Three weeks in and I’m starting to feel more integrated in this new environment. I have already started meeting some new people, whether through classes or social events. Although there hasn’t been any deeper or further interactions, I still love the fact that the people here are generally very welcoming. I find it quite comforting that people are willing to open themselves up to others despite an obvious cultural difference. The most significant part of the week would have to be the welcome party organized by The Pack. While there wasn’t anything to noteworthy happening, it was simply great to be able to just sit down and meet people from different walks of life in such a laidback manner and environment. It does certainly make the most of us feel more at ease with each other.

While it can be difficult at times, it certainly felt great to be able to sort out some free time to socialize. I am glad that I am already picking up the pace in my new university. It is often tough to take the first step forward and I’m glad I did. I believe this is going to contribute a lot to my goal of building a vast social network. After all, social interaction is all about reciprocity and that will not happen if someone does not make the first move.

I believe the work does not stop here. The road ahead is a long one and I would like to believe that I’m ready to take this on. Regardless, it is always important to work on oneself for the world to be able to see you and who you truly are. To be able to present yourself is not an easy skill, but a necessary one. The idea is simple – for others to respect you, you have to prove your worth. In order to achieve all of these, I will keep on improving myself and all aspects as necessary. In due time, I will see to it that I join more events and activities, and to be more involved, meet new people, gain experience and simply, to learn.

Having just arrived in Sydney for no longer than a month, life could be a little hectic while trying to settle in, and it still is. There wasn’t much time to just sit back and relax. From the moment I touched down, I already had to try and get my life straight as university started to kick off. Fortunately enough for me, my brother was here to show me around, allowing myself to adapt faster, despite being thousands of kilometres away from home. First two weeks of the session were pretty disorienting for me as I was waiting for my applications to be processed and there were a lot of back and forth. That said, classes were pretty much as expected and there was nothing significant to be worried about. While hectic, I’m glad that things are starting to settle down for me. 

Despite being in a foreign land, I find this place and its people very welcoming. This is a great sign because it has certainly made adapting into a different culture a lot easier. Personally, there hasn’t been anything that quite challenges my goals or values. However, I do believe that, regardless of what happens, there will always be something to take from them. Therefore, as a step in personal and professional growth, I’m just going to keep my mind and options open, and let things develop as I go along. At the end of the day, experience will always speak for itself.