UTS Think Global

Buddies and Cheering Culture at Korea University <3

September 26, 2015

Hi! My name is Sherryne and I’ve been on exchange at Korea University (KU) for about a month or so now (and I’m loving it!!). It is relatively inexpensive to live in Korea, plus the food is delicious and the shopping is great! Korea is also the home of the best fried chicken I’ve ever eaten, and the most amazing dessert called bingsu (finely shaved ice with various toppings). Below, I have focused on two things that I have experienced as an exchange student at KU: KUBA and the Ko Yon Sports Festival.

Caramel Coffee, Berry Cheesecake and Chocolate Bingsu!

KUBA

KU has this great program called KUBA (Korea University Buddy Assistance) where every exchange student is assigned a buddy (each buddy has about 3-4 exchange students), and each buddy group is placed into a larger group with other buddies and exchange students (about 100 people in total). The KUBA buddies are really helpful! I had bought a prepaid sim card from the airport (bad idea), but wanted to cancel it and go with a different telecom provider. My buddy helped me cancel my other prepaid service and set up a new one – calling the companies and communicating with them on my behalf. Even though it was a long process, she said she was really happy she could help me with something!

Also, the KUBA groups organise two outings a week (one for lunch, the other for dinner) and fortnightly weekend group activities to explore Seoul! These meet ups and activities are a great way to make friends with other exchange students and other Korean buddies. KUBA buddies will also introduce you to Korean drinking games, which are a lot of fun! If you don’t like to drink, don’t worry, you can still participate in the games with just a glass of water. Thanks to KUBA, I can be sure to always find someone to eat, explore and have fun with!

Visit to Hanok Village

Group visit to a popular Korean Food Market

KUBA Group 8

고연전: Korea v Yonsei Sports Festival

One of the highlights of my exchange so far definitely has to be 고연전!! Every year, Korea University and Yonsei University (two of the three most prestigious universities in Korea) battle it out in five sports over two days: Baseball, Basketball, Ice Hockey, Rugby, and Soccer. The energy at these games is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. If you think you’re going to just watch the games and shout out a few words of support, you’re in for a shock. Before the games even start, you’ll be doing choreographed cheers… during the entirety of each game, you’ll be cheering… and even in the breaks you’ll be cheering! Some cheers make fun of Yonsei (Yonsei chicken!) while others support KU. The cheering culture in Korea is no joke – it is intense, crazy and whole lot of fun!! KUBA holds a cheering orientation for all the exchange students before the event to help you learn all the cheers (there’s about 20 of them!). After a short break at the end of the second day to replenish your energy, cheering continues at the after party on the streets around both universities! After cheering for two days, you’ll still be singing the cheers in your head and be suffering from cheering withdrawal! Even though KU is only my foster university, I felt a lot of KU pride over those two days. Go dae, go dae, go dae!!

Day 1: KU Pride!

Day 2: Post Ko Yon Jeon

I highly recommend Korea as an exchange destination, and KU as a host university!

By Sherryne Dayoub 11400456
Sun Yat Sen University, Guangzhou – China!

September 26, 2015

This is my first time travelling to China. Since it has such a big influence on Australia (people, immigration, food, economy, trade, politics…) so it made sense to me that I come over here to check it all out! I chose Guangzhou because it wasn’t one of the larger cities (Shanghai and Beijing), it’s in the South so it doesn’t get as cold in winter (I love the warmth) and I had heard that the environment (air quality and surroundings) is nicer than other cities. So here I am.

Before coming here I didn’t learn any Chinese at all. When I got off the plane and jumped on the airport transfer bus, the ticket man and driver both knew no English so this is when I knew I was in for a challenge. Having said that thought, it hasn’t been that hard to get by. I have used a translation app on my phone when I really need it and other times I have asked people to help translate. Most young people do know English so especially at uni you can just ask a random person to help and they always do (in my experience everyone has been very helpful!).

