Preparation time

G'day mates!

In three weeks I will finally be on a plane to Sydney, Australia! I say finally because I have been preparing for this day since November last year. Deadlines for applications to UCU, UU and Macquarie University have been strict, but have they been as timely in their responses? That question I unfortunately have to answer with no. All universities involved have been unproffesional, uninformed and unhelpful. I don't even have my final confirmation yet, which I need to get my visa. Does this stress me out? Yes of course, but no where near as much as it stresses my mom out. I am always the optimist, or perhaps naivist (if that's even a word), believing that in the end everything will work out. It has to right?

At the moment, even though it is so close, my exchange still seems like a distant and abstract idea. Yes, I'm going to Australia, but no I have no idea what I am going to do once I get there, or even where I am going to stay. I will arrive in Sydney on 13th Jan, after spending a few days in Singapore, and my term doesn't start until 25th Feb. More than a month of blissful nothingness, following the wind wherever it may take me, meeting new people, seeing new places. This is so not like me, I am the planner, I always know where I am going, what I am doing and how I am going to do it. As exciting as all of this freedom is, it is also a little nerve racking for me since it is the first time I'm leaving everything to chance like this.

As much as I am looking forward in anticipation, excitement and nervousness, I am of course sad about leaving all of my friends and family. Most will be left at home, in either England or Holland, but plenty of others will be going on trips of their own. To those of you also going on exchange I wish you the best of luck, fun, excitement and adventure and I want to hear all of your stories via blogs, skype or whatever other wonderful modern inventions can help us. And to those of you staying at home, I will need lots of fabulous stories so that I won't miss home too much.

Well, this is all I can really blog about for now, since I'm still at home, but I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I will get back to blogging after I return from my wonderful christmas holiday in the alps, and hopefully I will be able to report that I am in possesion of a visa and able to go on this wonderful trip that I have barely planned yet!

Love,
Nicole