Australia Student Exchange ---Helpful Tips & Advice---

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1 Australia Student Exchange ---Helpful Tips & Advice--- Flights to Australia I booked my flight to Australia with The Adventure Travel Company located in London, Ontario. They are associated with Travel Cuts in Waterloo except they specifically deal with flights to Australia and New Zealand. Phone Travel Cuts in Waterloo for the Adventure Travel Company s toll-free telephone number. I found that they have the cheapest flights to Australia. Obtaining a Student Visa You can apply for a Student Visa to study in Australia on the Internet. It is very easy and simple. Go to You can apply for a Student Visa after you receive your confirmation of enrollment from Griffith University. Calling Cards The calling card I used in Australia to call Canada was called OZ Call. The card is green and you can purchase it at the post office on Nathan campus. There is a connection fee of $0.60. and then it s two cents a minute. You can buy $10 or $20 cards. I just bought a $20 card and kept recharging it using the toll-free number on the back of the card when I was running out of credit. You need a credit card to recharge it (I used a VISA card). Banking I decided to open a bank account on campus to ensure my money was in a safe place. Before I left Canada I deposited some money into my parents bank account. A couple of days after I got to Australia, I opened up an account with the Uni Credit Union (It s a bank on campus) and they provided me with the information my parents needed to wire my money over to me from Canada. There is a fee to wire money over from Canada and a fee to receive the money in Australia. It added up to about a $50 fee. I got a debit card so I could access my money from the bank machine on campus. I used my credit card (VISA) for the majority of my expenses and paid my credit card off on-line. I used the money in my Uni Credit Union bank account to gain access to local cash. Some of my friends did not bother to open up an account and instead used their debit card from home to withdrawal cash. There is a fee if you withdrawal cash using your debit card from home ranging from 3-4 dollars per transaction. My friends would withdrawal a large sum of money each time and then keep it in a safe place in their room. If you are going to do this you need to check with your bank that your bank debit card is equipped to enable you to withdrawal cash from your bank account while you are overseas. Personally, I would open up a bank account to ensure your money is safe and secure. Australia Dollars Before you leave Canada and head for Australia it is a good idea to have some Australia currency on hand. Well before you leave the country, go to your bank and order Australia currency. It takes about ten working days. I ordered about $300 Australia dollars (AD)

2 and kept it with me at all times until I was settled in my flat room in residence. I used this money to buy food as soon as I got there, to pay for bus fares and other little things until I could deposit the money into my Australia bank account. Travelers Cheques I had about $200 American in American Express Travelers cheques. They are a safe way to carry money. I did not end up using them so I deposited the travelers cheques into my Australia bank account. American Currency More than likely, your flight from Toronto will land in Los Angeles on the way to Australia. I had about a four hour layover until my connecting flight to Australia. I did not have any American currency on hand except for travelers cheques. The shops at the airport would only take travelers cheques in $10 or less denominations. I only had them in $20 denominations. If I had known, I would have brought a little American cash to tie me over until my connecting flight. Even to buy a drink, or some souvenirs. Accommodation In Australia I lived on campus in a College Residence on Nathan Campus. I lived in a self-catering flat with seven other people. I wanted self-catering as opposed to a meal plan because I know I would be going away on weekends and on day trips so I would rather make my own meals and not pay an extra $100 a week for a meal plan. It worked out for the best because the friends I met there who did have a meal plan always complained that that they had to wake up early for breakfast, and be on time for lunch and dinner. In a self catering flat you have a kitchen (two fridges) your own cupboard space, one bathroom with two toilet stalls, and your own room that comes with a boxed bed, desk and chair, closet, phone and phone line, shelves and a corkboard. There is also, a little living area and common laundry facilities. Even though I had seven flat mates, I never waited in line for the shower because we all had different school schedules. The only time that was really busy was around dinnertime. I usually would eat a little earlier so I could avoid the big rush and wait for pots and pans. In residence you have a Residence Advisor (RA). This is the person who will help you move in, plan events for your residence block, and the person you go to if you are having trouble with a fellow flat mate or living situation. The residences are split up into colleges and further split into blocks (sections of the college). For example I was in the residence named Barakula College and in A-Block. You will get oriented with the place once on campus. There are five colleges: three are self-catering flats for undergrad students, one is self-catering for grad students, and the fifth college is a catered residence (meal plan) and is generally for first year students. The RA s from each college plan events for your own block, your own college (consisting of about 5 blocks) and plan inter-college events. Participating in these events is a great way to meet people. For instance, I went on a pub crawl, to the semi-formal, and played in a girls touch footy (rugby) game. I had heaps of fun!!!

