For our CEA CAPA program here, our faculty is amazing in finding and securing housing for us prior to when we arrive, which makes the whole process for us a lot easier. We are in student housing apartments right by Darling Harbour in Sydney, which is a fantastic place to be! We are only a 20 minute transit ride from downtown and right next to Chinatown which offers so many great places to eat. All of the museums in Sydney are super close as well and all free to go to! Our whole program is students from America and we are all put into groups of 8 to live in a 4 bedroom, 4 bathroom apartment. The apartment is very nice and offers a large living space and kitchen. The kitchen is laid out so we all have our own labeled cabinets and shelves in the fridge. There are two sinks, two stoves, two refrigerators, two ovens, and enough seating for us to all sit at the large kitchen counter. This is really great for me because I love to cook, especially for my friends, so I’ve already had the opportunity to cook meals for all of us in our nice spacious kitchen. 

The biggest challenge with this home has definitely been just making it feel like “home”. I would definitely consider my apartment in Pittsburgh home, but it’s in a city I’ve been living in for over two years and full of all my belongings. Obviously coming here I was very limited in what I could bring. Between that, being in a completely new place, and being with completely new people, it has been a little bit hard to feel totally “at home” in my new home. Despite this, it is a very nice place to live in and am definitely glad that I get to stay here for my time in Sydney. 

Knowing that everyone else in my apartment is also in the same position as me helps, as well. None of us knew each other prior to coming here and none of us have been in Sydney before. To be able to move across the globe without knowing anyone to a brand new place definitely takes a certain kind of person, so we all are similar in that way, too. Taking all of these things into consideration, it makes sense why it has been so easy for all of us to get along well. My roommates are definitely becoming some of my closest friends here and I can see myself staying friends with them far past this program.