Exchange Student Blog post number 6! (UQ Abroad website)

I present to you…*drumroll*…the List of Random Things I Have Learned On Exchange, part II! At this point I need to thank my dear friend Simone for the inspiration for this list. She gave me a little journal as a goodbye present when I left for Australia, to write down what I’ve learned and with the goal of me somehow becoming a normal, functioning grown-up during my exchange;-). I am working hard to not disappoint her when I return home (haha not really. I am totally going to see Lion King in 3D at the movies tomorrow…and I’m excited about this like a 5 year-old.). So here goes:

I have learned that…

…it is possible to go to bed at midnight and sleep until 4pm

…if you then wake up and confusedly drink coffee on the front porch, your host family’s friends that are invited for a dinner you didn’t know about, might rock up in just that moment

…in Australia, it is socially acceptable to join you host parents’ dinner party while wearing your pyjamas

…it is also acceptable to then have multiple glasses of champagne (you know, as a substantial breakfast after 14hrs of sleep!) and get happily drunk with everyone else on the table and make friends in the process

…my host dad should be on Masterchef

…you can probably save about a bazillion dollars by not having lunch in the UQ food court (yeah…only took me like 3 months to notice that, wow I’m fast!). Instead, I now cook dinner every night and take the left overs to uni. That probably sounds normal to most people but to the people who know me: I’m not even kidding you. Cooking! With, like, pans and stuff. And for the most part, it’s edible (and no instant soup is involved)

…making awesome travel plans for after the exams is really motivating (In theory. In reality it just means I spend more time procrastinating by looking at different flights, hostels, bushwalks, you name it!). We’re going to go to Sydney (hopefully we’ll have time to go hike in the Blue Mountains) and Melbourne, hence my money-saving attempts mentioned above

…if you’re going on exchange: TAKE EASY COURSES if you can, it makes your life a lot more relaxed and you can actually get good grades without putting in too much effort (if they count for your home degree, that’s a WIN:-)

…to be continued…

xoxo Manuela