(Lunch with our Chinese buddy Dylan)

(My first dumplings in China – I’ve been back here multiple times)

(Hole-in-the-wall place to get lunch close to uni)

To me the culture shock from moving to Guangzhou hasn’t been too extreme at all. I have been to other Asian cities and in comparison to others like Bangkok and KL, Guangzhou is pretty “normal” and quiet “western”. Just feels like I’m wondering through Haymarket sometimes 🙂 I’m sure when I get out and explore the smaller villages this will change.

Getting ready to start classes at Sun Yat Sen was a very long process. I am based on the South Campus (the most beautiful!) and when I registered there were dorm rooms available but there were not good and many exchange students were looking for apartments to share. I found a couple of students to share with (a girl from the US and a guy from France) and we found an apartment on the 32 floor with views of the river and very close to uni.

The South Campus of Sun Yat Sun University is beautiful. It’s the size of a suburb. There are parks, lakes, sports fields, housing (for students, teachers and their extended families, lots of grandparents looking after babies), businesses, swimming pools, canteens, cafes, hotels and many different schools/colleges. I’m studying Level 1 Chinese in the School of Chinese as a Second Language.

As it is coming out of summer and the wet season here, the place is LUSH. Plants of all kinds are overgrown everywhere. In some places it’s like a magical, overgrown secret garden wonderland. Especially in the morning and afternoon when the sun is shining sideways through the trees. This morning, just as I was walking to my first class I noticed that there were gums trees outside my classroom.

If you are thinking of coming to Sun Yat Sen on exchange, feel free to contact me and I’ll fill you in with more details about the classes, accom etc… WeChat ID: rosef5 (WeChat is the Chinese version of Facebook – everyone has it!)

UTS #: 11852908
Tilburg University – Netherlands

September 25, 2015

Coming to Tilburg on exchange is definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. I can’t believe I have been away for nearly two months – time has really flown by. I began my exchange with a few weeks of eating my way through Italy, and a short stop in Brussels on the way to the Netherlands. My first week at Tilburg is a bit of a blur. I was met at the station by people from IESN (the international students’ association) and within a few hours I had signed up for a bank account, bought a bike, joined IESN and picked up the keys to my room.

I live in a big building filled with exchange students, called “Verbs.” There are 5 floors to the building and each floor has 17 people. We all get our own rooms but share a kitchen and bathroom which is interesting but really not as bad as it sounds! There is always something going on or someone to chat to so its very hard to get bored. Living with people from all over the world is one of the highlights, especially watching what everyone cooks (food being a big interest of mine).

One of the best parts of my exchange so far has to be TOP-week, which is like O-week but on steroids. All the exchange students were put into groups of about 25, each with 3 mentors who are local Dutch students. This group was our family for the week, and we still meet weekly for dinner. TOP week consisted of multiple parties, BBQS, a pub crawl, a games day, a city brunch and the best bit – the Beer Cantus. You really have to come to the Netherlands to experience a Cantus for yourself but basically it consists of a LOT of singing and a LOT of beer. With all these events, it was so much fun and very easy to meet loads of people.

My experience at the university itself has also been really positive. The campus is really nice, with modern buildings and nice areas to sit. My subjects are interesting; they are very different to what I study back at UTS which is a nice change. The workload isn’t too bad, about the same as UTS, and the teachers are all well renowned in their fields.

For the first couple of weeks in the semester I only had 2 of my 5 courses running. This gave me a great opportunity to do some travel. So far in my first month of Uni I have managed to go on trips to Amsterdam, Paris and London. I have many more trips in the works. So being in the Netherlands really does have its perks!

Finally, Tilburg itself is a really nice town, very typically Dutch. It’s a student town so there are plenty of places to hang out and get a drink. There is also some really nice cafes and restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised to find that you can get a coffee here almost at the Sydney standard.

I couldn’t recommend doing an exchange to Tilburg highlight enough!

