Back safe and sound to Australia and so so thankful for the amazing twelve months I spent overseas!

University: I have done 10 subjects and 10 exams to complete my year on exchange. University of Malaya is a great uni and after the initial adjustments to classes running on Malay time (min half hour delayed!), dress expectations (modest and well-covered) and the change of pace in the classrooms (minimal discussion, lots of notes), I had a really good year! The campus is so huge and you need buses to get around which is something that is still baffling! The people were super friendly in my classes and partner presentations with the likes of Marcus, Bella and Aisha meant I had some good chats outside of class too! The International Student Centre was so supportive right from the start. Madam Vicky is a great exchange-mum and Madam Azwa was always so helpful and responsive to feedback! The whole team was great and I love how welcoming the centre is when you walk in the door!

KL Life: Living alone was both a challenge and a blessing at different times but after long travels it was always so great to be able to collapse in to my king size bed and feel right at home! I have definitely become spoilt between NCV in Sydney and my own apartment in KL but am thankful to always feel so comfortable! I will miss having a mall just below my apartment and being able to eat any foods I want at any moment - malay, indian, korean, japanese, chinese and everything else! The public transport is so easy in Malaysia and although getting my license is definitely a priority now I'm back in Aus, I have to adjust to not living next to a station where the LRT came every minutes! The weather is not an aspect I will miss - humidity is still not a friend haha! I'm already excited for winter in 2018!!

2017 Goals: I am so glad to have made my 2017 goal of travelling to 17 countries! I am happy to have seen so much and although some were very short trip I have had a good taste of Asia and know what I want to go back and visit! The final list: Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Japan, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea, Bangladesh, Nepal, Laos, Vietnam and Brunei. So glad I was able to spend not much more than I would have at uni in Sydney and be able to have so many great experiences!!

What's Next?? I have one subject left to finish off and I will be done with this second degree. In the short term I will move home for a while and have a bit of a life break - get my license and focus on myself for a while. I miss my Sydney friends and hope I can keep as close to them even though I don't plan on returning permanently! My next trip to Malaysia will be at the end of 2018 for a wedding but as for general travel, I hope to stay put for at least the next little while!!

Thankyou to UNSW, the Australian Government (Centrelink and New Colombo Plan), for everyone abroad who helped make 2017 amazing! Much love to all my friends and family - bring on 2018!!