Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Lam Wan Chi @ University of Western Sydney, Australia (from CityU) 22 February - 29 June 2010
University of Western SydneyFirst day in Sydney (22ndFebruary, 2010)
After nearly 9 hours flight, I arrived at Sydney in Australia. My exchange university is University of Western Sydney and there was shuttle bus service for exchange students. I arrived at Campbelltowncampus after 1 hour. Campbelltownis a quiet suburb located far away from the City, there was nothing else except the academic buildings in the surroundings, but a shopping mall is located 30 minutes away from the campus. The campus is mainly for medicine students and offers some business courses. I met my housemates in the afternoon. They are all local people and are studying science subjects. I introduced myself to them and asked for the necessary information. The first activity for us was grocery. We went to a supermarket called Woolworths nearby.
Day 1
However, I encountered problems with the wireless Internet. My computer software was not compatible with the wireless connection requirements. I went to the I.T. centre to ask for help, another problem occurred. The staff gave me a manual and I followed the instructions. On one knew why I still couldn’t login to the internet. Meanwhile, since my Windows is Chinese version, so the I.T. staff couldn’t read Chinese. After several attempts to fix the network, they were still in vain. I had to seek help from the residence office instead. I felt a bit disappointed as I did expect the staff could help me to fix it, but they said “That’s all I can do for you.” To make things worse, there are many types of prepaid cards for local calls and International calls in Australia. I brought a SIM card which was only for local calls. Therefore, I couldn’t call home on the first day. But luckily I went to the I.T. room and left a message on Facebookto my sister. To conclude, the first day was a bit messy as I still needed time to settle down.
University of Western SydneyOrientation Week
(23rd February, 2010)
Day 3
Today was the first day of my school. I took a management course called Managing people at work. I didn’t expect that the contents are all about the Australia workforce and current trends. The lecturer has strong assent which made me feel a bit hard to hear her clearly. I paid a lot of attention to understand the content. I met a friend called Karen White, she is a friendly girl and we have the same courses. I was surprised that a large number of workforce work as part time in Australia. Karen also worked as part time bakery assistant after school. We had lunch at the lounge and spent a day in the library.
At night, there was an exchange student party at the Rocks, near the opera house in the city. I went there and met lots of students from all over the world. However, most of them stayed at Parramatta, another campus that is mainly for business subjects. I wish I had chosen to stay at Parramatta campus also, but I still have to travel an hour from Campbelltownto Parramatta for one lesson every week. We ate ice cream near the harbor and talked a lot about ourselves.
(23rd February, 2010)
This week was the orientation week for the hall residents. I joined the BBQ lunch for all the student in campbelltownresidence. The Australian style BBQ is totally different from that in Hong Kong. I only had a sausage, a slice of bread and some potato sauces on top. We just stood in an open area and talked for nearly an hour. I met many friends there and I found that Australian is really multi-cultural. There are many immigrants from all over the world. I met people from India, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Germany, etc. Most of them were born here after their parents moved to Australia.
At night, I cooked the first dinner with my housemates. I am not good at cooking as my mother always cooks for me. I tried my best to cook the potato& egg with pasta. We used the pasta sauces to mix with the potato. We chatted for the whole night after the meal.
At night, I cooked the first dinner with my housemates. I am not good at cooking as my mother always cooks for me. I tried my best to cook the potato& egg with pasta. We used the pasta sauces to mix with the potato. We chatted for the whole night after the meal.
Day 2
University of Western SydneyFirst Day of my school & exchange night
University of Western SydneyFirst Day of my school & exchange night
( 2ndMarch, 2010)
Day 3
Today was the first day of my school. I took a management course called Managing people at work. I didn’t expect that the contents are all about the Australia workforce and current trends. The lecturer has strong assent which made me feel a bit hard to hear her clearly. I paid a lot of attention to understand the content. I met a friend called Karen White, she is a friendly girl and we have the same courses. I was surprised that a large number of workforce work as part time in Australia. Karen also worked as part time bakery assistant after school. We had lunch at the lounge and spent a day in the library.
At night, there was an exchange student party at the Rocks, near the opera house in the city. I went there and met lots of students from all over the world. However, most of them stayed at Parramatta, another campus that is mainly for business subjects. I wish I had chosen to stay at Parramatta campus also, but I still have to travel an hour from Campbelltownto Parramatta for one lesson every week. We ate ice cream near the harbor and talked a lot about ourselves.
Thanks to the exchange night gathering, I met lots of exchange students and we met a few times after that. We rented a car for a week and went for road trips. I totally fall in love with the natural environment there, including the beautiful scenery, fresh air, sunshine and beaches. We went to the famous Blue Mountain to see the three sisters. It’s really awesome since the whole mountain is blue in color.
We saw kangaroo on the road and we had to be careful when driving as their reaction is not fast enough to run away from the road. Today is really a nice day as I was surrounded by beautiful nature for the whole day.
We saw kangaroo on the road and we had to be careful when driving as their reaction is not fast enough to run away from the road. Today is really a nice day as I was surrounded by beautiful nature for the whole day.
University of Western SydneyFirst Trip to the nature during Easter
(5thApril, 2010)
Day 4
Besides, we went to another suburb called Wollongong. We went hiking on the way there as we drove pass the National park. Once again, we smelt the freshness of the Green trees and we also went up to a light house where we could see the view of the beaches. At that moment, I realized why Australia is famous for its beaches. I fall in love with the nature there as it is far different from the Hong Kong that is packed with people everywhere.
(5thApril, 2010)
Day 4
Besides, we went to another suburb called Wollongong. We went hiking on the way there as we drove pass the National park. Once again, we smelt the freshness of the Green trees and we also went up to a light house where we could see the view of the beaches. At that moment, I realized why Australia is famous for its beaches. I fall in love with the nature there as it is far different from the Hong Kong that is packed with people everywhere.
University of Western Sydney I went to a China town in Parramatta. We actually cooked Chinese food before in the residence. I am surprised that they loved Chinese food so much. Today, we went to the Chinese restaurants to have 'Dim-Sum' for lunch. They learnt to use the chopsticks and tried the shrimp roll, shrimp dumpling, etc. They liked the Chinese food and said they admired the Chinese culture once they started to know the traditions. Our exchange has come to an end after the examinations. We are ready to go back to our home countries. I don’t know when we can meet again, but I am sure we can meet again in the future!
At night, there was a farewell party held in a pub called Ivy. We enjoyed our last time to be together in Australia. I couldn’t believe that it had been five months. Time really flies so fast. I changed a lot in these five months; I am now more independent, confident and mature.
University of Western SydneyChinese food day with exchange students (29thJune, 2010)
Day 5
At night, there was a farewell party held in a pub called Ivy. We enjoyed our last time to be together in Australia. I couldn’t believe that it had been five months. Time really flies so fast. I changed a lot in these five months; I am now more independent, confident and mature.
University of Western SydneyChinese food day with exchange students (29thJune, 2010)
Day 5
Labels: 2009/2010 Semester B
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