Arrival and Orientation Week:
After the infinitely long flight I arrived in Melbourne in the evening. Abbreviated as LTU by AbbreviationFinder, The La Trobe University offers a free pick-up service from the airport that brings you to his hostel, AirBnB or, as in my case, to the campus. This is really practical because you don’t have to worry too much about how best to get from the airport to your sleeping place. I arrived so late that the Accommodation Service Center was no longer manned, but the Night Manager took care of everything. He gave me my keys and drove me to the apartment on campus. I shared the apartment with 3 other girls, which by and large worked out well. However, you have to say that you have to set aside your claims from Germany a little. At least if you move into the somewhat cheaper apartment on campus! There was no functioning heating in the apartment and contrary to my idea of always warm and sunny Australia, it was really cold in Melbourne. The rooms are rather sparsely furnished with a small bed, wardrobe, desk and desk chair. The common rooms were quite dirty and even with a cleaning action by two roommates and me, they couldn’t really get it clean. The first few days I was very cold in my apartment, but then I bought a small heater from Target. The common rooms were quite dirty and even with a cleaning action by two roommates and me, they couldn’t really get it clean. The first few days I was very cold in my apartment, but then I bought a small heater from Target. The common rooms were quite dirty and even with a cleaning action by two roommates and me, they couldn’t really get it clean. The first few days I was very cold in my apartment, but then I bought a small heater from Target. I haven’t paid too much for the room by Australian standards, but it was still significantly more expensive than my room in my flat share in Munster. Another drawback was that the apartment was on campus and it is outside of the city. Accordingly, you always have to pay for public transport into the city and it takes a good hour to get into the city.
The first week the Orientation Week was offered by the La Trobe University, which was really good! I was a few days late for registration due to exams in Germany. But that wasn’t a problem at all and I was able to register later without any problems. Orientation Week was mainly about getting to know other international students, the campus and the city. There were various activities, such as a city rally, information events, a reptile show and the like. Orientation Week gives you a good first impression and really gets to know a lot of people!
To study:
After Orientation Week, the actual study began. I had taken 3 courses and had a one-hour lecture and a two-hour tutorial for each course. First of all, it took a while to find your way around the large campus, but with time you get the hang of it. I found the courses really interesting and all the professors were really nice and competent. The relationship between professor and student was much more relaxed than in Germany, so all professors were addressed simply by their first names. However, I have to say that I came to Australia with different expectations. The courses were all very labor-intensive and demanding. I spent a lot of time sitting in the bib writing essays, doing online quizzes, preparing group work and presentations, and the like. I was so used to it from Germany that you only have presentations during the semester and otherwise exams or homework at the end of the semester. I was even more limited in terms of time, as I had then looked for a part-time job in a restaurant and was very busy there. That’s why I was actually always very busy during the week, but on weekends I always drove into town with friends or we did things together. There was always something going on in Melbourne and I really liked the city. As I said, it takes a while to get to town, but public transport is very good and you can either take the bus or tram straight into town. There is also a free bus service on campus, the Free Glider. The bus always leaves the same route on campus, making it easy to get to the nearest supermarket, tram station or university building. It was particularly practical that you could call the bus if you had to get from A to B in the evening. My work was right at a station from the Glider, so coming home was always very easy. I saved most of the money from work in order to use it to travel after the semester. Afterwards I went to Australia, New Zealand and Bali with a friend I met in Australia! I have to say that traveling was the highlight of my stay abroad and I would recommend everyone to take the chance and see as much of the country as possible!
Conclusion:
I would recommend everyone to do a semester abroad and take the chance to take this unique experience with them. Melbourne is a really good city! Of course you don’t have the nice weather all year round as in Sydney or Brisbane, but the city is unique for that. There are so many different beautiful corners and there is always something to do. I liked La Trobe very much! I always had a contact person in case of problems and they really tried to help you. The La Trobe University buildings were very modern and technically well equipped! The way from campus to the city was of course a bit annoying at times, but it is still worth studying at La Trobe! In retrospect, I would regulate living differently. It was always quite annoying to live so far away from the city, but of course it is also more expensive and difficult to find something reasonably good in the city. But everyone has to weigh up what is most important to them.