Emma Stiles 11030537

My room at verbs

My mentor group

Mentor group at games day

At the city brunch during TOP week

At the start of the beer cantus…

My bike

Streets of Tilburg

One of my favourite cafes

One of the main shopping streets in Tilburg

Verbs

Uni trip to Ikea for all the essentials

Part of the Campus

Dinner at Happy Italy – a really yummy, cheap Italian place in town

Emma Stiles 11030537
The Worst Beginning, The Best Weekend

September 25, 2015

It’s been roughly a month since I moved to Japan and to be honest the first few days was absolutely HECTIC!

Getting out of the airport, the first thing that happened was a greeting in Japanese by the host university’s teachers and students. And of course, for me, who hasn’t spoken in Japanese for a few years, had to say hi embarrassingly in English.

The first night ended in the speed of light as we were brought to a hotel near the airport and were assigned with a roommate for the night.

On the second day however, we were finally driven to our dorms located in Sagamihara City in the Kanagawa prefecture. This took almost 3 hours from the airport so we arrived at around noon just in time for lunch. After lunch though, the 2 week long orientation began. We were told to attend many lectures across all topics throughout the 2 weeks and surprisingly, they put the internet services and mobile networks lecture last.

Living in a foreign country without Wifi wasn’t particular the best part about studying abroad though. This basically meant no form of communication, no maps, no internet and no games (99% of my games are net based) except for 2048.

To add onto the misfortune of not having wifi, within the first week of my life in Japan, I have already experienced my share of earthquake!

It wasn’t so bad, since I live in a relatively sturdy building but it DID have a magnitude of 4, which I realised the next day. But, as a new student who just moved in, I of course panicked like the other 120 international students who I live with, running around, unsure of what just happened. It didn’t seem like a big deal though, because none of the other senpais seem to care about it.

On top of experiencing the first earthquake of my life, a typhoon also hit us in the same week, locking us in dorms with no wifi! At this point nothing can get worse for me. Instead of actually going out to explore, I spent the day thinking about where I should go after the typhoon calms down. On the other hand, I finally got a chance to read the books I brought over.

The first weekend was the most exciting days of the week! It was when we can all go off and explore freely around the area and downtown Tokyo. For me, going to the centre of Tokyo was quite a trek since it takes almost an hour to get there by the JR Line. Thankfully, I have been jetlagged for the whole week so I ended up waking at about 6am in the morning. The first thing I wanted to do was to watch the movie Boruto, so I decided to go to Shinjuku on the first Saturday. Luckily I was also able to get a copy of the manga book which was exclusive to only viewers at the cinema.

On Sunday, instead of going to downtown Tokyo, I decided to go to Yokohama instead, mainly because I wanted to ride the huge Ferris Wheel and visit the cup noodle museum. I started the day off with visiting Chinatown. Unlike the Sydney Chinatown, the one in Yokohama was much bigger and in fact, so much bigger that I even got lost! I enjoyed the trip though because it was filled with the best Chinese cuisine all over the place.

September has also been a month full of celebrations all over the Tokyo so I took up the chance to visit Asakusa and their famous temple, Sensoji. On the day I went there was a festival so various food stands were set up all over the place such as the yakisoba (Fried Noodles) stand and the choco banana stand which are both famous snacks for a festive occasion.

This is basically the sum up of my experiences in Japan so far, but I will definitely continue to blog the rest of my journey as well.

See you guys soon!

Yuen Ting Lo (Belinda)

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J.F. Oberlin University Japan
Away in København

September 25, 2015
Breathtaking Views of Copenhagen from Church of Our Saviour

If the past forty days abroad is any indication of how quickly time will pass, there is absolutely no doubt I will soon reunite with my beloved Subaru, comfortably travelling around (hair and clothes completely dry), eating a Golden GayTime, listening to the radio and isolating the use of my legs to the workings of my right foot to press the gas and brake pedals only. In the past fourteen days, I have cycled more than I ever did at home and over the last twenty-one years of my life, although surprisingly, I am really enjoying this new mode of transportation and I may consider purchasing a bike upon my return (but before I make any life-changing decisions and start to cycle everywhere in Sydney, let us wait for Winter to arrive first).

