University of Queensland
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Month No.1 at The University of Queensland!
By Kate Bowmar (The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). So, officially a month ago today, I had my first class at The University of Queensland, Brisbane. The initial differences between Australian university culture and Manchester were quite striking, so in my second blog I’m going to describe the differences between the two, and also let you guys know about all the other amazing stuff I have been up to. Key differences between UQ and UoM UQ start some classes at 8am and studying Biology means I am in these classes! UQ has no ‘Fallowfield’ – most students live at home or in shared houses that are spread all over the city. For…
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Arriving Down Under!
By Serena Graham (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). After all the waiting and anticipation I’m finally in Australia! I probably should have written this sooner but I’ve been so busy since I’ve been here, so here’s a recap of everything that’s happened so far. My journey here consisted of 3 parts: Birmingham to Dubai, Dubai to Singapore, and Singapore to Brisbane. In total it took over 24 hours to get here and I am thankful that I won’t have to do this journey again for a whole year! It was very tiring and since I was travelling alone it seemed to last days. Luckily, the in-flight entertainment was pretty good…
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Arriving in Brisbane – Hostels, Exploring and Housing!
By Kate Bowmar (The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). So a week ago today, I was boarding my first solo flight from Heathrow to Brisbane, Australia. Therefore, in my first blog post I’m going to talk about my experiences and what I have been doing over this last week! Leading up to my departure I tried to keep myself very busy – I was lucky enough to be at Wireless festival the weekend before leaving for Australia, which was the perfect way to finish my time in England (until Christmas) and say a tearful goodbye to all my friends and family. My main worry about my time in Australia is being homesick and missing my…
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Studying at UQ
by Karl Vikat (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia) You got to know a little bit about my travels and enough time has passed now to cast some light on the academic side of university life. As in Manchester, I have been able to organise my week in a way so that I got lectures and tutorials Monday to Wednesday, with the rest of the week off for independent study. Therefore, Monday is especially packed, as tutorials here are generally planned to follow the lectures immediately. This makes it more convenient, in the way that you’ll necessarily be doing your readings for the lectures already, come more prepared, and won’t be…
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Surfers’ & Straddie
By Karl Vikat (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). Lightly sparse news on the blog lately, times have been really busy, but I have been able to collect some notes and reminisce about the last month in the process, so that hopefully you’ll get a good feeling of what’s been going on. The first weeks were loaded with socializing and meeting a great number of fellow exchange students and local Aussies. I spent the Sochi ice-hockey finals surrounded by a sea of red, joyous Canadians, celebrating a double threepeat with their women and men both winning gold to a tune of ‘O Canada’. On the second weekend I finally got a look…
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QLD – Endless Summer
by Karl Vikat (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). Now that the first few weeks have past, it is time for a little update from the place of ‘endless summer’. It started off in the last remaining weeks of the South Queensland Summer in a scorching heat paired with 80% humidity. Coming from a cool Swiss winter with snowy mountains all around, it definitely took some time to get adjusted. The jetlag did its part to add to the drowsiness of the first days. The heat was bearable until the air-con in the hostel gave up on the third night (fortunately to be fixed within a few nights). The prevailing holiday…
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Oz Diaries 8: The Cold Return
By Olivia Dove (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). And so, as was inevitable, I find myself back in good ol’ Manchester. Sadly, this will be the last blog I write here and I would like to spend it giving you all a brief summary of certain aspects that I’ve had to cope with post-Australia. The weather This is a big issue for me. Whilst Manchester looks beautiful when sunny, it is fair to say that England on the whole is generally colder than Australia. I’m naturally a warm-climate kind of person (proved by the fact that my asthma and dermatitis cleared up completely in Oz…) so coming back to the…
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On my way to Brisbane
by Karl Vikat (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). Take-off – in about one and a half days Australia should be in my sight. Starting in Geneva, the Austrians will fly me from Vienna to Bangkok to Brisbane. I expect to be quite in a chronological mess with a 10 hour long pit-stop in the Thai capital, getting a slight taste from the day of Tom Hanks’ character in ‘Terminal’. Two weeks have gone by now since exams, giving me plenty of time for good-byes and to replenish energy-wise. I also found time to work on a rather big assignment that I have due in the end of April, considering that…
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Oz Diaries 7: The End
By Olivia Dove (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). The final video blog is here! My next (and last) entry is likely to be written from Manchester, in the height of winter. But, for now, here is a video to sum up the great opportunities that studying abroad has given me, excluding the academic (not many photos, if any, are taken of studying…). I mention two videos in the blog. Below are the links. Soiree 2013 time lapse: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh_KlVj6PGw (The view in the video is from the balcony of the room next to mine. Only one of the lawns is visible, there were events on other lawns as well!) International House Dancefest…
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Oz Diaries 6: College Sport
By Olivia Dove (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). How to keep fit when abroad (and spend time with some snazzy people).
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Oz Diaries 5: International Love
By Olivia Dove (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia).
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Oz Diaries 4: Let’s Study
By Olivia Dove (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia). There once was a woman named Sophie, What a wonderful woman she was! The size of a trophy, As lively as a rogue bee, And she lived in the land called Oz. – dave bev (an Undiscovered Poet) There are two myths that need to be dispelled about university students. The first one is that ‘students don’t do any work, university is just one big party’. Sure enough, this is true for a minority, but even they have experienced long shifts in the library with a much-appreciated coffee. Lecture halls are usually filled, even for the morning sessions. And some students even…
