I think everyone should make a trip to Australia once in their lives. It's a mad place and I would not want to be from anywhere else.

Sydney has something for everyone which is one reason why there's so many tourists there each year.

If you want to be outside you will never be too far from the water so there's always an option.

Sydney is very multicultural, so there are heaps of different options for food choices which I like.

Australia loves its sports, and there is always sports going on in Sydney, whether it be basketball, rugby, soccer or cricket. You always got something to watch.

I was so excited to come to the University of Idaho. While I had traveled to the United States a couple times with AAU tours, I had never been to Moscow, and I've never known anyone who has been to Moscow, so I thought it would be a cool story to tell my family and friends. Hopefully, once it's safe to do so, some of my mates can come visit. They can't stop talking about visiting and it will be great to have some Aussies up here.

As I notice the weather turning crisper here, I can't help but think about how it's about to be summer back home. I can't help but think about how great summer in Sydney is. My family is Fijian, and we have a big family that all lives nearby. On any given weekend, we might have a family get together, spending time with all the cousins, uncles, and aunties. My uncles would cook up some food on the barbie and we'd all go down to the beach. All my uncles surf, but I can't, so I'd just enjoy the beach and watch. And of course, if there's footy on, my friends from high school would all go watch it at a mate's house. They still facetime me every weekend when they are all together, which in a way sort of makes me feel like I am there with them.

I love how multicultural Sydney is. I grew up with people from all different countries, religions, and cultures.

Narrabeen is my favorite place in Sydney. It's the suburb where I went to high school, and where all my mates are from. It's basically on the beach, so it's a pretty cool spot. The great thing about Sydney is how easy and convenient it is to get around. Although it's the largest city in Australia, you can get anywhere you want to be in an hour or two on ferries, trains, or buses.

There are a few things I wasn't expecting in Moscow that I have come to enjoy in the couple of months I've been here. Milkshakes are everywhere and I love that, and I definitely enjoy Chick-fil-A a lot. But nothing beats the variety of foods that are available back home. I can't tell you how often I think about my mum and grandma's cooking. My favorite restaurant is El Jannah, a Lebanese restaurant, and I often went down to the local pub for a chicken schnitzel or good pub steak.  

However excited I was to be a Vandal, and how great it is being here now and experiencing new things, I miss Sydney, and I definitely miss my family and friends. I am so grateful for my family, especially my mum. I would never have ended up in Moscow if it weren't for them, and I can never thank them enough. My brother Sammy is 8 and he's my best mate. When I was home, we'd play basketball or kick the footy outside, and now we play video games together every weekend.

My earliest basketball memory is going to the local park everyday with my grandpa to shoot hoops. He was a big rugby union fan, but rain or shine, he would happily play basketball with me.

I used to go to lots of Sydney Kings games as well, making sure to get autographs and pictures after the games. I was lucky enough to be a development player for the Sydney Kings in the 2019-20 season. Learning from people that have been playing basketball for a lot longer and at an higher level for a long time is something I will never forget. Most of them went to college in America as well.

I'm so happy to be a Vandal, but nothing beats Sydney, and I'm so happy it's my hometown.