The Amazing Tivoli

Copenhagen is an extremely attractive city and due to its impressive and well-established biking culture (cars always give way to cyclists and the allocated bike paths are larger than the sidewalks), individuals are able to travel around with ease. Posing as an alternative to taking the metro, train, bus or car, it is also in my opinion a healthier, prettier, relaxing and fun way to see the City, given there are no gale force winds and it is a beautiful Summer’s day in Copenhagen. Through cycling, I have recently accomplished the following:
- Six successful trips to Føtex, our local supermarket store, in which my front basket and backpack have come in handy. This is notably less strenuous, more enjoyable and quicker than walking and carrying my week’s worth of groceries to and from my apartment.
- Numerous trips to the city, including a visit to the City Hall, Torvehallerne (one of Copenhagen’s many food halls where I ordered GRØD’s famous porridge), PapirØen (Copenhagen’s street food market, located on the paper island in the harbor, where I ate the most delicious pulled-duck burger) and Central Station (where I embarked on a spontaneous, thirty-minute train ride to Malmö, Sweden).
- Countless trips to CBS to attend class, study, catch up with friends and most importantly, to purchase affordable coffee.
- Increased fitness and endurance, as I attempt to burn off my daily consumption of Danish pastries.
At PapirØen, Copenhagen’s Street Food Markets

Nyhavn Magic

Beautiful Sunset following an evening of heavy rain and thunderstorms

Also, I have quickly learnt to limit my faith in the weather forecast and the “promising” (yet almost-always intermittent) sunshine. In Copenhagen, it is possible to experience many seasons in a day, by which I have already witnessed the transition from a glorious morning sunshine, to thundering hail stones, emerging blue skies with powerful strong winds, disrupted by rain to see the return of the sun just before the closing of the day. Unfortunately, I have been caught twice in the rain whilst cycling and as much as it reminded me of being a kid again (prompted by puddles and ponchos), I returned home soaking wet, hungry and cold, in desperate need of some tea and comfort food.

Visiting the ARoS Museum during our Weekend Trip to Aarhus

Soaking up the Sunshine in Malmö, Sweden

As I approach my two-month anniversary of leaving home, I can’t help but still feel and act like a tourist in this impressively charming and impeccably designed city of Copenhagen. Sadly, my shopping addiction hasn’t eased (many thanks to my discovery of & Other Stories) and I can’t resist trying Nordic cuisine and desserts (think cinnamon scrolls, pastries and vanilla soft serves), I am putting all my efforts into establishing a meaningful yet effective routine to sustain my lust for travel, exploration, learning and growth. Knowing there are only a few more months of 2015 remaining, I hope to make the most of every moment abroad, approaching each day with the perspective that there is something new to be learnt, either from friendships, experiences and opportunities in Denmark and beyond.

Kimberly Ong, 11712179
Work Hard & Play Hard at Yonsei, South Korea

September 25, 2015
A month into exchange and my arrival in Seoul, South Korea, and I can honestly say that it feels like I’ve been here for ages. Yonsei University is part of the trio of ‘SKY’ universities in Korea – Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. SKY might not mean much to the foreign ear but it is highly prestigious, competitive, and well-known by the locals.

Beautiful campus and buildings…just a small snapshot.

