Life experience of studying in Australia and working as a volunteer in Sydney

When I first arrived in Sydney to study, I didn’t have any relatives or friends around me, let alone integrating into local life. I accidentally saw an advertisement in the newspaper recruiting volunteers for the Sydney Marathon. I knew this was an international event, so I sent an application letter with the mentality of giving it a try. A week later, I received a reply and knew my application had been approved, and I attended a volunteer meeting a week before the event. Sitting among a group of Australians for the first time, I couldn't help but feel nervous, but I still managed to chat with the people around me. Most of the volunteers are around fifty years old. Many have been volunteers for several consecutive years and find it a pleasure to serve others. The meeting explained the arrangements and contact information for the day of the event, and a lottery was held at the end of the meeting. So my experience of studying abroad in Australia began. On the day of the event, I got up at about four o'clock in the morning and arrived at the event site before five o'clock to gather.

The cold weather in Sydney in September has not faded away yet. I wore a thick cotton coat and joined other volunteers, waiting for assignments.

We first received uniform-style green shirts, then took the hats, water bottles and lunch provided by the event, and followed the leaders of each group to the work place.

I was assigned to the team that distributed medals and collected timers and was stationed at the finish line of the marathon.

We took out the boxes of medals and souvenirs, put them neatly, and made other preparations. After getting ready, we began to wait for the arrival of the contestants.

After a while, we saw the team leader running nervously and saying that the first batch of runners was about to arrive, so we should cheer up.

Sure enough, in less than fifteen minutes, the first few runners in front crossed the line first, and then a large number of people swarmed over. Every contestant was out of breath and soaked from exhaustion.

One contestant was too tired to bend over to untie the timer on his shoelaces, so I quickly squatted down and helped him untie his sweat-soaked shoelaces. Seeing a smile on his tired face and saying "Thank you very much", I suddenly felt that helping others was so satisfying.

Later, because there were too many people, our group was divided into several pairs to be responsible for dividing the crowd. I held a heavy box of souvenirs and walked in front of the stall with another volunteer. I kept shouting at the top of my lungs: "Come here!" In China, I rarely shout like this. I am even afraid to talk to strangers, but in Sydney, I actually spoke with all the energy I could muster, my face didn't turn red, and my hands didn't shake. By the end, my voice was hoarse and my whole body was exhausted, but I felt that I had surpassed myself.

After distributing medals all morning, we were transferred to the item claim office to distribute items kept by the contestants. On a piece of grass, several areas were divided according to the contestants' numbers, and there were densely packed bags packed in white plastic bags with numbers written on them. We immediately got into work. When we heard a contestant call, we immediately ran to find him. Although the volunteers didn't know each other, when one of them couldn't find his bag, the others went to help, which made me feel the enthusiasm of Australians.

At the end of the event, after I finished the final work, I immediately went to the finish line to watch the race. At this time, most of the runners had already reached the finish line, and only some of the runners who were lagging behind were still running towards the finish line. Although the climax has passed, there are still many people gathered around the track, eagerly waiting for the last contestants to arrive. Whenever a contestant runs towards the finish line with heavy steps, the onlookers applaud enthusiastically and shout "You are the best!" (You are the best!).

A volunteer also told me a story. A 71-year-old man named Roger Houston has participated in half-marathons for 20 consecutive years and insisted on completing the 21.1-kilometer event each time. The old man said: "Every time I run halfway, I feel pain all over my body and almost give up; but when I think about persisting, I will definitely improve next year, and I will persist in completing the final race."

?The old man not only participated in the competition, but also came to the scene at 5 o'clock like us to help the organizers prepare for the competition. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to meet him this time.

The above is a brief introduction to life experience of studying in Australia: working as a volunteer in Sydney. I hope it will be helpful to Chinese students who are interested in applying to study in Australia.