It has been exactly 24 days since I tried to fit my entire life in my 50-liter backpack, said goodbye to my family (and, more importantly, cats) and got on a plane that took me from Groningen to the other side of the world. And let me tell you – these have been the 24 most eventful days of my life.

I started my journey by flying with two other UCG students (who will be studying in Sydney) to Singapore, where we had one day to explore the city before heading off to Sydney. In Singapore, we visited the beautiful vertical gardens, ate local delicacies and went to the beach – a perfect way to spend our last summer day before heading to Australian winter.

After Singapore, we flew to Sydney, where we spent about 4 days exploring the city. In Sydney we met with another friend of ours, and the four of us later flew out to Tasmania – which is an island below the mainland of Australia. Here, we rented a car and road tripped the east coast, which absolutely blew me away with its beautiful nature and scenery.

For me personally, the highlight of this trip was our day trip to Maria Island, which is a small island next to the east coast of Tasmania. We explored the island by mountain bike, and even though it was cold and rainy, this was, in my option, the best way to explore. We saw stunning nature, but also a lot of animals such as wombats, kangaroos, and wallabies.

After 10 days in Tasmania, I flew to Canberra – my new home city for the upcoming 5 months, where I will be studying at the Australian National University (ANU). In Canberra I live on campus, in a student flat which I share with 500 other students. Coming here I was a little scared that it would be difficult to meet new people, but the university has since my arrival organised multiple social events, both for exchange students only and for both exchange and ANU students. This has given me the opportunity to not only meet people who are going through the same thing as I am, but also to meet people who have already been living here for a while and who can show me what this city has to offer! The university-wide introduction week will start next week, which is also when my classes officially begin. It feels a little weird going back to school so soon without having had a proper summer break – but honestly my courses all sound so interesting that I don’t even mind!

Even though I have only been in this city for a week, I can already say that I have absolutely no regrets towards choosing to do a semester abroad. Even though there are times where I miss my life in Groningen, my friends, and my family, and it can be daunting to think that I will have to be here for another 5 months, I have already met so many new people and done so many new and exciting things, and I am sure that in 5 months I will leave this place so much richer – not only in knowledge, but also in friends, memories, and experiences.

I can’t wait to see what this place has in store for me!

Anna-Lotte Reitsma – Third-year UCG student