Getting Mummified in Melbourne

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Full Academic Year.

Tim is currently studying abroad at Monash University in Australia with his Henley Business School degree at Reading. Read on to find out what he got up to in ‘O-Week’ during his first few weeks studying abroad Down Under. 

It now feels like a lifetime ago when I was first introduced to the difference between “yeah nah” and “nah yeah” (the latter being key). Landing on the Tullamarine runway after 24 hours of crying babies and thunderous snoring (not me), is a foggy jet-lagged memory that will remind me forever as the start to my year abroad in Melbourne!

The Clayton campus at Monash University is a lot bigger than I first anticipated. No longer are the days where I could leave 5 minutes before a lecture started and still make it on time. I live in Farrer Hall a 10-20 minute walk to campus depending on where your lecture is situated. Before arriving, I was told that Farrer was by far the most sociable halls on campus and after the first few days of my residency it was already clear that this was 100% true. A common room, 2 games rooms featuring table tennis, a pool table and a cinema style TV, I still remain to never have had a dull moment in Farrer whether it was either participating in the activities of O-week or potting a few balls with friends.

O-week is the equivalent to “freshers” in the UK however, there seemed to be a lot more activities to do during these first two weeks in Australia as well as a lot more free food on campus!

The most notable events during O-week were the scavenger hunts. The first was around the university campus doing an activity (such as mummifying a team member in toilet paper (Me)) or ‘striking a pose’ at each destination. We end up coming second and winning a pack of “TimTams”.

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Full Academic Year.

Melbourne Central Station

The second scavenger hunt was host in the city of Melbourne. Each team were given an activity sheet and required to perform each task on the list, record it and upload it to the events page online to get points for your team. Some examples include serenading a stranger, forming a conga line on the train and running into the wall at platform 9 ¾.

The typical night out is a trip to “Dooley’s” on a Wednesday and/or “The Nott” on a Thursday. I was introduced to the infamous “goon” before these nights out, the beverage of choice for most students thanks to its price – not the taste.

With money running low, finding a job is very difficult when considering the distance to travel anywhere within Melbourne from the university. A bus, train and tram are usually needed to get anywhere within the city, getting to closer suburbs requires a few bus changes which can easily take up to an hour to get to.

Nevertheless, I’d never have dreamt that I’d have had this much fun already and met so many amazing people. I’m eager to see what the rest of the semester brings as well as explore the rest of activities Melbourne has to offer.

Tim

 

Picturesque town of Tübingen

University of Reading student studying abroad in Switzerland for a Full Academic Year

Angelina is currently studying abroad at the University of Tubingen with her German and International Relations degree at Reading. Read on to find out how she’s adjusting to life in Germany!

I have been in Tübingen now for three weeks and it has already been an experience and a half to say the least. The journey to Tübingen itself went very well. I flew from London to Stuttgart, and then took a direct bus from the airport to Tübingen which was very handy. Once in Tübingen I made my way by bus to the housing office which is right on the top of a big hill. This is where you sign your housing contract and pay your deposit. As soon as that was done I had to get a bus all the way back down the hill to my halls of residence which are on the outskirts of town to pick up the keys to my room from the housemaster. The halls where I live are very different to halls in Reading. In a way they are more like residential flats, with the building consisting of 3 and 4 bedroom flats (I only have two ‘flatmates’) and even a Kindergarten. They are also much more into recycling here, the flat has four different bins, one each for paper, glass, metal & plastic and then one for food waste and things that aren’t recycled.

My first impressions of Tübingen were very positive, it’s a picturesque town in the German ‘Bundesland’ of Baden-Württemberg in the south of Germany and it even has its own castle. One third of the people here are students which it makes it a pretty student friendly place with lots of places to have lunch or go for a drink. When you matriculate here you have to do a lot of paperwork which takes you all around the town to do. The University of Tübingen does not really have a campus, hwever there is one road where most of the important university buildings are located which makes finding your way around much easier.

University of Reading student studying abroad in Switzerland for a Full Academic Year

Colourful houses seen from the ‘Neckarbrücke’ , Tübingen (left image)
Main university building, the new Aula, Tübingen (right image)

For international and Erasmus students the university hosts a welcome week unfortunately however due to illness I was not able to participate. There is a really great student organisation here called StudIT which organises and offers trips and experiences for international students. Since I have been here I have already participated in two of their activities. The first one was a Swabian dinner, or ‘Schwäbisches Abendessen’ as they would say in German, where they served a local dish called ‘Maultaschen’ with fried onions and potato salad. ‘Maultaschen’ resemble ravioli except that they are a bit bigger and filled with meat. The story behind them is that Cistercian monks weren’t allowed to eat meat during lent and so in order to hide the meat from God they created these ‘Maultaschen’. Then more recently StudIT organised a trip to Heidelberg. Heidelberg is about a two hours drive away from Tübingen and is famous for having the oldest university in Germany, its castle and baroque architecture. We had a tour around the city, had some lunch and then made our way up the castle which is located on a hill, once at the top the views were amazing. I’ve settled well in Germany, I’ve met lots of really nice people and have had many opportunities to practice my German. Lectures are starting this week so I’m looking forward to seeing what they’re like. I’ll let you know about them in my next blog post.

