UTS Think Global

How’s the Music?

May 12, 2016

I’ve been living in Berlin for about 2 months now, and so far, I’ve had some of the most amazing experiences of my life. It is definitely one of my favourite cities in the world, and the more time I spend here, the more that is reinforced.

At first I was a bit nervous. The idea of hopping on a plane and flying across the world, knowing I would be spending a whole semester here, made me slightly anxious, but that feeling subsided pretty quickly.

The main reason I decided to go to Berlin was to experience the very open-minded culture, music scene and bustling night life, and I have not been let down yet. I was lucky enough to find an apartment in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, which is an area amongst it all. It’s full of great cafes, bars, restaurants and clubs, all while not being too far from my university.

Our apartment on a sunny afternoon.

It is a very multicultural city, so there are some amazing places around to grab a bite to eat. The large Turkish community in my area means there are kebab stands on nearly every corner; a cheap, delicious meal that goes perfectly with the busy Berlin nightlife.

There are an almost endless amount of bars and clubs around Kreuzberg, so no matter what day or time, there will be somewhere open, full of people, great music and great beer. I’ve had some great times watching live jazz music, sharing drinks in a cosy bar, and dancing till the early morning in some of the worlds bests clubs. There are record stores, art galleries and second hand clothing shops all over the place. The arts are very much ingrained in the culture here and it is a really inspiring place to be.

My room mate and I checking out a local record store.

I’ve had the opportunity of meeting many new people from all over the world through my university, Hochschule für Technik und Wirtschaft (HTW Berlin). A free German intensive course was given in the lead up to the semester, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. I got to know many of the people on exchange at HTW, while picking up a couple of phrases and keywords in German. The lecturers here have all been great so far, and there has been a big emphasis on group work, making the whole learning environment very different to what I’m used to, considering you get to share your knowledge, ideas and experiences with people from a very different background to you.

Another benefit of doing exchange in Germany is that it is so central to Europe. I’ve already travelled to Iceland, Hungary and the Netherlands, and have plans to go to Spain, France and Switzerland next month. With flights and bus rides going for as cheap as €20, it’s impossible not to do a few weekend trips around Europe!

Iceland.

Now that Spring has finally arrived and the weather is warming up, the city is becoming even more alive. Walking around the Kreuzberg area you will see people having picnics and hanging out around the parks and sprees, the outdoor seating at every restaurant and café is full to brim with Berliners and outdoor music events pop up all over the place (also known as Open Air’s here in Berlin.) The positive vibes are infectious! If you’re thinking about going to Berlin on exchange, just do it. You won’t regret it!

Berlin Cathedral

Angelo Farinha 11196413
Exchange in München

May 12, 2016

I have been in Munich for just over a month now and the time has flown by! At first the culture shock was quite intense, particularly because my residence is in a german student village…so most students speak german / bavarian. This made my first few days a little bit isolating but after going to a few events I have met many great friends.

Living in Munich is extraordinary, the city is very small and has more of a village feel than a city, with a central town area where events often take place. Living below the alps is an amazing experience and they can be seen clearly from the city on a clear day. In terms of the student social scene there is stuff to do every day, with the universities working hard to arrange activities and the ERASMUS / Exchange representatives setting up meeting events every weekend.

I was lucky to stay with a dozen german students on a farm a few weeks ago while on an excursion to draw a historic building for the week. Having very limited German language experience this week became a crash course in german! Although all students will speak quite good english, the student naturally feel more comfortable talking amongst themselves in their native tongue. I enjoyed this because it gave me an opportunity to push myself into learning some German and stop getting by using english all the time.

During the Spring – the state of Bavaria celebrates beer and culture with the Frülingsfest which is apparently a precursor to Octoberfest or Die Weis’n as it is traditionally called. The tents are full of beers and food and music and lederhosen…and the smiles continue all day until you cannot smile any longer! it is a fantastic experience that should not be missed. I should note that I have learned the typical associations we have with Germany such as the lederhosen, 1 litre beers, big pretzels and farmland are not really German at all. They are in fact Bavarian which is a state of Germany. There is a distinct rivalry between northern and southern Germany – however I am glad that I have landed in Bavaria because the cultural traditions are very strong, as shown below.

Thank you for reading!

Angus Busuttil – 11380577

Bachelor or Civil Engineering and Architecture
MILANO EXCHANGE

May 9, 2016

Being an Exchange student is sometime challenging. You have to away from you home country, family and uni and sometime you feel nostalgic and miss your friends. However, 3 months of my experience in Milan, italy is so amazing that you hardly think about all the things that u had to leave behind.

