Category Archives: Australia Study Abroad

Living in the World’s Most Liveable City

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University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Semester

Not so long ago we caught up with Sarah who’s studying abroad at La Trobe University with her Art and History of Art degree at Reading. Read on to find out what else she has been up to half way through her semester abroad. 

So, I’m halfway through my time studying here in Aus and time has flown by! My courses and tutors have been great and really understanding in helping with my dissertation work and general studies. Although the modules haven’t linked directly to my course they have been broadening my knowledge about Australia, helping me gain awareness I wouldn’t get back home. An important aspect of studying abroad is to embrace a change of information flow and how to use new information to explore a wider outlook.

Australia has been amazing in giving me a different perspective of how art can be used as a learning tool for history and how our modern social and cultural lives can be impacted by the past. I have been looking at how art can give undocumented history a voice and Australia’s turbulent past is incredible to learn from. I have been studying Aboriginal art and also the display of art in galleries around Melbourne. I visited the Gold Coast and Byron Bay a few weeks back and stayed in an Airbnb whose host is an Aboriginal artist! Apart from having an amazing time surfing, seeing live bands, and getting a tan, I also got to interview Anthony as part of my dissertation and artwork. I have had so many experiences from study abroad that would not have been possible otherwise and greatly benefited my degree already.

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Semester

For the rest of the time of not soaking up the sun on the East Coast I’ve explored Melbourne, falling for its many exemplary coffee shops, rooftop bars, and beautiful architecture that combines British colonial times with the skyscrapers of our modern cities. For a city that is half the size of London you can still easily get lost in its streets and take a day of simply exploring it’s many markets. I’ve been amazed at the price of transport and taken advantage of the £2.50 day fair that lets you go around the whole city! For me personally a city experience was something I really wanted to gain from Study Abroad. London is great and so close to Reading but the minimum cost of at least £20 anytime I want to go in means it’s less of a regular occurrence than I’d like. Living on the outskirts of Melbourne has meant I’ve got to explore city life more than once a week and still have money left for my travel plans when Uni finishes!

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Semester

Living in the world’s most liveable city is pretty great, I must admit! At the halfway point of my studies I already feel as though 1 semester is not nearly enough. It was easy to get homesick for England in the first few weeks but it feels as though this is another home now and will be just as hard to leave. I’ll blog on again in the next month to let you know just how hard it is to say goodbye! But for now I’m off to the CBD[i] to catch up with a few friends over some good food and a pot[ii]!

Sarah

[i] Melbourne Central Business District (city centre)
[ii] Half pint

Getting Mummified in Melbourne

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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

 

Kangaroos, Koalas and Wombats Down Under

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University of Reading student studying abroad in Taiwan for a Semester

Cameron is currently studying abroad at the Curtin University in Australia as part of his Film and Theatre degree at Reading. Back in July Cameron moved to Perth to start his semester studying abroad. Read on to see how he got on settling into life down under!

So I’ve been in Perth for 3 weeks now and things are going pretty great. The first couple of days were a little rocky as I adapted to my new situation but I easily settled in as I got to meet new people and made some friends- everything since then has been amazing! Everyone is very welcoming and it seems like the Australian consensus is to be friendly to all they meet.

Even though I was initially uneasy for those first few days, this didn’t stop me from exploring what Perth has to offer. I wandered around the city, exploring the CBD and some of Perth’s boroughs like Leederville and Northbridge, taking in the vast array of restaurants and shops, as well as visiting a couple of independent cinemas . I went into one with no idea of what they were showing and the guy at the counter happily gave me a suggestion on what to watch, reinforcing my view that Aussies are always glad to help.

One of the best spots in Perth has to be Kings Park and Botanic Gardens. The park is a great green space that stretches over 4km², filled with plant-life from all over Australia and with a beautiful view that looks over both the towering cityscape of Perth’s financial district and the glistening Swan River. I’m sure I will be visiting Kings Park many times during my stay here and will try to capture its beauty with my camera. However, you do have to watch out for PokemonGo players as they have swarmed the area, transforming the park into a real life Safari-Zone.

