FLAT:
I didn’t even think about looking for an apartment. I booked a hostel for my first week and hoped that I would get to know people there and move into an apartment with them.
The problem with my plan was that I was arriving very late and everyone already had an apartment. So in general this is a really good plan, but you should arrive one or even two weeks before the university starts. I arrived on the 1st day of school. The “getting to know each other” phase was already over, so to speak.
In my 2nd week I found a place through couch surfing and looked at Surfers Paradise apartments everywhere. It was really not an easy walk.
I didn’t want to live on campus because you are only fixated on the university, only get to know foreign students, so no Aussies and you always have to take a taxi after going out in the city. So you are not very mobile and you cannot go to the beach spontaneously. You can experience everything in Surfers. A bike is an advantage, but it doesn’t have to be.
Outside of surfers, rents get cheaper (e.g. Labrador own room, 3 roommates, new kitchen, etc., pool, BBQ, jacuzzi, sauna, gym for $ 130), but since most of my friends lived in surfers and I walk them wanted to achieve the decision for surfers.
I was very lucky. By couch surfing in the beginning I met some really great people who are still my closest friends to this day and I also found a great apartment on Chevron Island (a neighborhood of surfers). A house with 3, now 4 Australian boys. BBQ, pool,.. everything available. Here I got to know the real Aussie lifestyle and I had the best time of my life!
The normal rental cost is around $ 150-190, by the way. An apartment on campus costs around $ 220-250. Totally overpriced and never worth the money!
Apartments are best found on the Student Guild website http://www.gugcstudentguild.com.au/ or on www.gumtree.com.au. You can also find everything else on Gumtree, e.g. cars, surfboards, bicycles, etc.
For students who have to go to university often (I only had to go to university 3 days a week), it may be advisable to move to Southport. I wouldn’t really recommend it to anyone though as surfing is the center of life. The beach, shopping and partying take place there.
GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY:
COURSE SELECTION:
I had already chosen my course from home. However, I advise EVERYONE !!! Students from taking an English course here. Neither English for specific areas, nor academic writing, or any of these courses turned out to be useful. Even if the academic courses are intended for Australians and foreign students alike, the level of these courses is not nearly as high as, for example, an “Academic Writing” course in Germany. You don’t learn.
Apart from that, most of the courses are very similar to the ones for the Bachelor in Germany and you can definitely continue your studies here normally.
I had 4 courses but only had to do 3. It is advisable to arrange the courses in such a way that you only have to appear at the university for a few days. You need a lot of extra time at home for all courses. However, the weekend is also ideal for excursions. That’s why you should manage your time well. One course in the morning and one in the evening is the best solution. You have a full day at university, but this probably means you have to go to university one day less and you can use the time between classes in the library. The days off can then be spent relaxing on the beach:).
- Visit barblejewelry to learn more about country of Australia and continent of Oceania.
Since I am studying English to be a teacher, I have taken 2 English courses (English for Society and Arts, Academic Writing) and 2 educational science courses (Boys in Schools, Children with Learning Difficulties). As mentioned above, I would not recommend any German student to take English courses here.
A course usually consists of one hour of lectures and a two-hour tutorial.
CAMPUS:
Everything relevant to the university can be found on the campus. The library, bookstores, computer rooms, the cafeteria, a gym, cafes, ATMs, etc.
In general, you have the most contact with other exchange students. However, I also got to know some Australians in my courses and lived with four Australians. As a result, I had a lot of contact with the restaurants and an exception among the foreign students. Usually there are small groups at the beginning of the semester, which then stay together. The foreign students are mostly the people with whom you go on the excursions, etc. I also got to know a lot of people from Denmark, Italy, Norway, Sweden, USA, etc. here and would like to visit them very much. It is incredibly interesting to get to know so many people from so many different countries and it gives them the opportunity to keep in touch and visit them even after their stay in Australia.
