Hey all,
So I just sent my email about the classes I want to take this first semester I am in Australia! I cannot believe that there are two weeks until I leave for what I assume will be a great experience! I have still a bit to do, like study on both Australian and American politics (I am not really looking forward to this as I do not like reading about politics, especially since a lot of sources are biased), study Australian history, and Australian pop culture.
I know have an adaptor and convertor so I can charge all of the things I need to! I found that I cannot actually order the internet I need until I am in my room, but if you can get that taken care of before you leave, I would recommend that so you do not have a lot to do when you first get abroad. As it is, I have to go to one of the phone companies over there so I can get a different SIM card in my cell phone.
As the time gets closer, I am starting to get a little more nervous, but also really excited for this new opportunity! Until next week!
Monday, January 30, 2017
Monday, January 23, 2017
Second Post
Hey all!
I know I missed a few posts. I've been busy and distracted trying to get everything in order and visiting friends I will not see until I get back.
First thing I want to say is when you are looking at classes you want to take, if the semester and/or year catalogue is up, make sure all of the classes you want to take go together and there aren't any class times that overlap. I learned this the hard way and am now getting it taken care of.
Another thing I would like to mention is that, if you need a wireless internet connection, look into where you are staying and see if they offer it for free. The place I am staying at, UNSW Village, does not offer it for free, so I will need to pay an extra amount, but the options they have for it are not bad.
I still have things I need to take care of before I leave, like getting an adaptor to charge my phone, laptop, etc.
I think this is all I have for now. I'll try to make another post in a week! I hope this helps!
I know I missed a few posts. I've been busy and distracted trying to get everything in order and visiting friends I will not see until I get back.
First thing I want to say is when you are looking at classes you want to take, if the semester and/or year catalogue is up, make sure all of the classes you want to take go together and there aren't any class times that overlap. I learned this the hard way and am now getting it taken care of.
Another thing I would like to mention is that, if you need a wireless internet connection, look into where you are staying and see if they offer it for free. The place I am staying at, UNSW Village, does not offer it for free, so I will need to pay an extra amount, but the options they have for it are not bad.
I still have things I need to take care of before I leave, like getting an adaptor to charge my phone, laptop, etc.
I think this is all I have for now. I'll try to make another post in a week! I hope this helps!
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Happy New Year!
Happy New Years, everyone! I hope this year brings great things to you!
Starting today, I will be writing a post at least once a week to help me get in the habit of posting things for when I am in Australia.
I have completed most of the things I needed to get done in order to travel and study abroad. I have completed the UNSW online application, submitting all the classes I want to take. They got back to me relatively quickly about the classes and only had a few classes be approved on UNSW's side for me to take. Most of the classes that were denied were because they were not offered in the semester I was asking for them. After a few rounds, I finally have 5 classes set up for each semester. I am hoping that this is enough and that I don't have to randomly pick some when I am finally in Sydney.
I have also completed getting the necessary health insurance (in this case- OSHC (Over Seas Health Care)) which I had to give to UNSW via the application site (after submitting and getting accepted in the first place). After they processed me having the necessary insurance, they gave me a "Confirmation of Enrollment" via email that I then used to complete the necessary Visa. I wish I had started this process a little earlier as I am still waiting on getting the confirmation that I have the Visa 'uploaded' into my passport. I would definitely recommend getting this process done as soon as you can. The main reason I could not get started earlier was because I had to wait for my parents' funding to go through as they are my main source of income for paying for this exchange program. If you are in a similar situation, don't worry about pestering your parents to get their side of the funding done. Even if you aren't in a financial position where you or your parents cannot help, and you are waiting for funds to come through, do not be afraid to ask the necessary people when you will get funding. Start early!
As I wait for the Visa to come through, I still had to think about how I would get communication overseas. My parents and I have determined that I will probably go through Telstra. I will probably be getting the $40 per month plan that has unlimited texting throughout Australia, gives a $1000 allowance for minutes within Australia, and has a 5 gigabyte data allowance per month. We thought this would work fine for me since I don't really talk a lot on the phone and the highest I've gone on data was 4 GB and usually, it is about 1-2 GB. I will also be getting an International Call pack for $10 per month. This allows me unlimited talk and text to any of 10 countries, with the USA, China, Canada, and Mexico being on there, among others. That being said, I do not get charged for anything on my end, but anyone I call abroad in any of those countries will get charged unless they also have an international plan. Please keep that in mind.
Most everything, at this point, has been taken care of. I think all I have to do now is think very carefully about what I want to take with me while I am in Sydney. After going through Pre-Orientation at NAU, I know that I should not pack as much as I think I need to pack. I should only pack basics and get the rest when I am in Sydney. It's a lot to think about, but I'm going to start thinking about it now and will probably make a post once I decide what to take with me.
This is the end of my first post and I hope it helps! Don't hesitate to ask questions and if I can't answer them, I will either direct you to someone who can answer that question, or I will ask around and get back to you! Happy New Years once again!
Starting today, I will be writing a post at least once a week to help me get in the habit of posting things for when I am in Australia.
I have completed most of the things I needed to get done in order to travel and study abroad. I have completed the UNSW online application, submitting all the classes I want to take. They got back to me relatively quickly about the classes and only had a few classes be approved on UNSW's side for me to take. Most of the classes that were denied were because they were not offered in the semester I was asking for them. After a few rounds, I finally have 5 classes set up for each semester. I am hoping that this is enough and that I don't have to randomly pick some when I am finally in Sydney.
I have also completed getting the necessary health insurance (in this case- OSHC (Over Seas Health Care)) which I had to give to UNSW via the application site (after submitting and getting accepted in the first place). After they processed me having the necessary insurance, they gave me a "Confirmation of Enrollment" via email that I then used to complete the necessary Visa. I wish I had started this process a little earlier as I am still waiting on getting the confirmation that I have the Visa 'uploaded' into my passport. I would definitely recommend getting this process done as soon as you can. The main reason I could not get started earlier was because I had to wait for my parents' funding to go through as they are my main source of income for paying for this exchange program. If you are in a similar situation, don't worry about pestering your parents to get their side of the funding done. Even if you aren't in a financial position where you or your parents cannot help, and you are waiting for funds to come through, do not be afraid to ask the necessary people when you will get funding. Start early!
As I wait for the Visa to come through, I still had to think about how I would get communication overseas. My parents and I have determined that I will probably go through Telstra. I will probably be getting the $40 per month plan that has unlimited texting throughout Australia, gives a $1000 allowance for minutes within Australia, and has a 5 gigabyte data allowance per month. We thought this would work fine for me since I don't really talk a lot on the phone and the highest I've gone on data was 4 GB and usually, it is about 1-2 GB. I will also be getting an International Call pack for $10 per month. This allows me unlimited talk and text to any of 10 countries, with the USA, China, Canada, and Mexico being on there, among others. That being said, I do not get charged for anything on my end, but anyone I call abroad in any of those countries will get charged unless they also have an international plan. Please keep that in mind.
Most everything, at this point, has been taken care of. I think all I have to do now is think very carefully about what I want to take with me while I am in Sydney. After going through Pre-Orientation at NAU, I know that I should not pack as much as I think I need to pack. I should only pack basics and get the rest when I am in Sydney. It's a lot to think about, but I'm going to start thinking about it now and will probably make a post once I decide what to take with me.
This is the end of my first post and I hope it helps! Don't hesitate to ask questions and if I can't answer them, I will either direct you to someone who can answer that question, or I will ask around and get back to you! Happy New Years once again!
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