I was suppose to have an update on life in Australia but I never really got started, but now since I have a study break I'll just put in a few paragraphs.
Firstly, in terms of the weather, it was really cold as first in July when it was at the peak of the winter, was really trying to adapt to the climate and found it really hard. But the weather got better gradually but there were days when you thought, "Hey, the weather is getting warm already", then the very next day comes to a very cold one. The strong winds sometimes just blows you so hard that you could feel a bit tired..lol. With proper clothing, the weather is alright. It's like free air-conditioning at times.
The people. In a much more developed country compared to back home, the people here are generally much better. They are definitely more friendly and polite. In general (meaning half of the time), you meet very nice people when you need help or assistance to something. The orientation week was very well planned, I would say it really gave the new students most of the important information to start off. Thumbs up to that. The mixed diversity of cultures here are also something that I've learned quite a lot about. People come from so many different countries and it is just quite unbelievable that you are at the place to see it all.
Uni. Quite a huge change this one. Although with one full year of tertiary study in the bag, the changes were still quite huge to adapt to. First time being enrolled in a real University, I actually feel quite proud. Although entry is not considered difficult, but being in the real Uni itself tells you that you have reached another level. Back home, Pre-U in one building, and degree at the next building. Here its a uni with so many different faculties that some I never heard off, from faculty of botany, to clean water something faculty, you get the feeling of a fully structured institution. Plus, UWA is really huge in area. By my estimation of walking and timing, it is approx. 1km by 400m. Relatively small compared to Curtin in WA but it's still freaking huge. Walking one end to another is not funny, it's almost 20mins on a normal walking speed. Some lectures are split to 2 sessions of 45 minutes and tutes are only 45 minutes per subject a week. This is a big difference compared to 2 full hours back home. You get in the tute, discuss the allocated questions (some beforehand), you try you best to participate and out you go. It's so quick I tell you. Goodbye to the 2 hour tutes back in TBS where there is abundant of time to fully go through most of the aspects of the topics and have off topic discussions. Oh ya, lectures are recorded and you get to watch the lectures at your own time. The audio is clear and everything on the screen is recorded too. So you feel quite safe sometimes when you actually don't feel like attending lectures on some days or have to study.
Uni lecturers and tutors. Hopefully things will be better for the lecturer part. 3 out of 4 of them are boring. They all are very knowledgeable and have certs ranging from Doctor, Assistant Professor to Professor. No doubts on them being very knowledgeable, but they lack the teaching skills to make things interesting. which really makes me drag my feet to lectures. The real situation is just pick up the few important points and study it at home, it works for now. Tutors are quite different. Some of them are postgraduate students and they look just like your other classmates that sit beside you. They are so damn young! I find all of them pretty good, such a good consolation. The funny thing is when you see them for the first time when they walk in and your brain signals you that "Oh, here comes another student". But this student takes the seat in front and is your tutor. Feels like your friend tutoring you..haha.
Accomodation. The place I stay is probably one of the best places to stay in Perth (at least in my view). Subi (short for Subiaco) is a suburb located beside the city. I have made a list of why this place is great.
1. Very close to the city, takes about a little more than 5 mins to city.
2. Direct bus to Uni, which is really great for me who takes it everyday. The buses are on time and they are affordable.
3. Supermarkets. The two largest supermarket chains Woolworths and Coles are walking distance which is so awesome. I love supermarkets here.
4.Banks. Subi has all the major banks here also within walking distance which makes things so convenient. 7 mins on foot and about 2 mins on car.
5.Train station. About 8 mins on foot, you get to the train station which can lead you to almost anywhere you want. Haven't been on one though.
6. Subi market. Wonderful place to get all the vegetables and fruits. It's like a one-stop place . Also has some eateries there.
7. Bunnings. It's one of the largest hardware retailers in Australia and its just beside the train station and Subi market. Any hardware or spare parts, probably has it all.
8.Subiaco Oval. Not quite a big plus to me but it looks so damn nice. This is the only stadium where National Australian Footie is played in WA. It also recently hosted South Africa against the Wallabies for rugby. When there's a game, the crowd is quite loud and it echoes around the houses nearby and can definitely hear it.
9.Restaurants. There's plenty of places to eat in Subi. Ranging from fast food to classy ones. Desserts are also everywhere. Host of choices here except for the Asian food.
10. Shopping. Not quite my thing, but there are so many apparel and clothing outlets for shopppers. It ranges from the Esprits to the D&Gs range. So for people on a tight budget like me, we just walk past them everyday. I would say there are about 30 clothing outlets nearby. City is a stone throw away so there's a lot to look at. We also have Harvey Norman ( home appliances) and Harbour Town (Place for apparels and some eateries) nearby.
11. Entertainment. A half stone throw away is Northbridge, the major entertainment precinct for Perth (Lifted from the newspaper,lol). Clubs, bars, restaurants, billiard centres are all there.
And of course, living with family makes things very different. It's almost like I didn't leave home.I guess being home-sick is not quite on the menu.
~deyao~
