I was always excited about the idea to go on exchange to the UK. In the end, that did not happen...but I got to go to Sydney instead – and it was more than worth it. The idea of Australia for six month did not really occur to me in the beginning. I ranked it in my exchange application only half-seriously. When it turned out that I was assigned that spot, I have to say I honestly did not know what to do with it. It took me a while to come to terms with Down Under and go for it. I think, what mainly convinced me was that I haven’t been to Australia and was just very curious about it.

The information I got from KI and from the USyd homepage  were sufficient. They are experienced in dealing with exchange students, so the amount of information is more than enough. What basically needs to be taken care of first, is the application to the university. They needed my Master's transcript and the Bachelor's transcript. What caught me a bit offguard was that an official translation of my BSc was required. In general, all documents that are not in English need to be translated. This is something that needs time, so it's good to take that into account. When your paperwork is ok, you will get an offer from USyd that you can then accept and proceed with your preparations. You'll also have to chose courses. I needed to do 10 ECTS in courses and a 15 ECTS project in a lab, so I chose my classes according to that.

There is a vast catalogue available with all classes offered, so you can pick from them. Concerning my project, I basically just mailed to various groups to see whether they had space for me in their lab. Sometimes you have to be patient and try different groups. It will work out in the end. It did for me. When you have a space, inform your exchange coordinator about the lab and the contact details of your supervisor, since they need to confirm your spot.

Something that I didn't know before: If you are on "Research exchange" rather than "Course exchange", you are only eligible to take one class. I only learned that, when I was informed that I needed to drop one class that I was interested in, but did not need for accreditation.

It is very important taking care of your visa! No visa no entry! The application is possible online and incredibly easy. I got my confirmation two days later. Since I needed to read classes at university, I had to apply for a student visa which cost 565 AUD at the time. If you are just going to work on aproject in a lab without attending any Uni courses, it might be worth looking into whether you can apply for a work and travel visa rather than a student visa. The former is cheaper but comes with a different set of obligations.

I applied for a visa that was valid from the beginning of the introduction week. In retrospective, that wasn't a smart call. I recommend to arrive in Sydney one or two weeks before the introduction starts, so you have enough to me to figure out accommodation and get settled (and get over the annoying jet-lag, that I underestimated).

For the first couple of days, I stayed in a cheap hostel at King's Cross. It was a bit dodgy, but not fully booked, so that made up for it. Hostels closer to Uni might be more convenient. Billabong gardes in Newtown or Base at Central station - it's a bit more expensive, though.

The introduction week provides you with lots of information. There are information sessions on housing, living in Sydney, bank accounts etc. You also meet the other exchange students. There will also be a part where you need to attend in order to register for your classes and get the details on how to obtain a student ID. I had no problems with the course I chose and got directly accepted to it. If you are unsure about your classes, you can change them wihting the first month of the term.

During orientation week you have the opportunity to sign up for the Unimates and the Buddy programme. Both are basically mentoring programmes in which local students organise some events. I would recommend to join, you'll get to know loads of new people and can go on some fun trips.

Sydney is costly. However, wages are rather high (or appropriate to the living costs), so if you decide to get a job, it's doable. On a student visa, you're allowed to work 20 h/week during the term and up to 40 h/week during the lecture-free periods. Gumtree.com.au has some offers, and if you think about bartending or waiting it is good to get the RSA (a certificate for Responsible Serving of Alcohol) which most employers will ask for.

Groceries are in general more expensive than in Sweden, but there are stores like Bi-Lo or ALDI where the prices are still reasonable. For fruits and vegetables, I suggest buying them at the market next to Paddy's market.

By now, we have established that Sydney is not cheap. With this come the horrendous rents. In general, a room can be calculated with 180-250 AUD per week. The prices vary from area to area. You might be able to safe some money by sharing a room (120 AUD). A lot of accommodations are available like that.

Nice areas to live in are Newtown and Glebe. Both very close to Uni. Also Darlington, Camperdown and Anndale are just around the corner. You will hear bad things about Redfern (there will be a lot cheap rental offers available) and people will warn you not to move there. However, in the end it is of course up to you.

There is limited accomodation available via USyd. There are various colleges, which are basically student dorms with full board and accordingly expensive (300 AUD per week in shared rooms). There is also the Uni village which is right next to the Camperdown campus. They have shared appartments there (approx. 5 ppl), with not too high rents. However you have a fixed contract for 6 month and additionally you need to apply well in time. I was way too late for these options. So I decided to look for housing after arrival Down Under.

While I stayed in the hostel for the first days, I tried to figure out a place to live. It is most likely the easiest to search for something when you're there, rather than try to get something via the internet from overseas (You'll get scammed). As I said before, this is overall no problem at all, when you arrive in time (In general it is not too hard, since there is a lot of coming and going in Sydney all year round). The pages I checked for accommodation were mainly Gumtree , Flatmates and Domain. I also kept an eye on the university's blackboard, but I was a bit too late for that. It is important to call the people that offer rooms. Do not even start mailing. You can assume that they get tons of eMail and texts, so they will only make you an appointment to see the room when you call them. Also, don't be too hesitant. In the end, I got a place in Newtown. It was amazing. Newtown is a student area with heaps of bars, cheap places with good food and a lot of alternative stores. It is just a great atmosphere and you can easily mingle (or will get mingled with) and meet a lot of cool people (first and foremost locals). I was lucky and got a room on my own in a (more or less) freshly renovated house and shared it with 2 Italians, one Spanish and a Portuguese. It was a bit overpriced but okay for the location, and since I was a bit desperate after 1.5 weeks in a hostel, I just went for it. Another upside was the proximity to university. I could easily walk to classes or the lab within 15 min.

