3rd time's the charm: magnetic Sydney
Fabian Zaja
Product / Industrial Design
HTW Berlin (Germany)
Instagram: @fabian.zaja Studying at UTS means you got lucky. I feel very fortunate to be here. Finally back in beautiful Australia. As you might guessed by the headline, that is not my first time here (and certainly not the last). After my first classic work and travel year, I already knew this is the place to be. That was 10 years ago. The second time I got to travel OZ was almost 4 years ago during a year-long trip around the world. Following the sun.
Now, lucky enough to study the right thing and with the help of several special study programs, I landed a spot in a third-year Product Design course. I finished my last project in Berlin on the 18th of July, flew to Sydney and started at UTS on the 22nd. No rest - but absolutely worth it. You could already smell spring and I had an instantly good feeling about the new Uni. So, let's get into this. The course system was pretty similar to my home University - HTW Berlin and I felt really comfortable with the chosen courses. To really give you an inside of my experiences in Sydney, words can't describe how incredible all those new impressions where.
I will try to do that with some photos:
UTS Campus Life:
I love the mix of different architectural styles on campus. The new building became an instant favourite of mine as the study environment in there is awesome.
A Frank Ghery house in Sydney?! It is not only the Ghery's only building in Australia, I personally think it is one of his most special. I was fascinated by it from first sight and wandered through the building a couple of times - even though I study on the other side of the campus.
Product Design Major was a great experience and opportunity to learn new things about my subject area. Looking forward to this years annual exhibition of UTS DAB (Design, Architecture, Building).
Fancy some food? UTS not only has a great food court that provides tasty treats all day, it also has the "bluebird". There is free breakfast and dinner at the tower building occasionally. Just be on time.
Living in Sydney
Surfing is an important part of my life here in Sydney. Having easy access to incredible surf beaches all year long is nothing you take for granted, coming out of landlocked Berlin. I highly recommend to try surfing while staying here. UTS has a lot of surfers to connect with.
Bondi holds a lot of events throughout the year. This one was a windy one. Hundreds of kites and gliders along the beach at the same time.
Our future is important. On Fridays for Future, we went demonstrating together with students and lecturers alike.
Sydney has a lot of culture to offer. I personally love art. You will find a lot of it around Marrickville and Newtown. Mostly free and independently curated.
Enjoying the beautiful coastline. Sydney has a lot of it.
One of the biggest art installations and sculpture gardens is held every year along Bondi.
I am lucky to have my personal yoga teacher around. My girlfriend visited me and taking the 5-minute walk up to one of the greatest views of the city became our everyday routine.
Watson Bay is just around the corner and became one of my favourites. Quite, the ocean, little bays, bushwalks... and even a nudist beach.
This little guy and his friend helped to wake up early every day.
Travel
Exploring one of the many surrounding national parks is a must-do while living in Sydney. There is one in every direction.
Surf beaches are everywhere in Australia. It doesn't matter if you prefer to go north or south along the coast. You will always find a great and even uncrowded spot.
Saying goodbye doesn't mean it has to be forever. Finding friends here is easy and it's quite likely you will see them again.