Arriving in Adelaide very early in the morning we were greeted by someone from the university (that we had prearranged) and driven to our temporary accommodation (the Hospital). It was freezing which was not expected for Australia! That night I had to sleep in my hat, gloves and coat which was not what I had expected. The temporary accommodation provided by University of Adelaide (UoA) was not the nicest. The next day we left early as we wanted to find better accommodation as quickly as possible. We headed down to the University where there was an accommodation services and quickly started arranging viewings! Soon enough I found a suitable home to move into.
On Orientation week at UoA there was so much going on! It was so much fun, lots of information in the day about the Uni and what to expect! In the evenings there were loads of social events so we could all meet the other international students. During the day at UoA that week, they gave us lots of free food, which was great, as everything seemed so strange when I first arrived I didn’t think about food much, nor was I able to buy a proper food shop as there was no fridge at the hospital. One morning we had chocolate pancakes and loads of them, free coffee and teas, biscuits. Other days there was a free BBQ and load of other things always going on on campus!
Straight away I really loved the feel of UoA! The campus was beautiful and all the staff I had met were really very extremely helpful, nothing seemed too hard or a trouble which was a refreshing experience! There were loads of events with free food and BBQs throughout the semester which was amazing! I really enjoyed it!
Getting settled into my new place was nice, I felt like I had a proper home and was able to unpack all my things! My room was amazing much better than my room at home which was great, loads of space which was handy! As soon as Id unpacked I took a walk around my area (West Croydon) and found a lovely park and some great restaurants and shopping centre. My new home was a short train journey (10 mins) into the centre and then a short walk to U0A campus when I got to the centre. The trains were always on time and a very efficient metro service.
So far the start of my experience in Adelaide, Australia for my semester abroad was amazing and I couldn’t wait to start lectures.
