My semester in Paradise!
I spent my semester abroad at Griffith University’s Gold Coast Campus and I can say it was absolutely the right decision !! I’ve been back here in Germany for some time now, but sometimes I still want to turn back time to relive the DownUnder time.
A tip in advance: Just get out and get to know new people! That makes everything even more exciting and you can finally speak English.
The inhibitions about the language disappear very quickly, don’t worry.
But now first to the university:
The campus is amazing! Huge and green overgrown. Since I’m only used to a small mini campus at home, I had to get used to it first. Fortunately, campus maps are posted everywhere. Once you have found your way around, in the first week you can also reach the event hall, in which the so-called Orientation Week for the international students takes place. Highly recommended by the way! There you get useful tips about the Gold Coast, about jobs, travel, etc. and you get to know everyone at the event and on the way there on the bus.
(Speaking of buses: be sure to order a GoCard on campus, so you can travel by bus and train for a lot cheaper).
At the end of Orientation Week, the ByronBay excursion was on. (Information and the registration form for this trip are available after the confirmation of acceptance from the university) Byron Bay is beautiful and the trip was really well planned from start to finish. Almost all international students were there, so be sure to take part!
Do not tip out of the mountain, Australia is unfortunately very expensive, in everything. Whether it’s the tuition fees, living, traveling or eating. I don’t regret a cent though. For the first few weeks I lived in a hostel and then looked for an apartment on site via Gumtree.com.au and the notices in the university. I ended up paying $ 150 a week for my apartment, which is very cheap by Australian standards. The apartment was in Ashmore (not recommended as a place to live) and therefore close to the university, but the connection to Surfers Paradise is really very modest. The real student life takes place in Surfers Paradise. So I bought a car to get there and sold it again at the end of my Aussie time. (Beware of car sales on Gumtree! Shipping mails greet you.
In retrospect, I can honestly say I should have lowered my expectations and forego my own room in order to move into an apartment in Surfers Paradise with friends. As soon as you share a room, the rent per person becomes affordable and you are right in the middle of the action. Also there is the beach !!! The connection to the university with buses from Surfers are really good.
In my experience, the accommodations in the university apartments are just grossly overpriced, not that nice and really off the beaten track. I also heard from some of the students who lived there that they didn’t like it very much, apart from the proximity to the university.
- Visit sourcemakeup to learn more about country of Australia and continent of Oceania.
All in all, I felt really comfortable on the Griffith. You could always speak to the lecturers and tutors with questions or write emails. There was always nice and nice help, as was the case in the library. Everything is very modern and there is always friendly, helpful staff available. Griffith seems to be very familiar with the topic of looking after international students. The lecturers I met were all very nice, of course some lectures are always more exciting than others and still others are just boring, but you know that: the whole thing is absolutely dependent on the lecturer.
I passed all of my courses, even though I focused more on experiencing the country and its people;)
So:
Be open to everything. Travel Travel Travel !!
Fraser Island was a lot of fun, and so was Byron Bay.
The Whitsundays with a combined sailing trip are simply a must and since I got my diving license in Australia, of course dives on the Great Barrier Reef also had to be included. Really great by the way! I combined these things with a road trip
(you have to be 21 years old to drive a campervan in Australia) Sydney and Melbourne are also highly recommended. Two BEAUTIFUL cities !!
Have fun and take as much as you can from Australia. For me personally it was a great experience that I wouldn’t want to miss anymore.