Firstly Being in Europe gives you a lot of chances to travel many countires. I have visited quite a few cities that ive dreamed of before semester begins. I went to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Cologne, Berlin, Prague, Budapest in 20 days. It was first time travelling by myself, so i was a little bit scared but at the same time it was super exciting. Its definitely a life time experience that id never forget.

I fianlly reach Milan in the beginning of march and go to uni called Politecnico di Milano. People in italy are generally very kind and willing to help you. I had no problem making some local friedns at uni. This Uni is quite different to UTS in so many way. For example, their teaching style with different apprach to design process is quite unique and very interesting. And they value more of engineering field of architecture. So we get to learn more of structure and mechanism behind designing an architecture.

The city, Milan is one of the most unique city that ive ever been. They have many delicious Milanese foods, crazy about fashion and art and fianlly its very easy to travel to other cities in Italy, as the transportstion is well developed and there are tons of buses and trains departs from Milan Centrale. Sometime my friends and i go to visit other city durig the weekend for 1 or 2 days. Florence was one of the unforgettable destination so far. The whole city was alive museum. Every street are very old and feels like you are in the past, couple of hundreds years back.

I am writing this now on the bus with all my class mates on the way to foundation of Renzo Piano in Genoa, one the famous port city.

I am enjoying this exchange program every single bit and very thanksful for uts exchange team for giving me this wonderful opportunity.

Dongyun Lee _12012530

B Design in Architecture
SUPERDUTCH

May 8, 2016

With every passing day, Rotterdam is feeling more and more like the undiscovered little sibling of Amsterdam, full of creative energy, events, pop-ups and initiatives but totally void of all the touristy things cluttering central Amsterdam. Completely flattened by bombings in World War II, Rotterdam has been entirely rebuilt in an array of colourful, eccentric architectural styles and is now both a truly contemporary European city and still the largest port of Europe. Around half the population being non-dutch, the city is largely multi-cultural and there is a strong sense of mutual respect for all the nationalities and traditions in play here. I love the vibe of living here.

I’ve been living here for 3 months while studying Architecture on exchange for one semester at the BK City faculty of TU Delft which is just shy of a 12km bike ride from Rotterdam. Both the architecture faculty and the city of Rotterdam are boiling pots for both architecture and creativity in general, plus daily commute by either bike or bus along the canal everyday makes for a very worthy journey to what is, in my opinion, the best equipped architecture faculty imaginable. I like to think of it a little like the Hogwarts of Architecture Schools, in the quaint but progressive small city of Delft is this HUGE renovated building where a generous portion of the budget was spent on designer chairs. Every service lit with neon signage, the faculty has its own; epic model hall, printing services, bookstore and model shop, architecture library, PUB, bike parking, cafeteria, model making specialists and thats not to mention all the public lectures and highly acclaimed members of staff. Once you spend some time here it is easy to understand how TU Delft was recently voted fourth best architecture school IN THE WORLD, it is really a melting pot for those ambitious budding architects.

As everyone knows, exchange is definitely not all about studious ambition and the Australian student in Europe would be crazy not to take advantage of their temporary existence in the most highly connected continent in the world. Since arriving in Holland via Paris for one week in February, I have spent time in Berlin, London, Amsterdam and have made plans for summer to travel Switzerland, Portugal, Spain, Serbia, England, Italy and Scandinavia. In Rotterdam, the past 4 days have been the “hottest weekend across the whole of europe” and the dutch really don’t think twice about relaxing when the sun emerges. I have been relaxing with friends and Barbecuing with beers in the KRALINGSE BOS with what felt like the entire city of Rotterdam; families, friends, kids all swimming, cooking, eating, dancing and seeing the festivities late after sunset with some sticking around to camp the night.

Today is the last day of sunshine before classes resume, so I must sign off and head for the coast for a swim, for anyone considering heading this way to learn more about the dutch creative culture and TU Delft – DO IT; http://www.adrianemanuel.com/blog/2016/4/tudelft?utm_content=buffereb591&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

eleanor peres _ 11238108
Four reasons why coming to Spain is proving to be the best decision I’ve ever made!

