My Adelaide experience: The first month abroad

I had always wanted to study abroad in either Spain or Sydney, but now I find myself in Adelaide, South Australia, and frankly, it has been great.

I left England on the 9^th July and got here on the 11^th, with a day in between to explore Singapore. That experience itself was a challenge: arranging hotels, planning travel methods through the city, and managing to stay awake! But it was a fantastic experience; a stretch of my independence and a chance to explore an incredible city.

When I arrived here I was put in a hospital. And no, it wasn’t for any injury, it was actually my temporary accommodation! I paid $200 for one week before moving to some privately owned halls of residence, where I pay $140 a week (about £75). That’s a big plus of Adelaide- it’s really cheap compared to Sydney or Melbourne. Food too is pretty reasonable. In many ways, Adelaide does not feel vastly different to the UK. The transport around Adelaide is also ludicrously cheap! If you buy a metro card for $3.50, you can top it up and travel up to an hour away by train, bus or tram for as little as $0.80, or about 40 pence. This means a great day out to the hills, beaches or nearby villages can cost less than a pound! On first impressions, the city may seem a little like America, yet after a while, it begins to feel not unlike some of Britain’s larger cities. But when it starts getting hot, that may change, and I may feel like I’m on holiday! The photo to the right shows Glenelg beach, which is only a 30 minute tram ride from the city. Adelaide is a perfect base: of course Australia is enormous, but Adelaide is relatively close to Uluru, Melbourne, and Sydney, and there are plenty of attractions nearby to explore.

I am now in my fourth week of studies. There is a bigger workload than at Southampton, but the modules are very diverse. In my English literature
 course here, I’ve been able to study the films ‘Twilight’ and ‘Fight club’, and much Australian and American literature. The University is really striking; with a mix of both modern and traditional church-like buildings, and the city has a wide river, modern shops and bright lights, but quiet suburbs. The University has a very affordable gym, a health centre, recreational facilities and huge libraries. The photo of Bonython hall shows just a glimpse of how impressive the campus is. The international student support is excellent, and the teaching style is very similar to Southampton: teachers are called by their first names, most essay submissions are online and there are lectures and relaxed seminars, although contribution in them is stressed much more. The University of South Australia is right next to Adelaide University campus, and Flinders University is nearby too, so there is a strong student atmosphere.

On my way back from Uni to home, I pass elegant bridges, small ponds, unusual trees, ducks, multicoloured birds, and the occasional possum: these are quite tame, and you can feed them crackers if you have some in your pocket! I’ve also the opportunity to go to Victor Harbour, a Wildlife sanctuary, various parks where I have seen Koalas and Kangaroos in the wild, and hills nearby. Every week the international student centre organises cultural events. Last week was a ‘Mexican night’, this week an ‘Aussie night’, and next week an ‘Indonesian night’. They provide a free meal, dancing, music and activities each time. On Sunday I and a few friends visited Hahndorf, a German town in the Adelaide hills, about 30 kilometres from the city. There were quaint confectionary shops, traditional bakeries, art galleries, deer parks and museums to explore.

Funnily enough, it’s been the international students, not the Australians, who I’ve been in contact with the most. I had two and a half weeks to explore the city and meet international people at the hospital and orientation week before the course started. Every week I go to the pub, play football with, and go on trips with students from Brazil, France, Korea, Austria, Vietnam, Indonesia and many other countries, which is fantastic for learning about their culture and some of their languages. And of course, they all have to be competent in the English language for their courses, so it makes it a lot easier to communicate with them. Our two week long mid-semester break is also coming up soon, so I will post again around that time. So far I am thinking of going to either Uluru with friends (a huge red rock), and going hiking through the outback and near lakes and waterfalls, or going to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef!