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Part 1 – Monthly Activity Log July
I arrived in Sydney on 21st July 2015. Temperature was around 12 -‐ 15℃. I checked into urbanest, which is one of the two guaranteed exchange student accomodations. School started on 27th July 2015 and as a result I spent the first week touring around the city, including the Opera House, Circular Quay, The Rocks, Town Hall and China Town. The first day of school is also the Orientation Day, which all the clubs and societies were gathered on the Eastern Avenue recruiting new members. I joined the HK Student Association and the Movement and Dance Society (MAD Soc) for $5 each. August
I have settled my course registration and timetable before school commenced. I spent my first few weeks to familiarize myself with the campus and the area I lived in. I went to an event called “Breakfast with Koala” organized by the school’s Study Abroad and Exchange Team, at the Sydney Wildlife Zoo. It includes a tour in the Zoo and breakfast along the koala zone, and you get to take photos with the koalas for free. My friends and I visited Canberra during a weekend. We also went to Manly, Symbio Wildlife Park and watched our first rugby match at the Sydney Football Stadium. September
September was a hectic month in Usyd. I was buried in quizzes, assignments, presentations and midterm exams. Fortunately, I had all my assessments finished before the midsemester break so I had nothing to worry about during the break. There is a one-‐week midsemester break at the end of the month. My friends and I went on a 7-‐day trip to Tasmania and Melbourne. October
Despite finishing most of the assessments in September, I had a few remaining during October but still managed to do some explorations nearby. In particular, we did the Bondi to Coogee Walk and went to a 1-‐day Port Stephen Tour. The highlight of the tour was the dolphin cruise and sandboarding. Classes also ended this month. I volunteered in an exchange pre-‐departure info session for the Usyd students and represented Hong Kong.
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November
There is a one week study break before final examinations commenced. Some of my exchange friends took this opportunity to travel while I chose to stay behind to study. Fortunately, most of my finals are non-‐cummulative which eased part of the burden. The Usyd Study Abroad and Exchange Team also organised a farewell party during the break. It was a great time to wrap up while nostalgic to meet the friends I have met during the semester for the very last time. It was also very kind of the Exchange Team to give us each a goodie bag as souvenirs to bring back home :DD After finals, my friends and I went on our last trip together to Adelaide before I head back home. I spent my last night in Sydney watching the Australian Ballet’s Sleeping Beauty at Sydney Opera House.
Part 2 – General Exchange Information 1. Visa Procedures
After receiving the offer from HKUST SBM, you have to apply for the exchange program via USyd’s online system yourself. Do remember to have your official transcript, proof of english proficiency and passport ready to be uploaded online. Later when you receive the offer letter from USyd, the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) will be issued. Then you can proceed with your Austrlian student visa application online. A body check is required. You also have to pay for the OSHC (a health insurance required for international students by the Aus gov). You do not need to print the visa out as Australia is visa label-‐free. 2. Orientation Activities
Orientation events took place one week before school started. Apart from the info sessions and campus tours, the Exchange Team also organises some short trips prior to the start of semester, which includes surf camp and dolphin cruise. For more information, subscribe to the Exchange Team’s facebook page for updates. 3. International Services & Activities
Your exchange coordinator from USyd will constantly send you emails concerning important messages. Feel free to send them any questions or concerns you have! Or you may visit the Student Center at the Jane Foss Russel Building. You can also sign up for pairing up with a local exchange buddy but unfortunately I have never met mine.
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4. Accomodations
Urbanest (Cleveland Street) and Queen Mary Building are the only two guaranteed accomodation for exchange students. Queen Mary Building (QMB) is on campus and just opened July 2015. I chose to stay at Urbanest’s single ensuite room in a 6-‐person apartment despite the fact that it takes a 8-‐10 minutes walk from school, because you have to be obliged to a 5-‐month contract for Queen Mary Building and still have to pay for all 5 months’ rent even if you wish to leave Sydney early, while Urbanest’s contract ends at late November. Besides, QMB is located at the far end of campus while urbanest is closer to the city center. My rent is $375 per week and the rent includes 15GB of wifi only. Yet, some of my local Aussie friends said you can have a lot of decent options with $375. Urbanest is located at Redfern, which is known to be a notorious suburb as there used to be a lot of aboriginals living in the area. However, I found walking back alone at night not that scary after adapting to the area. 5. Course Registration
The average load in USyd is 4 units of study (UoS) and exchange studens are only allowed to undertake 4 courses. You will be requested to select 4 courses that you would like to be enrolled in along with the exchange application and another 4 courses as backup in case you do not meet the course prerequisites. Notififcations of approval will be sent later after the receipt of exchange offer from USyd. You can modify your UoS during the add/drop period. Unlike HKUST, most of the courses at USyd offer one lecture session only with numerous tutorial sessions, and there is no quota limitations for their UoS. Yet, unlike the flexibility we enjoy at HKUST where you get to arrange your timetable, your timetable will be automatically assigned by the Sydney Student system while the system randomly assigns you to a tutorial session and thus you cannot manually choose a specific session that you would like to enroll in. You can try to block out certain times that you do not want to have classes and the system would try to switch your tutorials to meet your preference. 6. Teaching & Assessment Methods
Each course usually consists of a two-‐hour lecture and a one-‐hour tutorial each week. Tutorials in USyd are very important as most of the learning takes place during tutorials. You will usually be asked to prepare some discussion questions or homework that are related to the week’s topic prior to class. Tutes are mainly interactive discussions led by tutors. Try to attend all the tutorials if possible as
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examinations are often based on tutorial materials, and you will find the exam questions highly resemble the discussion questions in class. 8. Cost/Expenses
Items Approximate Cost (AUD) Rent $375 / week Mobile Prepaid Plan $40 / month Weekly Budget (including food, transport) $200 / week The above is a list of my commodities expense. As for the travel expenses, they really depend on your travel style. We usually fly Jetstar or Tigerair, which are both budget flights. 9. Social Clubs & Networking Opportunities
You can make new friends from class or by joiing clubs and societies. I joined the Hong Kong Student Association and Movement And Dance Club. In order to join clubs, you have to apply for the access card and pay the student union membership fee. It was $45 for a semester. It might be quite a lot but you can get 15% off for most of the food and merchandise on campus. 10. Health & Safety
If you fall sick, go see the doctor at Wentworth Building and you do not need to pay as the fee is covered by your OSHC. The sky darkens pretty early during winter and spring time in Sydney, usually at around 5:30pm. Shops close at 5pm as well and the street can be really quiet and dark so try to return home before sunset if you do not feel comfortable walking alone on the street at night. Redfern was used to be known as a notorious place for robbery as there used to be a lot of aboriginals staying in the area (while I found it ok after I adapted to the environment). Yet, if you find it uncomfortable to walk alone at night, you can take the school’s free security bus outside Fisher Library to Redfern Station. 11. Food
It is much more expensive to dine out in Sydney than in Hong Kong. I usually make my own breakfast and buy pre-‐made meals for dinner as I literally cannot cook (although I did manage to learn some simple dishes eventually). You can get cheap food (~$7-‐10) on campus, at Broadway, Ultimo and Newtown. I usually dine out during weekends with friends at city area and it can cost you from $12-‐20. The
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largest supermarkets in Sydney are Coles and Woolworth, while Aldi offers great deals and you can find one at Broadway Shopping Center. 12. Transportation
As exchange student, you get to enjoy concession discount and can take transportation for half price. You will receive a code from the school’s sytem after accepting your offer to apply for concession opal card. Opal card is similar to Octopus but you can only use it on transportations. 13. Climate
It is still winter time in Sydney during July and August and the temperature gradually rises afterwards. The temperature during winter in Sydney is similar to that in Hong Kong. It is usually around 20-‐25℃ from late September to November but it can occassionally hit up to 30℃ during November. It was once 40℃ in mid November and you can feel the heat even from the breeze. 14. Communication
I opted for Vodafone’s prepaid monthly plan. I registered my plan at the Vodafone booth inside the school’s Wentworth Building. My plan was $40 per month including 3GB data and 300 minutes of international call. As I registered at school, they kindly offered me an extra 1GB data each month plus the first month of bill free of charge. 15. Cautionary measures
Dial 000 for emergency purpose. 16. Travel suggestions
Sydney Opera House, Harbor Bridge, The Rocks, Circular Quay, Luna Park, Town Hall, Darling Harbor, Fish Market, Chinatown, Glebe Market, Paddington Market, Bondi Beach (Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk & Sculpture by the Sea), Manly Beach
Places a bit farther
Port Stephens, Kiama, Blue Mountain
Canberra Parliament House (Former & New), War Memorial Melbourne CBD, Great Ocean Road, St. Kilda, Philip Island Tasmania Hobart, Salamanca Market, MONA, Freycinet, Longceston, Cradle
Mountain Adelaide Hayes Chocolate Factory, Barrosa Valley