Well, after around 35 hours of travel, I finally made it to Sydney!

After unpacking, exploring my new city, and of course catching up on some sleep, I wanted to share a bit about where I’ll be staying for the next few months.

I’m living in Ultimo, which is an inner-city suburb, just minutes away from downtown Sydney. Ultimo is home to many of Sydney’s universities, so I’ll be surrounded by other students. In under 15 minutes, I can walk to the University of Sydney, which is the largest university, or “uni” as the Australians say, in New South Wales.

My classes, however, will take place in the CAPA Sydney Center, which is housed in the TAFE NSW Sydney Institute. The building is just across the street and up the hill from where I’m living, so getting to class on time should be easy enough!

My apartment is called Urbanest Sydney Central, and it is one of many student accommodations spread throughout Australia. In fact, there are multiple Urbanest locations in Sydney alone!

So here’s a brief run down of my apartment.

There are 7 other girls living with me this semester. The apartment has 4 bedrooms and bathrooms, so we’re doubling up. We’ve got a full kitchen, complete with two ovens and stovetops, a fridge, a microwave, and a dishwasher.

The common area is pretty sizable and is flooded with natural lighting.

Finally, let me tell you a little about who I’m living with!

Four of the girls are fellow Pitt students, while the other three attend the State University of New York at Oswego, Stonehill College, and the University of Minnesota. We’re all here on the same program, and we’re really looking forward to a culturally immersive and fun-filled semester.

We’ve spent the past few days getting familiar with the city— it’s transportation, it’s food, and it’s beaches— but there’s so much more to learn! Our classes and internships start this week, so we’re certainly nervous but very excited for the road ahead.