AT THE AIRPORT:

So I flew straight to Korea from home, no pre-exchange travels, and arrived to find one extremely long line at Immigration for international visitors. Patience is a great virtue for this. From Incheon Airport to Yonsei, I took the airport bus for 10,000KRW. For the price you pay, it is surprisingly convenient and comfortable; and you don’t need to worry about hauling your luggage on and off the bus since it goes in a compartment underneath the bus which the driver helps you with.
- Bus No. 6011 and tell the driver you want to get off at the Ewha’s Women’s University This stop allows you to enter Yonsei through the East Gate rather than the Yonsei University stop which is leads you to the Main Gate. It is much more convenient and a shorter distance to the on-campus housing, especially since you have luggage with you.
- Note: Buy your bus ticket inside the airport, not on the bus
ACCOMMODATION:

Hopefully your accommodation/housing has been sorted out before you leave Australia. I’m staying on-campus at SK Global House (SK). SK has the option of single or double rooms with private bathrooms whilst International House (I-House) only has double rooms with communal bathrooms (also on-campus and situated right next door to SK). Facilities include:
- Each floor (separated by gender) has a lounge/common room and shared study rooms
- There is a GS25 convenience store and various cafes and mini restaurants located on the ground floor
- Laundry Room where the average washing load costs around 1,000KRW and 500KRW for drying.
- Fitness Room contains basic gym equipment (treadmill, bike, weights etc.)
- WiFi is available in public areas (hallways, common room etc.) but for your room, you should bring or buy an Ethernet cable for your laptop to access the internet. WiFi signals in your room can be weak or non-existent.
Hint: If you want a particular room type (especially the single room at SK), then make sure you have your account/login set-up beforehand and apply immediately when registrations open. It literally only takes a few clicks to register but click fast! Also, don’t worry about payment because you apply first, wait for the result, then pay.
- Payment is by bank transfer only, so make sure you give your payment 3-5 working days to be received and confirmed.
- Note: To check-in, you need a clean tuberculosis report and a copy of your passport.
ALIEN REGISTRATION

Now that check-in is over, you can set up your room, explore the beautiful and massive campus, and attend orientation the following day where you will receive your orientation package which includes your certificate of enrolment (needed for Alien Registration) and Student ID Card. You will have about 1 week to explore anything and everything before the semester officially starts.

However, during this time and MOST IMPORTANTLY, you should apply for your Alien (foreigner) Registration Card ASAP. Even though you have your D-2 student visa, this card is required for all foreigners staying in South Korea for more than 90 days. Assuming you are living on campus at either SK or I-House, then you need to apply at the Seoul Immigration Office.

MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: GET TO THE IMMIGRATION OFFICE EARLY!!!
- It opens at 9am but get there as early as possible! This sounds exaggerated but do NOT underestimate how many people are there and potentially how much time you could waste!
COURSE ENROLMENT:

So now, semester has officially started and hopefully you haven’t had any enrolment issues. Round 1 of enrolment is based on a ‘mileage’ (points) bidding system and round 2 is first come, first served.
- UTS 6 credit points = Yonsei 3 credit points
- Note: Round 1 & 2 are completed before semester starts – so take note of the enrolment dates if you are at home or travelling.
- If you miss out in both rounds, then a final option is to wait until semester starts at Yonsei and attend the very first class to ask the subject’s professor if you can join his/her class. If they are ok with it, then they need to sign off on a subject form that you will find once you arrive at Yonsei.
OTHER:
- Money: Many students either open up a bank account with Woori Bank or just exchange currency at the bank when necessary. Both are pretty convenient given that there is a Woori Bank on campus and ATM’s can be found quite easily. I’ve chosen the Citibank Plus Debit Card (following advice from another UTS student who also attended Yonsei). From my experience so far, it’s really easy to apply for in Australia, there are no international transaction or exchange fees, and the exchange rate is not a rip-off. Also, there’s a Citibank ATM located in the GS25 convenience store at SK.
- Transport Card: You can purchase a T-Money Card, similar to the Opal Card, at the convenience store and then add money to it there or at subway stations etc. Or you can also use your Yonsei Student ID Card as a T-Money Card.
- SIM Card: many students go to the Olleh shop in SK to buy a SIM Card.
So whether you’re into Korean culture, music or TV, Asia in general or somehow or another ended up at Yonsei University, I hope my post has been helpful and informative in preparing you for your own exchange journey!

