Welcome to Sydney, Australia!

Australia is my first experience traveling alone, let alone abroad in a new country. The flight here was an uneventful ten-ish hour direct trip from HNL to SYD through Hawaiian Airlines. From the airport, there's a convenient train that goes directly to Central station, which serves as the primary transportation hub as most trains, metros, light rails, and buses in Sydney stop at Central.

I was very fortunate that I was selected to stay at UTS's dormitory, Yura Mudang. Apparently, there are only 150 allotted beds for ~600 study abroad/exchange students. Getting to the dormitory with all of my luggage was... unexpectedly really easy? There's an accessible-friendly underground passageway, called the Goods Line, that leads directly from Central station to the dormitory. (Note: you will get very familiar with this passageway since going to Central is the best mode of transport.)

Sydney has similar weather to Hawaii, but more polarizing and less temperamental. When it's sunny, there are no clouds in the sky and the sun is roasting you alive. I don't know what is with Australian sun, but it is so intense. You will sunburn even with sunscreen. Thankfully, there is nice breeze throughout the city that helps with the heat. On the rare occasion it's cloudy, there is not a single speck of blue in the sky with a subtle drizzle every now and then.

At Yura, shared apartments are more akin to a flat. I share a common area, kitchen, two toilets, and two showers with five other roommates, but have my own personal bedroom. UTS seems to attempt to organize roommates with a even mix of genders and a variety of disciplines, year in university (mixing undergraduates with postgrads), and origins. As I am actively finding out though, there are a lot of business students and Germans that come to Australia to study/exchange, with half of my dorm fitting this criteria.

One of the first housing events was a welcome bbq. Here, they provided an Aussie classic snack food: sausage and bread. As the name suggests, it's a grilled chicken sausage wrapped with a white sandwich bread. This event was held on Yura's rooftop, which has a wonderful sunset view and cool breeze. Much to my surprise, the sun sets much later in Sydney, typically around like 8:00pm. It makes me lose track of time. :|

I visited Bronte Beach as part of a UTS Housing event. It's slightly off from the well-renown Bondi Beach and supposedly more of a local spot. Coming from Hawaii, a place specifically marketed for their beaches, you can expect that people like myself have high expectations for a beach. The sand was much coarser, the waters had a bunch of algae in it, and the rocks were covered in barnacles (which made me feel a little uncomfortable seeing their little beaks things). However, lifeguards were much more active on the beach, designating a small swim zone with red and yellow flags. Their activity was definitely more active due to the recent shark attacks in Australia, so this isn't really a true representation of their actions. Because culture is also extremely friendly, it is common to just leave your belongings unattended. Still, a lovely place if you feel nostalgic for the beaches back at home.