Taken for granted!

On the morning of Tuesday 27th July, there were multiple announcements going off at different train stations about the cancellations and expected delays for almost all train services. The core reason for this was a power outage near Southern Cross station.

I was on my way to work and it rang alarm bells in my mind as I heard the announcement. Confused and maybe bewildered as the place I work at is a fair distance away from home, I quickly opted for a cab. That was surely the choice for many people who were left stranded on various train stations and so the burden shifted to trams and buses which were flooded by lots of people travelling across Melbourne.

Aside from this one major incident, I am proud to say that Australia offers a strong public transport network for overseas students. Being students, we rely on public transport as it is more economical since we already face financial constraints.

I am sure we take public transport for granted and do not realise how the infrastructure supports people who cannot afford a car. One power failure and we rave and rant as if the world has ended, just imagine if there was minimal public transport at all or if disruptions were more frequent.

Think and imagine the stress we would be in if we had to rely on cabs or restrict our travel as we are fearful of travelling costs.

Hot tip: Enjoy free travel on Friday as compensation for the disruptions on Tuesday.

The last moment choices

On the auspicious day of 16th July 2010 (Last day of enrolment), I was astonished to find a mob of students who were in a confused state of mind. They were unable to decide what courses they should enrol in, what courses they should add or drop and so on…The interesting fact is that decisions made on this day will drive and perhaps become a part of your dynamic future environment. Decision making should stem from a desire of wanting to produce the best outcomes for ourselves.

Surprisingly, the scenario at enrolment was completely different as most of the decisions made that day were done in a hasty fashion for some of students. Most of them sounded ambiguous and solely relied on their friends for feedback on courses they’ve done.

What I am unable to understand is the time and effort, or lack of that some students accord in deciding what’s best for their future, especially when a substantial amount of money is being invested in an overseas education.

These two years are just not years of study but a collection of different learning experiences, survival, struggle and getting to know ourselves in a completely different way. We learn how to multitask and adapt.

In my last blog, I mentioned that Australia is very indulging and it is true. Find out what community activities are available where you live. The reason I emphasise more about interacting with the community is that there are many volunteer activities going on which can be a valuable experience to us.

Interaction will not leave us ‘lost in translation’ when we hear new terms but provides an opportunity to get an insight into Australian way of living.

Hot tip: Just walk down to Wesley church on Lonsdale Street as they have volunteer English speaking classes. It is quite helpful in overcoming language barrier.

Be careful……………….of contracts

I welcome all of you to Australia and by now most of you would have enrolled in your courses, found a place to stay and familiarised yourself with transport routes to get around your dwelling area. We are all happy with the way we can access lots of facilities and services easily but when signing up for one, be sure of the fine print in the contract. Most of the basic services such as subscribing to a mobile phone provider lock customers into a contract, often for two years or more and when we want to change providers, is not possible because you have signed a contract which someone may have sold to you at your doorstep, in a sweet telephone chat or an interesting brochure.

When entering a contract, (this could be your rental lease agreement, gym membership, utilities, mobile or home phone plan, Internet) ensure that
· you are in your right mood or attitude;
· you listen to each and every word said to you and you understand the policies, terms and conditions before you sign them;
· you keep away from companies that offer misleading information; and
· you know how much the early termination fee will cost you should you decide to change providers / exit the contract.

The above is not to scare anyone, but just so everyone is rigged up with information.
I would also like to add that we can always find time just to browse what we have done in the class and not let it pile up till the last moment. I think we tend to loose our headspace a bit when the final weeks come, and it gets bedraggled. But these are the few things which trouble us as international students and sometimes appear as nightmares.

At CQUniversity, I feel blessed because I can always access the lectures, assignment help and contents which are available at course sites.
Enjoy your roller coaster ride of curricular and co-curricular activities and be fun loving.

Hot tip: Sneak out to community events you will see a part of Australia that is more indulging.

If only...

Recently I observed that we see, experience and also learn a lot from the surroundings or happenings around us. But the imagination of these two words entirely changed the meaning of how we look at issues circulating in the environment we create for ourselves. As students we feel we are going through the rough phase of our lives with activities like planning lessons, doing house chores and if possible working part-time. Just take a moment to sit down and ponder. Coming half-way around the world and trekking on a path that we choose to accomplish our dreams. It is quite simple to ask ourselves did it happen to us or did we do it ourselves. Yes, we did it to ourselves. Honestly we may not be in majority among that group of people who wait for things to happen rather we write our destinations ourselves. And as you cruise along the turfs of the journey you would realise that we need to be happy because we did the best to ourselves as we ventured to Australia and study not only the academic component but also the facets of life which we may have missed out. If only….and once you touch your feet on the Australian land remember to be e-consistent and do not eaves drop on cliché’s that murmur around you. Nowadays what seems to be successful and global probably needs a pre-fix of e attached to it. Well in my book of experience e-consistent denotes being extremely consistent to get things working for you. There is always a lot of potential information available to all of us. The drawback is we are habitual of being ignorant and that is how we are burdened. Do not read if you do not enjoy it but definitely browse as you will not regret.