Annual Yon-Ko Games (Yonsei vs. Korea University). 5 sports over 2 days with non-stop cheering, dancing and singing. An amazing experience!

Free K-Pop Concert! So close yet so far…

P.S. Everybody here definitely knows how to work hard and play hard! There will never be a dull or boring moment with cheap food, vibrant streets, performers, nightlife and everything open late into the night!

Kimberley Ho (11654403)
“A double-double please!” / Canada

September 25, 2015

On 3rd of September, after three flights which totalled 24 hours and 40 minutes of travelling, I arrived in Regina, Saskatchewan, a town nobody back home seemed to have heard of in a province more or less foreign. Before arriving, I had looked up this city and after extensive research, quickly came to the conclusion that there was not much offered in Regina on the internet or in any of the Lonely Planet travel books. Intuitively, I accepted the fact that all I should expect from this place were fields of empty land (I had even been told it was the Orange of New South Wales)… But alas, don’t let this unbeknown town fool you, because after touching down in the smallest international airport I had ever been to, I discovered there was more to this tiny city than I had (not)expected! Here are three comparisons I’ve come up with:

1. Downtown Regina
Yes, in comparison to Sydney, it is a lot smaller, but Regina is a city nonetheless, and much to my surprise, there aren’t any tumbleweeds rolling around empty land. Juxtaposing Sydney’s CBD which is filled with a lot of commotion and thousands of people hustling and bustling daily, Regina’s downtown is definitely more quiet, which is actually a rather relaxing and delightful change to the fast paced city back home.

2. Fall Temperatures
Although the terms ‘fall’ and ‘autumn’ are used almost interchangeably, the temperatures from opposing hemispheres of the world are not remotely the same! Having just come out of Sydney’s winter period, I expected Regina’s fall to be on the semi cool stage like Sydney’s Autumn… What an inaccurate presumption! It is flat out cold! Regina’s fall should not be compared to Sydney’s autumn, but rather, Sydney’s winter… So picture me with three layers of clothing on in 9°C weather amongst people here wearing shorts and t-shirts! It’s absolutely bizarre! And from what I’ve been told, I should be expecting snow and a -20°C average in the remaining months of the year.

3. Friendliness
I’m not sure about you, but I’ve heard a lot of people comment on how friendly Australians are. All I can say is, we aren’t. Canadians are friendly. Without a doubt, they (albeit New Zealanders as well) are the friendliest people I’ve encountered… And friendliness should be contagious because when moving into a new country, a smile or greeting from a stranger goes a long way. It would be rather difficult not to fall in love with the country when locals are not only welcoming, but go out of their way to help you find your way around town in the pouring rain.

The University of Regina

The view from our dorm

Regina Rams vs Alberta Golden Bears

Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan

Wascana Lake

So to students thinking about going on an exchange, I say, do it! I’m only three weeks into studying abroad and all I can say is that there isn’t going to ever be a time when you feel ready enough to leave home (take it from a girl who has been sheltered by her family, and has lived in Sydney her entire 21 years). It’s okay to not know how to cook, to not know anybody in a new country, or to break electricity fuses because you’ve plugged in too many 240v appliances into 110v outlets… When push comes to shove, you will learn how to cook, you will open yourself up to making new friends and you will learn how to fix your own electricity from the switchboards outside.

Exchange has been a wonderful experience thus far, and I cannot wait to see what adventures hold for me in the remaining few months!

Jemilla Vu, 11693785

P.S: A ‘double-double’ is a very popular coffee order for Canadians consisting of two creams and two sugars, and like all the other coffee in the Northern Hemisphere, is horrible.
Abroad at Yonsei, Seoul!

September 25, 2015

I’ve currently been in Seoul, South Korea for just over a month and it has been a completely different experience!

