Gaspar Sanchez

November 2008 Update

My first semester is over, I had my final exams over the last two weeks, and now I’m waiting for my final results, which I will be telling you about on the December’s letter.  Overall, I think this first semester was about getting used to many things here in Australia, first getting to know the city,  establishing in a place to live, and also getting used to the University, which is very different from the educational system in Mexico.    I think it was a great experience, and I’m really looking forward to next year.   Now we have three months of vacations,  I’m planning to work most of the time, and if I have the opportunity and financial capacity,  I will be travelling around Australia.

Last week I had the opportunity to go to the Rugby World League,  I saw the game between Australia vs. Fiji,  most of the people in the stadium were from Fiji. Australia won pretty easily by 52 points.  It was a great game, I was amassed of how the people behave in the stadium, they are pretty quiet,  and everything is very good organized and in place.  When Mexico is playing against other teams, people get really passionate it’s a very different environment.   Now, after four months I’m really planning to know Sydney and other places near here, which I will be telling you all about in the next months. 

October 2008 Update

Hi there everyone, it’s incredible how fast this semester is passing by,  this is my last week of lectures at UNSW,  I have three more weeks of final exams, and I’m done with the first semester.  It’s been a great experience,  getting used to the Australian educational system, and also to being in contact with many different cultures, knowing people from India, Pakistan, Vietnam, Taiwan, China,  Indonesia and many others.  It has been a great cultural lesson, and I know there will be a lot more to come.

Well, this month happen to be a very special one because I turned 26 years old, some friends and I celebrated at the Beach Palace Hotel in Coogee, we had a great time, it’s hard to be away from home, but it was a good experience celebrating my birthday in Australia.

I haven’t had much chance to travel around the city because of school assignments.  Last weekend I went to the International car show in Darling Harbor,  there were many worldwide car manufacturers,  it’s hard to see this kind of events back in Mexico, so it was a good experience.  We also went to The Rocks in Darling Harbor,  there’s a market place every Sunday, where they sale aboriginal accessories, and there is authentic aboriginal food.

It’s been a great experience so far, I’m looking forward for November, I hope the weather gets warmer in order to be able to experience many outdoor activities. 

September 2008 Update

September has gone pretty Fast, a lot of assignments to do for University, and many mid-terms exams.  One of the things I have noticed from the academic perspective is that teachers at my Faculty are aware that many students are from overseas, and really help them out with any language difficulties they have.  One of the biggest events this month was the celebration of the Mexican Independence day, it was a good chance to meet people from all over Mexico who are living in Sydney.   I wasn’t aware that there are many people all over the Mexican republic living here, some of them are studying but many others are working.

I also had the opportunity to assist to Sydney stadium for a soccer game between Sydney and Adelaide, there were about 15,000 people, and soccer is getting popular in Australia.  The weather is changing, summer is coming, some friends and I went to Coogee beach, lots of people playing volleyball and families playing together on the beach, really nice environment.

Now that October comes the semester is almost over, there are going to be many final exams and assignments at the end,  I’ll be studying a lot during this month and the next one, looking forward to it.

August 2008 Update

School started in July 28 at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), I’m doing a Master Degree in Engineering Science,   this was my first experience in an international university as a student, the educational level is pretty good, Professors are highly qualified, it is amazing how many students come from South East Asia to study a master degree in Australia, most of my classmates are international.  UNSW is recognized as the university with the larger quantity of international students in Australia.  It is going to be a challenge academically speaking, there is a lot of studying to be done, but I’m really looking forward to it.

Living in Sydney has been a great adventure although it is really expensive; there are a lot of places to see.  I went to Manly Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in Sydney, even though the weather was not suitable to get into the water many people were surfing, there are several surfing shops across the street, and many restaurants and shopping to do as well.  I also had the chance to go and see a Rugby game,  the Wallabies versus the All Blacks at the Olympic Stadium,  really fascinating experience, I didn’t know Rugby was so popular here,  sixty thousand people were at the stadium.

Now comes September,  and I’m excited because as you all may know,  the Mexican Independence day is coming,  and we have to celebrate.   Hopefully I would have the chance to meet more people and learn about their culture and customs.  So far, it has been a great ride.