My story about why I began to study at ICMS and how I took the step over to ICMS will continue in this blog.

After I had made the decision to study at ICMS, almost one year of preparations followed.  Everything from working 50-60 hour weeks so I could save  as much money as possible, renewing my passport, booking the plane tickets, buying some new summer cloths and last saying good bye to friends and family. 

Standing on Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport and waiting for the plane crew to start letting passengers on board was nerve wreaking and exciting at the same time. I would probably not see Sweden in a long time, thoughts that surfaced to my mind was am I doing the right thing by taking the step abroad to pursue my studies. But I hadn’t done all the preparations and god byes for nothing, my decision was made, I was going to live and follow my dream.  Some final text messages to friends and then I was on my way to my first pit stop, which was 20 hours away in Singapore. I don’t think I have ever been so thrilled in my life but after a couple of hours on the flight I started to notice that my height (I am 2m/6’7 tall) was starting to work against me, the flight turned into a minor torture; I couldn’t wait until I was on solid ground again so I could stretch my legs once more.  The break in Singapore was welcomed but short, three hours later I was on my last flight of the trip to Sydney.

Arriving in Sydney was an amazing feeling; I was finally at my final destination! The fantastic sensation was quickly replaced with fear, because of the strict rules of importing goods into Australia. Furthermore is that a show called” Australian Boarder” security is something that is frequently showed on Swedish television. This added to my fear that I had forgot something in my bags that I could not bring into Australia, furthermore having a large and imposing frame is not something which is a good thing when it comes to talking to customs officers. However my fear was unnecessary, I could pass through customs with no problem whatsoever.

My first impression of Australia was that it was not that much different from Sweden, all over Sydney airport I saw familiar company signs such as MacDonald’s, Vodafone and Nokia. I was starving so the first thing I grabbed was a Big Mac at MacDonald’s, here I was flying all the way across the world and the Big Mac still tasted the same as back home in Sweden.

After my quick meal I walked out from the well air conditioned Airport and was hit in the face by a wall of heat.  I quickly jumped into a taxi that quickly ushered me to Manly and ICMS. My flight had arrived in the evening and during my taxi ride to Manly the evening quickly turned into night and the amazing beauty of Sydney’s skyline unravelled before my eyes. The taxi ride took over one hour but because of all new stunning things that I saw it felt like it went instantly.

After my cab ride I was finally at the end of my travels, Manly and International College of Management, Sydney.  It was just as I pictured it, the main building (Moran House) was just as stunning as I thought it would be. After I made my quick check in I collapsed onto my bed. The last thought I had before I went to sleep was that the step that I made was a big one, but it was finally made, a big relief and joy appeared inside of me.

Daniel “Shakes” Fransson