May 7, 2016

The food-

Think mouthwatering goodness, hangover cure, grandma’s Sunday lunch, the finest delicacies you could ever devour and role it all up and you’ve got Spanish food down to a tee. There’s Paella- Spain’s most famous dish. It’s a smoky rice meal compact with fresh seafood, exotic flavors and a pinch of spice. Pincho de Tortilla is a Spanish omelet which is surprisingly good after a night out when mixed with chorizos and fried to perfection! Churros con Chocolate is to dye for- it resembles a donut shaped liked finger sticks and has a warm and cinnamon like consistency that you simply dip into milky chocolate and eat and eat and eat…

The culture-

From living in Spain for only a few months, I feel I have become more culturally sensitive to world affairs. My understanding of people around me and my appreciation for the different ways people interact has grown tenfold. Spain has a rich history. There has been everything from wars, religious revelations, and economic struggles all the way to a dictatorship and a free-love movement. Spain is not short of glorious culture. I still marvel at the architecture that’s all around me as I walk down the street- going for evening runs past a crystal palace is pure bliss!

I must not forget to mention it is the people who make this culture so great. No matter how advanced or poor your language skills are; every Spaniard wants to help you. They are a lively and warm bunch of people. To me, it feels like there is a sense of being in a small ‘local-country’ community in the big cities. Because, well everyone loves to know everyone and they look after their own like you’re part of the family.

The independence-

Moving out of home for the first time to a foreign country where I couldn’t speak the language, knew nobody and didn’t have a place to stay when I arrived proved to be the best possible experience for me! I had to go apartment searching by myself. I had to start cooking, cleaning and paying bills on my own while still trying to keep on top of school work and socializing. But the rewards ran deep! I can now say I have met people from around the world who are best friends I’ll keep for life. You will party in one of the best nightlife districts in the world in a way you didn’t know was possible and of course; you will live a life that involves lots of siestas (because sleeping in the day is important). It is so satisfying to make your own rules and have the freedom to do things when you want.

The spontaneous adventure-

Pop over to Portugal for the weekend or maybe take a flight to Paris. Perhaps Amsterdam is on your mind. Why not take a train to Germany? The possibilities are endless and because Spain is located in such a convenient part of Europe- you’re bound to have spontaneous weekenders that you’ll never forget. At the end of my exchange I will be backpacking through Europe for two months, so right now I am focusing on seeing as much of Spain as possible. This in itself is the most incredible adventure. I will defiantly be coming back to this fabulous land!

Georgina Lenehan xxx

Georgina Lenehan- 11700717
Seoul City is the place to be!

May 5, 2016
If your asking yourself right now should i go to Korea on exchange? The answer is : absolutely!

I was once in your shoes, but hey! currently i am in Seoul, Korea on exchange at Yonsei University and I am loving every single moment.

I did have high expectations for Yonsei University, and Yonsei definitely delivered and exceeded them on a whole new level.

The campus is beautiful and both staff and students are extremely helpful, especially with directions or any questions you may have about Korea or the university itself.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CAMPUS:
- The campus is so beautiful/insta-worthy 😉
- Food on campus is cheap, you can get pasta for 3,000won ($4 AUD) and there’s a great variety. Ranging from Korean meals, bentos, pizza etc
- The teachers/professors are all very friendly/helpful (they bring you snacks !!!)
- The library is amazing (great collection and the perfect place to study)
- The Yonsei Campus has everything. eg: bank, cafateria, starbucks, union shop, bakery, optometrist, book shop.
- One of the biggest/well-known hospitals in Korea, Yonsei’s Severance hospital is on-site at the university
- There’s a lot of societies that you can join, ranging from hip-hop to volleyball and they are extremely open to exchange students signing up!
KEY FEATURES OF THE DORMITORY:
- There is a gym, laundry room, computer lab, kitchen and several lounge areas
- The dorms have good security, (24 hour night guard)
- There is someone always at the front desk to help you with anything (eg, from when your sink gets clogged to when you need medical services)
- You can choose between individual rooms or shared rooms
- The dorms are very close to your classes
- The bottom level has a cafe/restaurant/place to get a phone contract/convenience store/burger shop
- The area Sinchon, is a nice area to live in
WHAT I’M GOING TO MISS THE MOST:
- Korea’s delivery service: basically in Korea they deliver everything from McDonalds to Schnitzel to Sushi. Wherever you want, whenever you want.
- KFC : Korean Fried Chicken is only 16,000won ($20 aud)
- A lot of places are 24hour, and the shopping centres open till at least 8:30pm everyday
- Street food is everywhere, and it’s cheap and delicious
——

I remember before coming on exchange i had a heap of questions, and really just wanted to know what the dorms were like? what is there to eat on campus?