3 Campuses Griffith University has six campuses. The campus that the colleges (residences) are located at on Nathan Campus. Nathan campus is nestled in the Toohey Forest. It is a very small campus compared to the University of Waterloo but it has a cozy with all of the surrounding trees. Leisure Studies (LST) courses are offered at the Mt. Gravatt Campus only. There is a free inter-campus bus that leaves Griffith campus every half hour staring at 8:30am and goes to Mt. Gravatt campus. The ride is about 10 minutes. All of my classes were at Mt. Gravatt so I always used the intercampus bus. It was very easy. The only problem is if you have an 8:00am class, then you couldn t use this service. So, I took classes that only started at 9:00am or later. There is a walking path that connects the two campuses. It is about a 40-minute walk Getting Around Local Bus Transportation will become your best friend during your exchange. There is a bus stop on Nathan campus referred to as the circuit with buses that take you to the city (a 20 minute ride if you catch an express bus) and to Garden City (a mall that has a Grocery store and shops). Just look at the timetable at the bus stop. Believe me, you will get know the bus system extremely well. Leisure Studies Department The Leisure Studies department is located on Mount Gravatt campus on the 5 th floor of the Social Sciences building (Pick up a map from the international center on Nathan Campus before you go to the Mt. Gravatt Campus). Before I enrolled in courses, I went to Mt. Gravatt campus to ask a professor some questions about a couple of courses. At the front reception desk, they had a hard copy list of leisure studies courses being offered for semester II and the dates and times they were being offered. It was more up to date than the courses on the Griffith website. Usually, there is a two-hour lecture once a week and a one-hour tutorial (tute) once a week for each course you are enrolled in. Sometimes a course may be three hours once a week. I also wanted a good schedule so I could travel during the week without missing classes. My schedule ended up being Monday to Wednesday. It was awesome!!!!!!i didn t really have a contact person in the Leisure Studies Department. I mostly consulted the receptionist, Ruth, and my professors if I needed help with anything. Enrolling in Courses Griffith University uses an on-line system to enroll in courses (like University of Waterloo s QUEST). After attending a mandatory Getting Started orientation given by the International Centre (I recommend going to one as soon as you can so that you can get into the courses you want) you can pick up your enrollment package. It teaches you step by step how you find classes on-line and how to enroll in those classes on the Internet. If you need any help, simply ask people around you or get help from the International office personnel. Courses I took LST3006: Parks Planning and Management*

4 LST3005: Community Arts LST1008: Sustainable Leisure Environments* PSY2005: Personality Psychology *Courses that I really enjoyed International Centre The International center is there to answer any questions you may have. I used the center to ask questions about student health insurance, to pick up campus maps and for general information. They are very nice people and are willing to help you out. Booking Trips In Person: STA Travel is a student travel company (like Travel Cuts in Waterloo) where you can book flights, trip packages, or buses in person. There is an STA on Nathan Campus. There are pamphlets and brochures there so look for deals before booking a trip. On the Internet: I booked some flights to places in Australia on the Internet. The two domestic airline companies are Qantas and Virgin Blue. Virgin Blue tends to be cheaper because you are not served drinks, snacks or meals on flights. You can purchase them if you like for an extra cost. I booked online using the STA travel site and them paid using my VISA. It was very easy to search for flights and package deals. Computers There are computer labs on campus that you have access to. Some are open 24 hours. Go to the library on Nathan Campus to obtain a map of the lab locations and their hours of operation. There is also a computer lab for Leisure Studies students on the 4 th floor of the Social Science building on Mt. Gravatt campus. You need a code to get into this lab that you can get from the Leisure Studies receptionist. I used the computers at school however, some of my friends brought their laptop from home. Places I went to during my exchange to Australia (They were all awesome!!!!!) Sunshine Coast (Noosa Heads) Gold Coast (Surfer s Paradise) Fraser Island South Stradbrook Island Glass House Mountains Byron Bay Cabarita Beach Lamington National Park Horse back riding with Mountain Lake Adventures The Red Centre: Alice Springs, Ayers Rock, Kings Canyon, Kata Tjuta (the Olgas) Cairns (Great Barrier Reef)

5 Cape Tribulation Sydney Melbourne New Zealand- I extended my New Zealand stopover on my way home so I could travel all over the North and South Island of New Zealand for 3.5 weeks. Very well worth it!!! Local attractions in Brisbane Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary The South Parklands Markets Festivals (River festival, Valley Fiesta) Mt. Cootha Lookout Mt. Gravette Lookout Watching a rugby game at Suncorp Stadium Shopping at the Queen Street in the City Clubs and pubs Travel Guides I suggest purchasing the Lonely Planet Australia Guide. This is the best guide I ve seen. It has a lot of good maps, hostel information, and detailed information about places. It also gives you travel tips and advice. I would buy a recent edition so all information is up to date. You can purchase this Guide at Chapters Book Store. How much will your exchange trip cost? To give you an idea of how much your exchange to Australia will cost, I outlined all of my expenses below in chart format. Expenses In Canadian Dollars Expense Cost Plane ticket (return) $2050 Term tuition $2800 (Co-op) Student Visa $290* Overseas Student Health Coverage $148* (OSHC, mandatory) Residence $1830* Residence Application Processing $25 Fee Passport $85 Telephone $150 (phone hookup, local and long distance calls)* Groceries $800* Printing $40* School supplies and books $350* Local entertainment and clothing $500* Trips and souvenirs $4000* (Excluding New Zealand) Total $13, 068

6 *Costs may vary depending on the exchange rate ****Final Note**** Before I left for overseas you could say that I was very, very prepared. I am so happy I was because it made my transition to life in Australia very easy. Believe me, some people were not prepared and they stressed out over things when they got to Australia. My advice is it s better to be over prepared than under prepared. Take advantage of this opportunity because it will be over before you know it. See as much as you can that Australia has to offer. It is such a beautiful country that will take your breath away. Take heaps of photos and have a blast! It will be an experience of a lifetime and one you will never forget!!! Cheers! Australia Leisure Studies Exchange Student Griffith University Semester II July-November, 2003