My Life in Sydney

I have been living and working in Sydney for six weeks now, with just under two weeks left at my internship and then another week of travel before returning to the US. The study abroad program I am participating in here is really interesting because I am not only taking classes, but also interning at the apparel design company Romance Was Born. The main class I am taking here, Intercultural Communication has been really interesting and has helped me with my internship more than I expected. So far in class we have discussed linguistics, the history of the Australian dialect and concepts relating to the study of culture. We even had a theater dialect coach come in one day to teach us how to correctly fake an Aussie accent!

At my internship I have been working right alongside the designers. I have been getting patterns ready for production as well as working with sample-making and some in house production. Despite the success of RWB, they still operate out of a one room studio, meaning that I have learned about all aspects of running an apparel design company. No doubt I will continue to learn new things even up through my last day here.

And even with all of the work and study, I have also had time to enjoy the city. There are beaches everywhere, markets on Saturdays and plenty of free music shows. Sydney offers all the perks of a big city, with the friendly feeling and ease of getting around that you would expect in a town like West Lafayette. Speaking of the Laf… as much as I love Sydney, I can’t wait to start another year at Purdue!

-Alysha