So definitely if you have any questions at all or want a better look at what Korea is like and what Yonsei University is like feel free to check out my vlogs and post any questions which i will try to answer to the best of my ability 🙂

Eunice Oh, 12005207
Guess what? It’s Mannheim!!

May 5, 2016

I couldn’t believe it’s been 2 months since I arrived in Germany. I still remember that I was so lost on the first day I arrived with a bulky luggage and trying to get from airport to my accommodation with the instruction that I got from the university. On the first week upon my arrival, I was busying with my registration as I missed the orientation due to my visa problem. I was glad that I have met someone in the first event organised by VISUM (an student organisation) who has helped me along with my registration.

Mannheim is a small city which can reach within 30 minutes by ICE from the Frankfurt airport. It also takes about 15 minute to get to Frankfurt city by ICE. I’m studying in University of Mannheim which located in Schloss(basically means palace). This is so different as compared to UTS and it’s so cool to study in a palace, isn’t it? I’m staying in student accommodation at Ulmenweg which has a lot of exchange and local students living there. It takes about 20 minutes by bus to get to uni and there will be a new tram line within next few months. It’s quite convenient to live here and the only bad thing is that there’s no buses at midnight during weekday. In other word, you have to take a cab back if you are going to party on weekday.There’s a party going on every Tuesday which organised by VISUM. It’s a good place if you like to party every week. VISUM runs a lot of events such as pub crawls, VISUM goes ice hockey, Frühlingsfest, and trips to Cologne, Hamburg, Munich etc…. Although I won’t be able to join the German largerst event Oktoberfest, I managed to join the Frühlingsfest last week in Stuttgart which provide me an insight how German celebrate festival. I couldn’t believe that I had 2L beer in less than 3 hours and Frühlingsfest was a highlight in my exchange journey.

As you all know Germany is located in the centre of Europe so it’s so convenient to travel around the Europe. During my 2 weeks Easter break, I went to Scandinavia countries and will travel around after my final exam. With less than 3 months left, I’m looking forward to join more events and travel around Europe to make the most of my exchange journey.

Schloss (University)

Landmark of Mannheim: Wasserturm (Water tower)

VISUM goes Pub Crawl

VISUM goes Ice Hockey

Brewery Tour in EICHBAUM (Mannheim)

Cologne Trip

Tulip Garden in Amsterdam (Keukenhof)

Frühlingsfest Stuttgart

Tieng Soeng Tiu 11787114
Life in Dornbirn, Austria

May 4, 2016

It’s been roughly 2 and a half months since I arrived in Dornbirn, Austria and after months of deciding where I should go on exchange, I honestly couldn’t be happier with where I’ve chosen. Time had flown by so fast, and I never thought I’d be this comfortable in a small town which is quite the opposite of our Sydney lifestyle!

After a solid 25 hours of travelling, arriving in Dornbirn was pretty… anticlimactic. A solid 24 hours sleep is definitely needed upon arrival! On my first real night in Dornbirn, the exchange students were already interacting like a big family, going to one of the more popular bars in the city centre. If you’re thinking about going on exchange, you definitely don’t need be worried about making friends especially if you’re living with other exchange students, everyone because very close very quickly. Also, despite being a small town, you’ll always find something to do in Dornbirn with your new family whether is be skiing (badly), going for walks in the mountains, going to the markets in the platz on Wednesday & Saturday or going out on the weekend.

Dornbirn is an incredible place to be positioned in Europe as well. It’s 4 hours from Munich, 1.5 from Zurich, 5 from Milan and 6 from Vienna. I’ve been lucky enough to do some travelling because of this and it’s been so wonderful exploring new cities with a new group of friends.

As well as this, Fachhochschule Vorarlberg is an amazing university with great facilities and very helpful and hands on professors. Studying print design, I’ve found that I’ve really been able to push myself. You work on a lot of projects in groups as well which helps make connections with the local students which has been very interesting.

If you’re even slightly considering FHV/Dornbirn, I would say go for it! You might be hesitant thinking about it, but it’s a great area and a beautiful town and the university if very supportive of the international students. It’s been amazing making new friends and having the time to travel and having the opportunity to make new experiences with them. And don’t worry about being able to speak German! The course here is amazing and helps you with the basics.

Here are some pics!

Cassie Ciccarelli

11998150 – Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication

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Schweizer Reisen: Life in Zurich

May 4, 2016

I have been in Zurich now for over 3 months and can safely say I have loved every moment! The experience has been eye-opening and refreshing in a number of ways (the tap water is insanely fresh snow melt from the mountains!) and will definitely influence my imminent life decisions going forward.

