Sunshine, Snorkeling & Sisterhood: My Semester Abroad in Sydney

By: Laura Erdmann

Hi everyone! My name is Laura, and I am a junior at Purdue University studying construction management with a minor in advanced global technology. I chose to study in Sydney at UNSW this semester because they had classes in construction management, and I really wanted to compare and contrast my field of study here versus in the United States! I also really wanted to live in warm weather and be by a body of water, and my expectations have been more than met with what I’ve experienced here so far. 

I arrived in Sydney in early January and have been going non-stop since then! I took a 2-week online Greek Mythology course the first couple of weeks I was here, and that allowed me to have a bunch of free time before the first term started to go and travel! I went on a 12-day trip to New Zealand and Cairns with some of my roommates and friends from school the third week we were here and we had so much fun!

We started off our trip in Auckland, New Zealand, and stayed there for 5 full days. In that time, we explored the harbour area, went to the lavender fields, took a ferry to Devonport and went on hikes around there, went to Waiheke Island for a wine tour, and went to a bunch of surrounding beaches!

After our time in New Zealand, we took a flight straight to Cairns, where we spent 3 full days. Our first full day there we hiked 8 miles around the Kuranda Rainforest and saw Barron Falls! It was such an incredible experience to see all of the nature and animals there. The next two days we went on a 2-day snorkeling tour where we saw the Great Barrier Reef and Fitzroy Island! This may have been the coolest thing I’ve done in my time abroad so far. We were able to see so many different types of corals and animals down there, including sharks, jellyfish, turtles, stingrays, and so many multi-colored fish!

A few weeks later, a few of my other roommates and friends I made here travelled to Tasmania! We started our trip in Launceston (pronounced Lawn-cess-ston for some reason?), where we went to a music festival called “Party in the Paddock”, where we saw King Stingray, Amyl and the Sniffers, and saw Empire of the Sun headline! It was probably one of the best music festivals/concerts I have ever been to. The people there were so kind and outgoing, we talked to so many Tassies about their experiences living there. We only stayed in Launceston one full day, then took a bus to Hobart! In Hobart, we went to the Botanical Gardens, hiked Mount Wellington to the very top (saw a baby wallaby!), and explored the harbour area. 

I am so lucky to have gone on so many fun trips, but the highlight of my entire trip is exploring the area around where we live. Sydney is one of the most diverse cities I’ve ever been to, and there is always somewhere to go, somewhere to explore, food to try, coffee to drink, and beaches to swim at. I’m already two and a half months through my time here, and I have an extensive list of places I still want to try. It is also so easy to get around Sydney because of its incredible public transportation. You can take the bus, light rail, or train anywhere in a 2-hour radius. 

Even though studying abroad can seem like it’s always go-go-go, the simple, quiet moments can also be some of the most fun. I am fortunate enough to have 6 incredible roommates who feel like the missing pieces to my heart sometimes. I don’t know how I have lived without every single one of them until coming here. CIEE did an incredible job matching us all up, and I could not be more thankful. I know that I have best friends for life, and we are already planning our trips to visit each other next year. We have our weekly White Lotus Mondays, Sunday dinners, and even just sitting together in the morning, drinking our coffee, is fun with them. I could not be more thankful to have found my favorite people ever, and I am already heartbroken to not live with them in just a few weeks now. We are already planning our reunion in the fall, and I know in my heart that we will keep in touch for years after this experience.

Thank you CIEE, thank you Australia, and thank you to my friends for making this the best 5 months of my life. I will have the fondest memories to look back at for decades to come. 

EXPLORE SYDNEY