lots of gigs, parties, and society events, but we're also near lots of other nightlife spots (CBD, kings cross, oxford street...)

Anyway speaking of that energy I could use some now.. I'm taking a quick break from packing. I have to be on a plane in about 7 hours and I havent finished my bag!!! I'm going to Japan for a quick holiday before semester 1 starts... yay!

Good luck with your final year in spain. Hey, if you miss your friends you could do an exchange semester somewhere in Europe and pop over to visit them..!

So anyway we have talked a lot about student life..and I do agree that uni is more than just getting a degree, but have you thought about what you want to study?

Hey! Thank you for incredibly quick response!

本当にありがとう Asako
Have fun in Japan! I would like to visit Japan someday in the future.

I think I know a little bit what you mean when you tell me that you first joined lots of groups. Those kind of things happen to me a lot, at first I feel so excited and finally I end up being very lazy and not doing many of the things I first planned to do. I will try to hold myself if I finally go to the uni of Sydney ;) I guess I will maybe end up "failing myself" with this in the future and join many groups as you did hehe

Thanks for the advice about entering in the March semester. I think you are right and it probably is the best idea. Besides, I can use the free time between the end of school here and the start of uni in Australia to maybe go to Japan to study some Japanese for like a month or 2 (have been wanting to do it for a long time!), and also brushing up my English before entering the uni (my English got rusty after all these years in Spain! I've been here most of my life!).

You don't know HOW relieved I am to hear that nightlife in sydney is great... In Madrid nightlife is pretty good, so I was a bit worried about going to Sydney just to discover that there is no interesting thing to do at night and no "party" you know? I mean, I heard the nightlife was good, but I really didn't hear it directly from someone who had been there and knew it for sure. It's not that I spend all day long hanging around and partying, but you know, I like going out at night, drinking with friends, etc.

Exactly! I was thinking that it would be a more fulfilling experience for me if I went to study the degree in Sydney and come back to Europe for a semester or something to visit my friends, rather than doing the opposit, staying here to study and visiting Australia for 1 semester specially since I have a place to stay in Sydney and no problems with visa, which makes it much easier.

So far, Areas of study that interest me are Commerce-business, law and arts. I have been checking the usyd webpage for information and the cutoff mark for commerce is pretty high. I don't know how will they do to "convert" my Spanish marks into UAI, but although it's not impossible, I don't think that I will get enough marks for getting into commerce, or the double degrees such as commerce-law and commerce-arts. However, that is fine for me, since I have become very interested in studying something related to arts, like a Bachelor in international and global studies. These kind of studies are a bit rare in Spain, and although I don't know how many options they give you for finding a job in the future and those kind of things, what I can study through it interests me a lot, which is the most important thing. For example, I have seen I can get a major in International business through it, which is interesting. Japanese studies also interest me although I don't think I will follow that path. But that bachelor or the things related really looks interesting for me. However, I cannot find how much UAI they ask for that bachelor.

Of course, I am a total ignorant about these things (I don't live in Australia, I don't study there, I haven't been orientated for choosing a degree there...) and if I am wrong about something, or you want to clarify or tell me something about these studies, I will appreciate it a lot.

Ganbatte with your packing!

Oh and since you like feedback, I have to admit that even though I have violently devoured many of your posts in this blog, I almost didn't pass by to say anything in the comments section. I am glad that in the end I did it :) And I am sure that with them, you have helped a lot of people, including me.

Mark

You are HILARIOUS Asako. Love your work. Hope Peter is being more productive this stuvac. I am, clearly, procrasinating by reading Sydney Uni blog.