University of Reading student studying abroad in Taiwan for a Semester

A stand out experience was having the chance to go to Caversham Wildlife Park, giving us Study Abroad students the opportunity to have close-up interactions with some of Australia’s native animals. At the park I hand fed kangaroos, sat next a koala carrying her baby in her pouch and met with Big Bert, the wombat, who happened to be the cutest thing I have ever seen! It was incredible to see these animals in real life and in action. Or, in the case of the koalas, inaction seeing as they sleep around 18 hours per day.

As for education, Curtin is a huge university with about 60,000 students and a grand selection of courses where anyone will easily find something that truly interests them. Most new people I meet seem to be doing a different kind of course or have some variation in their modules compared to others on the course, there really is something that suits everyone. For me, the film (or Screen Arts as they call it) department is a very exciting place to study. While taking an interest in similar subject areas at Reading, it seems to have further hands-on elements, even in the theory classes, which I quite enjoy as it gets us actively involved in the ideas we are discussing. For any prospective Study Abroad students doing film I would strongly consider Curtin as a place to go if you want to learn about cinema from a different creative perspective.

My adventures in Perth have been a delight so far and I have only started to scratch the surface of what the university, the city and the whole of Australia has to offer. I’m looking forward to spending the next few months continuing to explore the country and I’m sure I’ll be very busy visiting new places, right up until I have to say farewell.

Cameron

G’Day Mate!

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University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Semester

Sarah is currently studying abroad at La Trobe University in Australia as part of her Art & History of Art degree at Reading! The semester down under started back in July and this is how she got on just a few weeks in.

I arrived in Australia to an initially grey and wet Melbourne morning, perhaps the most British weather I could have encountered, and embarked on my next journey to my new house. As I decided against halls I had found this house on a flat share website and Skyped the people to say ‘how you going’[i] – they seemed lovely and had a pup so I was very optimistic! Three weeks down the line I have not been disappointed. We cook together a few days a week, play board games and go out for a couple of pots[ii] whenever we can. For me personally this is an ideal situation of living with graduates and exploring a more city orientated life than university based one. As I am in my third year and took a gap year I would definitely recommend this for slightly older students embarking on their study abroad, if a hiking trip trumps a club night!

Reading student settling into her Melbourne accommodation for her study abroad semester.

In my first year of university many of my friends in my accommodation were study abroad students themselves, and one of my best friends was from Australia! Since coming over here I have visited him a few times and experienced a few Aussie’ rules football games and also a ‘footy-ball’, which was a swanky and exceedingly Australian affair with a live band, cocktail dresses and many a stubby[iii]. This was a great experience to get to know a very Victorian[iv] culture as they are all footy mad and love a beverage.

University of Reading student studying abroad in Australia for a Semester

My classes (arguably the reason I came here) have been very interesting so far. After a slight hiccup of discovering they no longer have practical art classes on this campus I am taking a few history modules that are relevant to my dissertation topic. I think one of the most important things to realise quickly is to not panic about university, it will take a week or so to sort out but it should work out fine! I am taking this opportunity of being down under to learn about the history and culture of Australia, from the time of the colonists and before, a subject I knew less than nothing about before being here. I am looking to write my dissertation around cultural impacts on the aboriginal people of the settlers and this is an ideal opportunity.

Now that I have got settled into my routine here, the time difference and the hemisphere (all us Europeans agree that it definitely affects your sense of direction) I am starting to plan my travel and research around Australia. I’ve already booked a trip to Byron Bay and the Gold coast and will begin some more adventures soon!

I’ll keep you updated on those and will carry on having an amazing time for now,

Sarah

[i] How you going –The most commonly used phrase to say what’s up
[ii] Pot- Half a pint
[iii] Stubby- Australian slang for bottle of beer
[iv] Victorian- Those living in the state of Victoria