Well… I meant to do a 1 month update, but clearly that never happened, so here’s a two month update instead.
Image of yellow lichen on the bark of a tree in Gardiners Creek Trail. It was part of an assignment for my Digital Photography class.
Gosh! I can’t believe it’s already been a little over two months since I first stepped foot in Australia. In that time, I have gone through all kinds of challenges, emotions, and new experiences.
Homesickness
The biggest worry I had about living abroad was managing homesickness. I’ve always been a bit of a homebody, even going to school in Sarasota, just six hours from home, made me feel anxious at first. And that was with my two brothers and best friend also at the same school. Here I have no support system, other than calling my friends and family on the phone, which isn’t always possible because of the time difference. Therefore, I am somewhat thankful the homesickness didn’t hit me as hard as I expected during the first few weeks. But, that doesn’t mean I didn’t feel it. There are days when I wonder if I made the right choice to study abroad, or whether it was a fully thought out plan and not something that was spontaneous. I’ve come to discover this feeling as what’s often referred to as the “slump” period in homesickness, where you begin to doubt everything after the initial excitement passes over. Despite that, I’m grateful to have taken this opportunity to get myself out of my comfort zone. Sometimes in life, a little nudge can open up a whole new world of possibilities.
Personal Growth so far
I think I’ve become more socially confident compared to a few months ago. While I still call my family and friends a lot (especially whenever I use public transit) for moral support, I’ve been able to navigate some of Melbourne’s busiest and most crowded areas on my own, which honestly feels like a major accomplishment. Of course, I still make silly mistakes, mostly with buses, like waiting at the bus stop on the wrong side of the road (still haven’t gotten used to the fact that people drive on the left) or letting the bus I need to get on pass me because I confused the route number with another. Then I end up waiting 30 to 60 minutes for the next one (depends on how popular the route is). As I’ve grown more confident exploring places by myself, I’ve also gained lots of experience in my cooking.
My cooking skills prior to Australia were probably average, but after having to buy all the kitchen tools and ingredients, I feel that I’ve become a mini personal chef to myself. I do wish my host university had some kind of cafeteria or meal plan. That said, I’ve managed to cook up some pretty delicious meals (which I’ll probably dive more into in a separate blog post at some point), like stir-fry Lo mein, pasta, and curry. Having that freedom to be able to spend your money on whatever ingredients or products you want is both exciting and slightly terrifying. During the first month, I was pretty conservative with my spending, making sure I didn’t blow it all on unnecessary purchases. But once I grew accustomed to the cost of living here in Melbourne, I allowed myself to splurge a little, *cough booking trips around Australia cough*.
Room for Improvement
The one thing I do wish I could improve on is making more friends. As cliché as it sounds, I haven’t met as many people as I wanted. I’m aware a part of it is my fault for not getting myself out there and taking the initiative to meet new people. That’s not to say I haven’t made any friends. I’ve become pretty close with Amélie, another student in my study abroad program. We’ve been making the most of our short time here, from baking cookies to impromptu sleepovers. She’s become my go-to buddy for just about everything. It’s been interesting to watch how the people I met from the program during the first week have all split into several different groups. Some stayed together, while others connected with fellow exchange students from other countries. I feel that at this point in my study abroad journey it’s a little late to find some other friends since most of the exchange people have already found their cliques, but who knows.
The Traveling Jade 
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