I’m currently packing my bags before leaving Sydney. As bittersweet as it is, this packing process is giving me a lot of time to reflect on my semester in Sydney and appreciate how awesome my time here has been. Whether it was enjoying sun and waves at the beautiful Bondi Beach, having wonderful conversations with locals, or simply enjoying a relaxing walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens, my semester abroad in Sydney was nothing short of extraordinary. In the hopes of helping a future GW student studying in Sydney have an even better experience, I’d like to share my top 3 reflections/tips:
Skip All the Lectures (at UNSW at Least)*
Yup. I said it. Outside of maybe the first lecture of the term, it’s a better use of your time to explore than to go to lectures in person. Alongside that, I also found that I could learn better using UNSW's lecture recording system rather than by attending the 2-hour in-person lectures. UNSW sets up all lecture halls with recording equipment and makes lecture recordings available from after the end of class until the end of the term. This makes it incredibly easy to watch lectures whenever you have downtime, and even better, at your own pace. I cannot overstate how helpful it was to my learning and attentiveness to be able to pause a lecture or set it to 2x speed. Just make sure your lecturers aren’t among the few who opt out of the recording system, and you’re good to go. Oh, and of course, don’t skip labs or workshop sessions; those are mandatory!
*Take advantage of the tools & resources available BUT please still go to class!
Join All The Group Chats
Most of the activities I did during my semester in Australia were planned on 30+ person group chats. Despite the chaos and constant notifications, I’m so glad that was the case. Being connected to so many people meant that no matter how far into the semester I got, there were always new faces from all over the world and no shortage of outings to join. When it came to actually finding the group chats, I found the most success by making plans with one person and asking them if they knew anyone else who’d want to join. Either we’d make a new group chat, or they would add me to one with others who might be interested!
Through all these group chats, I was able to go on backpacking trips, dress up for an afternoon of horse races, and even at the end of the term, partake in a massive potluck where we all made a dish from our home country/culture. That last one ended up being one of my favorite (and most delicious) memories of my whole semester abroad!
Make a Day (Or Half-Day) of It!
Giving myself the freedom to spend a whole afternoon or day exploring a new part of Sydney made those outings so much more rewarding. Rather than trying to work my way through an itinerary of places I wanted to see, I found it a lot more fun to pick a single destination and then mold the rest of the day around it.
A great example of this is when I turned a simple grocery run into a full afternoon adventure. Instead of just heading to the store, I took the bus way past my usual stop, all the way to the Harbour Bridge. From there, I walked across the bridge and back, taking in panoramic views of Sydney, and then continued for another hour to the Sydney Fish Market. I explored the stalls, enjoyed some delicious sushi, and walked a different route back to downtown Sydney to finally buy those groceries. But the day wasn’t over. By the time I finished shopping, it was almost sunset, so I grabbed a baguette and some cheese from a nearby bakery and watched the sun go down from the Sydney Observatory lawn.
Sydney’s incredible public transport makes integrating this mindset seamless, as you can venture far out without much effort. Along with that, it was easy to take that extra time by leveraging the ability to skip lectures that were in the way. And even on days when I was tired from coursework or had absolutely nothing planned, getting up for a random afternoon photo walk or intentionally taking the long way across the city got me moving and exploring. Inevitably, letting myself wander allowed me to discover sights and experience moments I would have otherwise completely missed. And, when pairing these spontaneous adventures with friends from the group chats, they can end up becoming some incredibly fun trips. And, ultimately, it's those kinds of spontaneous outings that made my time in Sydney, well, mine.
Shahriar Dhedhi
Spring 2026
GW Exchange - University of New South Wales (Sydney)
School of Engineering & Applied Sciences
Mechanical Engineering Major