At the annual Yon-Ko games, where Yonsei University and Korea University go head to head with sports!

I applied for Yonsei University and the first thing I realised is that from it’s campus to it’s culture, it is completely different to back home. This semester there were 500 exchange students; the school has 603 partner institutions from 59 countries, so you can expect to make friends from literally all over the world! The campus is one kilometre square wide, so I would recommend you to search for dormitory near the gate closest to your classes. Furthermore the students are very proud of being Yonsei students; there are three prestigious universities in Korea which go under the acronym SKY, standing for Seoul, Korea and Yonsei university. And Yonsei is known to be the one that parties hard! On the first day (Orientation) we had an after party at a bar/club to be welcomed, and had been given an exclusive club pass which allows SKY students to go to the hottest night life scenes in Seoul for four days in a row (Wed – Sat night), free!

Dongdaemun at night. LED flower installations within skyscrapers.

First of all you won’t be getting much sleep because there is so much to do within the area of the university (Sinchon) and Seoul itself. Everything in this city is always alive, vibrant and technologically modern (aside for the cultural aspects)! It’s normal to have three convenience stores right by each other, five fried chicken restaurants in one block, and ten cosmetics boutiques in one street. And it’s completely normal for these places to be open 24hrs! It’s also quite normal to be able to find a ‘cafe’ for everything. They have puppy cafes (where you play with puppies and take photos) to cat cafes, sheep cafes (where you feed sheep and take photos), hanbok cafes (where you dress up in traditional Korean clothing and take photos), Hello Kitty cafes (where the whole cafe is themed around Hello Kitty and you can take photos), and more.

Namdaemun gate in the morning.

Just a regular street in downtown Haeundae, Busan.

It’s really interesting to come to a country with completely different mannerisms and ideologies. In Korea they place a lot of importance on being polite, and it’s normal for people to bow when they are greeting you, whether it be your peers or retail shop assistants. Public transport is very well maintained and you can expect the metro to always be on time, consistently. Travelling to the other side of South Korea (Busan) is also possible through KTX, a Korean high speed rail train, in less than three hours, which would have taken six hours by car.

Overall, it’s only the beginning but Seoul seems to have so much to offer! It’s been normal to come back home past midnight every day and to spend only 4-6 hours at home (studying is usually done in book cafes or any cafes as they are 24 hours) just to quickly rejuvenate to head back out the following morning! If you’re thinking about an exchange, I’d recommend Seoul, and I’d also encourage you to apply early!

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Young Ji KWON
Bienvenue à Troyes!

September 24, 2015

Bonjour à toutes et à tous!

How time flies! I’m almost two months into my exchange to France and having the time of my life.

My travels have brought me to a little town called Troyes in the central-north area of France. Troyes is a relatively small town with approximately 60 000 inhabitants but it’s definitely not small on experiences. It has a beautiful old town centre with historic attractions such as churches and cathedrals that date back to the 16^th century and the half-timbered houses that are characteristic of the town. In addition, Paris is only 1.5 hours away by train so it’s really easy to get in and see the sights of Paris as well as use the excellent French train system to see the rest of France as well.

Half-Timbered Houses in Troyes Old Town

As beautiful as the town is the real highlight of the Troyes experience is the university life and the people I’ve met here. Like the town, the University of Technology, Troyes (UTT) is a small university with only about 2500 students which means that the atmosphere is super friendly and campus life is really involved. You can’t help but run into people you know, both in your classes and just hanging around on campus, especially if you live in the on campus university residences.

University of Technology, Troyes

The UTT has a fantastic pre-semester program for exchange students to both improve your French and help you to meet people and make friends with other exchange students. This program was honestly one of the best months of my life. During the day you have the French classes that were fun and invaluable for improving my speaking skills and after class and on the weekends, the UTT will organise sports events, dinners and trips so you can get to know the other students really easily. My second week in France was spent on a weekend trip to Paris seeing all the main sights such as the Sacré-Coeur, Notre Dame and of course the Eiffel Tower. Another trip took us around the local area which just so happens to be the beautiful Champagne region.