When I first arrived in Switzerland, I was very nervous on a number of fronts; surviving the notorious snake pit that is the Swiss prices, not knowing any German outside of “Ein Bier Bitte” and would I be able to adapt to deal with a city where public transport runs like its famed clockwork as oppose to Sydney where the train timetable is as trust worthy Friday afternoon happy hour sushi.

I have not even noticed this problems in my months, enjoying the solutions they have forced me to seek. I have been able to learn German in Uni and using it in daily life (although Swiss-German differs a bit from High-German) while I have been here, have come to expect to the minute accuracy in my transport and have even obtained a Swiss train concession that allows free travel to Germany after 7 where I can shop incredibly cheaply and gorge on Currywurst to my hearts content.

(The view of Lake Zurich from Uetliburg – A 15 minute tram and 1 hour hour hike away from Zurich main station)

I think reflecting on the past 3 months, the two main big things that stand out for me are no doubt the majestic scenery and the incredible convenience of living in the middle of Europe. Zurich is located at the foot of Lake Zurich, an absolutely pristine lake with the glorious Swiss alps standing in the background. Looks more like something from middle earth then planet Earth at times, and I get to see it every day! Plus, almost every weekend I have been in another country exploring. Berlin, Prague, Vienna and even Cricket in Milan have been examples from recent weeks, with Budapest and Krakow next on the agenda!

(At Starkbierfest in Munich at the Lowenbrau Keller)

In terms of daily life, I think I have become highly skilled at climbing hills, as Zurich has a large number of hilly districts. I live in a building named Culmanstrasse 26 which has an ultra convenient location being 5 minute walk away from uni and 7-8 minute walk to the main station (which requires a really difficult hill to walk back up), which if you run directly up the hill it backs up on, takes you to a lovely forest in about 15 minutes. From here, you can have a perfect pano opportunity to observe the lake, Alps and the city of Zurich and is also fantastic to explore weather covered in snow or in flowers in the Spring.

(Skiing in the alps is an absolute must!!)

I am really not looking forward to going back to Sydney purely because it is pretty here, the people are friendly, and, to be honest, the school work is relatively easy back at UTS!

Nathan Hewitt

11734377

P.S It’s funny how aclimatized you get, I am sitting on roof top in shorts on a 15 degree day!
Viele Grüße aus München

May 4, 2016

A long way from Aus, for the last 5 months I have been calling the city of Munich my home.

My travels around Germany and Europe began in early December, in hope of a white Christmas and a snow filled winter, however this was not exactly the case… Unluckily for me, it was an unseasonably warm winter this year, with the first real snowfall in Munich happening around mid Jan. On the other hand, Luckily for me, my partner is from here and she has been more then happy to travel with me to see some real winter! Together we have slept a night in an igloo in Austria (-20˚C that night…), had a snowboarding holiday with an old friend in Switzerland, and spent New Year Eve in Belin, with temps around -10˚C. Safe to say, I have had my fill of the cold, and am very happy to see the spring starting to warm things up!

The igloo complex

Our room for the night

Boarding

A walk in Munich

Munich for Christmas

Berlin

Winter sightseeing

Since all of this travelling is far from free I have been surviving of money saved last year in Aus, however to add a little extra spending money to my time here, I have also found an online pet sitting community called PawShake. All you do is set up a profile and pet owners contact you regarding whether they need someone to walk there dog from time to time, or even to look after their pet while they are away on holiday. This has been great fun, and would highly recommend it to anyone who misses his or her pets back home.

My daily walking buddy

Our temp puppy 🙂

Off for a walk in the forrest

With the semester finally starting here in April, I have also had the chance to take an intensive German course for a month in Feb, and I am now continuing that study with a free course through the Uni during the semester. As someone who had no real knowledge of foreign language a year and a half ago, I am happy to report that I can now at least hold a conversation in German, thanks to my partner and many friendly strangers I have met along the way.

Here at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) they have plenty of opportunities for exchange students to mingle with Germans and vice versa, helping each other to learn their languages, which has been a great help so far. Unfortunately, the layout for selecting subjects as an exchange student is incredibly difficult to navigate, so this has still taken a lot of my time even with the semester having already started, but now, in week 4 of the semester, I think I finally have that sorted too… With that process being the only real stress here so far however, life in Munich ain’t too bad at all, especially with German Beer, and when your university has slides instead of elevators!

Getting in to tradition

Robert Dunn – 12033662

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