Season Swap

Some would say they’d like to trade winter for summer. Arriving in Sydney, Australia in August I have found that I made the less popular decision to trade summer for winter. Well—only for a bit, and not such a brutal one at least. I am studying abroad through the University of Sydney from August to December; September onward is supposed to be going into spring and summer here in Australia, so I do not have to endure so much of their said “winter” here. I am originally from Boston, Massachusetts, and the winters there resemble scenes from the ice age in my opinion. Piles of snow stacked up in mountains for plowed roads and negative temperatures is what can be expected in the infamously fickle New England weather. Here in Australia, winters get nowhere near a scene from the ice age.

The way I have gotten to know Sydney so far and settle in has definitely been altered by the cold weather. I have attended my first week of classes, and also signed up for some clubs. I wanted to sign up for surfing club and some other outdoor clubs, which are very available in the winter. However, I was too put off of them due to the colder weather. Picturing myself getting into the cold water at Bondi beach (about an hour from Newtown where University of Sydney is located around) does not seem ideal to me until it warms up a bit. So instead of surfing club, I somehow found myself signing up for a break dancing club called “Soulxpress” at the University. It is an indoor activity which I have never done in my life, but thanks to the winter I guess I am also trying something new somehow.

The cold weather has also altered my laundry patterns. I have been very conveniently located in housing on campus right next to a laundromat, which makes it easier for me carry down my laundry. However, I find myself doing excessive laundry due to all the layers I have been in the cold weather. In the summer I wear a lot less clothing, and re-wear it sometimes, which makes for less frequent washes. I am glad in a way, however I needed to go to the laundromat quickly upon arrival…it was somehow perfect timing to meet some good friends I’ve made here so far.

Opening the door from the laundromat I meet warmer temperatures than outside, along with a heavy bass pounding from a speaker sitting next to a girl grinning and sitting on top of a laundry machine flipping through her stack of interior design magazines while she waits for her laundry. The second the song changes, she immediately puts down what she’s reading and gets up and starts dancing. No interactions exchanged, and I start dancing too…and in a weird way, we haven’t really stopped dancing since. Basically, I ended up making one of my closest friends here yet in a laundromat; never thought I'd say this, but....thanks, winter.