This is something you might want to think about. Public transport tickets are expensive - especially since there are no real student tickets. You get some discount on tickets when you are an exchange student, but if you need the busses and trains on a daily basis, it might add up. 

A sidenote on the busses: If you take the bus, you need to KNOW where you want to get off. The stops are not announced. So try to figure out approximately where you want to go. Also, when you wait at a stop, you need to wave at the busses for them to stop, otherwise they won't. The system works pretty well. Oh, and Australians are quite polite, so say your thanks when you depart from the bus! :-)

USyd offers various libraries and places for studying. You might need them, since you'll be most likely haveing a lot of smaller assignments and group works in your classes. In general they use a lot of alternating teaching methods and the lectures are quite dedicated. The workload is varying greatly between courses.

The only thing USyd might require from you is an TOEFL or IELTS to have proof of your English proficiency. However, if you already studied in English before, that might be enough as well.

It is Sydney, it is Australia...there is HEAPS to do! (And you won't have enough time for it all...)

On campus there are a lot of "Societies" with various focuses (movies, language, art, sports). To become a member of a Society, you need to geth the Access card. The Access card is for students at Sydney Uni. With this you are a member of the student union. You also get several discounts on and off-campus. I got it for the discounts on tickets to events and for cheaper coffee on campus. ;-) It is nowhere compulsory, and I would only recommend it if you plan on become member of societies or heavy shopping at the USyd merchandise shop.
Additionally, USyd campus has amazing sport facilities and you are encouraged to use them. Most likely everything you could only hope for - ball sports, martial arts classes or just plain gym work out. It comes with a price tag though. The membership is much more expensive than compared to F&S at KI, and you might want to choose wisely where you want access to. I played Volleyball for the term I was there. We played in mixed teams, and it got a bit rough sometimes, but it was good fun and a great work out.

There is a lot to do in the city. Sightseeing, partying or just going to the beach. Bondi beach is probably one of the world's most known beaches (also clearly visible by the number of people you can find there during a sunny day). It's good to keep in mind, that there are loads of other beaches in and around Sydney. Along the walk from Bondi to Coogee beach you can find some very pretty places. If you are up to taking the ferry, I strongly recommend Manly beach. Do the ferry ride in any case. The route is past the opera house and harbor bridge and you can take some amazing pictures (especially if the sun is about to rise/set).
There are also heaps of markets in Sydney's suburbs. Personally, Glebe market is my favorite. It is kind of artsy and you can always find cool stuff there. More touristic and expensive but also very nice is The Rocks market. Also keep an eye open for festivals and street fairs. There will be plenty and you have the chance to see some really cool bands, get exotic food and also get a glance at Santa Clause in 42 °C.

After classes ended, I took the last month to travel down the East Coast. Rainforests, coral reefs, koalas and kangaroos. The weather was lousy (there is more rain in Australia than you would expect), but it was worth it anyways. You should definitely scuba dive while in Australia (probably rather on the West Coast than at the Great Reef). Another MUST is SURFING! You see it a lot on postcards...so why not just try it. I did. It was great, though my vision of me being a secret surfing-talent was crushed immediately. It was far from elegant, but in the end, I was able to ride some small waves. :-)

I also went on a road-trip with friends to New Zealand. When you plan a trip to New Zealand, bring a print out of your return ticket on the departure, since they simply won't let you leave Australia with out that (that is connected to visa regulations, since a student visa automatically validates journeys to NZ). NZ is drop dead gorgeous. And if you are into adrenaline sky diving and bungee jumping might just be the thing for you. :-)

Overall, Australia and NZ have vast amounts of traveling destinations, and I missed out on some amazing spots. But I am happy about what I managed to see and know what I have to go back for.

Note: Are there any dangerous animals? Yes, loads. And you'll hear about them at length. You most likely will never see them, but it is always good to NOT ignore the danger signs. They are there for a reason. (If there is a crocodile warning, there IS a crocodile somewhere.)

Also, don't underestimate the Australian winter. Even though it is not going anywhere below zero in Sydney, isolation and central heating somehow do not appeal to Australian building companies which makes the interiors cool down to uncomfortable temperatures. So either invest in a small heating unit or a thick blanket.

The year I went to Australia for exchange, I experienced two winters, two springs, two summers and no autumn. It has been a great time and I would not hesitate a second if I was asked if I wanted to do it again.

Even though it is culturally not that different from Europe, it felt somehow like a completely new lifestyle in Down Under. There was just so much to see and to do.

I am glad I went on this exchanged for all the people I met and the experiences I had.   I am sure it affected my way of life and the way I see things - and ultimately this will help me a lot with my future.

Sydney is definitely a place worth spending some time in. If you have the possibility to go, GO! You can get the best from both sides, the good university and an incredible city!