The first of Alicia’s Blogs. See her testimonial at https://studyabroad.reading.ac.uk/testimonials/i-will-cherish-for-the-rest-of-my-life/
It has been a month since I arrived in Australia to commence my year studying at the University of Melbourne and so far I am loving every second of it. Melbourne is a very diverse city that is made up of lots of unique suburbs. I am staying in the suburb of Carlton which is just outside of the Central Business District so there is always lots to do and lots of shops and restaurants located conveniently nearby. There is also a very good tram system in Melbourne so I have been able to explore some of the other suburbs, such as St Kilda and Fitzroy, in my free time and I intend to do more exploring in the future. The weather in Melbourne is also a characteristic of the city, it is often said that you can experience four seasons in a day and I am still not used to how quickly the weather can change. It was quite cold when I first arrived here, as it was the middle of winter, but now it is beginning to warm up and I’m excited for all the BBQs that I’ve heard so much about.
The University campus is astounding. Parts of it are very old, with buildings that are similar to those at Oxford or Cambridge, but there are also many new buildings with amazing resources. I have a lot of my tutorials in the business building, known as The Spot, which was recently built and has an incredible lecture theatre, as well as a state of the art library specifically for business and economics books. Studying at the University of Melbourne has given me the opportunity to take courses that are not provided at Reading, such as Neuromarketing, which I am really enjoying. I have also been able to join new societies and clubs and I am part of the student exchange club and film club where I have been able to meet many new people.
I have also had a fab time exploring Melbourne with the friends I have made here. We have been to visit the famous Laneways and have been to watch a game of Australian Rules Footy which is great to watch even though we weren’t very good at following the game. We have also been down to the beach and explored Chinatown and Little Italy. I live nearby the well-known Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne and they run a winter night market throughout winter that has live music and lots of food stalls that we love to visit. It is also Melbourne Film Festival here at the moment and we have been to one of the events which was amazing and took place in the biggest cinema I have ever seen. We have also been to several bars and clubs and have plans to go on a party cruise along the Yarra River at the end of the month. We also have plans to visit Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef in our half term break in the middle of September and lots of plans to travel at the end of the term. Overall, I am having a fantastic time here and I don’t think a year will be long enough!