Angelina

The City That Sinks into the Blue

University of Reading student studying abroad in Japan for a Full Academic Year.

Daniel is currently studying abroad at the Sophia University in Japan as part of his English Language degree at Reading. Read his blog entry about settling into his new home in Asia for next academic year.

I never imagined when I started university two years ago that I would be sitting here in Tokyo with the sound of the subway occasionally rattling by, writing a blog post about my first few weeks in this amazing city. To say that this was the best decision of my life is a definite understatement. In order to prepare for such an adventure, you can research interesting landmarks to go and see, maybe even plan a few day trips you want to experience and click through the endless pictures that epitomise why you decide to go on a study abroad placement in the first place; but nothing can truly prepare you for seeing your new home with your very own eyes.

The endless surprises Tokyo throws at you, whether it be a shrine right next to the hustle and bustle of the city to the amazing restaurants hidden away down a side street – the possibilities seem endless here. There is always something to do or somewhere new to go! Another thing that feels endless is the city itself. I was lucky enough to go to Tokyo Tower and see some amazing views of Tokyo at night and it went on as far as my eyes could see – it was truly phenomenal!

University of Reading student studying abroad in Japan for a Full Academic Year.

Of course, it’s very easy taking part in all of these fun activities to forget that you’re on the other side of the world away from all of your home comforts and the people you love and who love you. However, my advice is this – study abroad is what you make of it and you must always remember why you wanted to go abroad in the first place! For me, I wanted an adventure full of culture, language and education and so here I am getting as much of this as possible! A recent visit to the Kamakura, just outside of Tokyo let me a see a glimpse of the culture and religion that runs so deep in Japan. The shrines and giant Buddha, named Kotoku-in were phenomenal to discover and I’m so excited to see more!

University of Reading student studying abroad in Japan for a Full Academic Year.

Sophia University itself has been wonderful so far! Located right in the city centre, it’s about 25 minutes away on the subway from where I live in Shin-Koiwa! It’s as though Sophia is a small city all on its own with high rising buildings all contained on its small campus. I’m really enjoying my Japanese languages classes especially; I seem to be improving much quicker now I am immersed in the language. Of course, nothing can beat the swans on Whiteknights Lake, but there is a definite sense of community here that I certainly feel a part of. I’m hoping to join a sports team, either water polo or basketball this semester, as I certainly hope to meet so many more interesting people in new social circles as well as have fun!

This sense of community is down to the people – and it goes far beyond the walls of Sophia! The people of Tokyo are the best part; never have I experienced such a polite and helpful community to help you out of any predicament – especially their patience with the (temporary) language barrier! After a night of karaoke and all you can eat and drink, the thing you need most when struggling to get the correct train home is a friendly member of the public to help you out!

次回まで (Jikai Made!)

Until next time!

Daniel

Adjusting to the Italian way of life

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Full Academic Year.

 

Savvina is currently studying abroad at the Università Ca’ Foscari in Italy as part of her Henley Business School degree at Reading. Read on to find out how she’s adjusting to the Venetian transport, weather and Italian way of life.

When I landed in Venice, I felt shocked and excited at the same time. It was the strange feeling of the unknown and when I was in the aeroplane, I could not imagine that the adventures will start immediately as soon as I get here. First of all, it is a completely different world, with no cars, vaporetto stops instead of normal bus stops, different weather and of course different language.

Ca Foscari University organised a special Welcome Day for all international students, where they answered all of our questions regarding the Italian Academic System, but also general questions on housing, transportation etc. They provided us with university cards, guides and maps and introduced us to our buddies. A buddy is an Italian student of Ca Foscari, who is available anytime to contact and ask for any help and advice.

Luckily, I was one of the students who got to have a tour around Venice and of its islands as well, by attending the program called Ca Foscari Tour. Thus, Murano, Burano and Torcello are just few of the islands I visited on my first week in Venice. One of the most amazing experiences I had was when I got to visit the glass museum in Murano and had an exclusive show of how glass is made.   Moreover, our guides made sure we had typical Italian meals in traditional restaurants, so I definitely got the best possible taste of Venetian food.

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Full Academic Year.

Needless to say that Venice has one of the biggest ESN (Erasmus Student Network) communities in Europe. Therefore, events such as Treasure Hunt, International Dinner, many Karaoke Nights and even Kayak Days were listed on my calendar and I never missed any! Moreover, parties, fun quizzes and tours were all part of my first weeks here in Venice. The biggest event organised so far, was the trip to Rome, where we stayed for 2 nights and got the chance to visit Vatican. Apart from Rome, I have been to Padua, Trieste and Milan and many more will definitely come!

As long as academic issues are concerned, I have to say that the system here is much different from what I was used to in the UK. Several things are different, for example, the academic calendar. I tried to choose modules that I have never studied before in order to expand my knowledge and discover more modules that I may like. Furthermore, I have been taking Italian language classes as well in order to improve my Italian.

I have to admit that I needed just one month in Venice to get used to it, and understand how life is here. Surprisingly, I adapted quite quickly and I believe is because of the way Italians treat you, especially when you are not one of them. Their smiles, their temperament, even the way they look at you when you don’t understand a word they are saying in Italian helped me adjust right away!

Savvina