Exchange Student Group at vineyard in Champagne Region

Let’s not forget that exchange is not six months of travelling and partying. Classes will begin and you will actually need to do some studying. My best tip is to save up those electives so you don’t have to worry about matching subjects and you can choose classes that interest you. There is a course catalogue of subjects in English but it’s a little limited, so decent French language skills are very helpful for a greater choice of subjects. If you’re thinking of coming to France I cannot recommend highly enough the UTT – they have people who look after you, help you with your paperwork (of which I’ve got to say there is A LOT!) and make sure that you settle into France without a problem.

For anyone who is thinking about going on exchange, apply now! It’s a total cliché but it’s really a once in a lifetime experience that you can’t get anytime other than at university. Any difficulties you might encounter (money, paperwork, language difficulties, culture shock, etc) pale in comparison to the good times to be had on exchange. You won’t regret it.

Exchange Student Group in front of the Sacré-Coeur

Caitlin Kernahan – 11985025
“Why did you go there?” – University of Nottingham, Ningbo, China.

September 24, 2015

I remember the moment I found out I had been accepted for exchange in Ningbo, a city in Zhejiang in China. I would be studying at the University of Nottingham, which has campuses in England and Malaysia. I was overjoyed.

One of the questions I asked of me was “Why are you going there?”. At first, it wasn’t a question I could really answer myself. The reason I’d chosen Ningbo was because I knew next to nothing about it. I had been to study in Guangzhou in Southern China before. Guangzhou is a seemingly endless urban agglomeration sitting on the Pearl River. But Ningbo? I wasn’t actually sure. I’ve been a total sinophile since my last year of High School, loving China and Chinese culture, going so far as to study the language at UTS, so it should’ve been no surprise I came to China. But in this blog post, I’ll give you a few reasons as to why Ningbo is great and why I’m loving it.

Detail of the Qin family opera stage in the Tianyi Pavilion (天一阁）

I arrived here three weeks ago now and my brief time here has already allowed me to give multiple reasons as to why I came here.

Firstly, the architecture. Ningbo is home to many old temples and buildings designed in China’s imperial period. Tianyi Pavilion was founded in 1561 during the Ming dynasty. It’s a beautiful lush green place; a slice of premodern China in amongst the gridded streets of an increasingly large and growing city. Tianfeng Pagoda is tower which has stood in the same spot since the Tang dynasty in the 7th century, being destroyed and rebuilt multiple times. From the very top of the tower (Which me and my friends climbed to the top of) you can see the rapidly expanding Ningbo skyline.

Entrance of Tianfeng Pagoda （天封塔）

Gate into the city centre

Secondly, the food. The food in Ningbo is insanely good and far more affordable than anything at home. Being on the coast, the seafood here is of exceptional quality. In my first week here, some local friends took me to eat at a place which they referred to as a HaoChi (meaning 蚝翅, literally “oyster chicken wing”) which sounds a lot like the Chinese word for delicious，好吃. At this low-key but amazing establishment on Houmiao street near Wanda Plaza shopping centre (a short 10 minute cab ride from uni) we gorged ourselves on spicy boiled crayfish, roasted eggplant, barbecue chicken wings, lamb skewers, enoki mushrooms and garlic chilli oysters, three times over for 70 RMB per person. Yes, including drinks.

HaoChi on Houmiao street

Finally, the people I’ve met here in Ningbo are amazing, both the local people and international students are so friendly and welcoming. It is so easy to make good friends here.

Myself and my friends eating in a traditional Ningbo restaurant.

If those aren’t reasons enough to make you come here then I don’t know what is. Perhaps cheap drinks at the party district in 老外滩 (Laowaitan)?

Fabián Vergara

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