Leaving and Finding A New Home

But first of all …

Sorry guys for not being able to continue my report these past two months. It was a very stressful but also cool time, where I didn’t have the time to write about my time here. Besides, the Internet in my hostel was just too horrible and a way too slow.. But that is normal in Australia;) So I try now to catch the last two months and will start where I stopped the last time: Departure … and the Arrival in Down Under.

Leaving one home, one country, one family, close friends behind…

10 July 2009

I departed from Frankfurt at 22:30 pm on the 10th of July. Since the flight takes usually more than 20 hours you always stop somewhere. My journey took me through two countries and two continents: Dubai and Singapore. I had a lot of fun on my first flight with Emirates. The food and the service are really good, so the nice flight attendants. The in-flight-entertainment system with hundreds of movies, albums and games was pretty impressive. So on my way to Dubai I played games with my German neighbor and enjoyed a good Heineken beer.

After 6 hours and 20 minutes we finally landed at the Dubai International Airport at 6 : 30 am. Coming out of the airplane and meeting up with the heat of 45 Celsius was a really interesting experience. Leaving Germany’s cold and rainy weather, stepping into a different time and weather zone after just a couple of hours was quite challenging. It’s like two different seasons in one day. Luckily I spent my 3 hours stop in the hall of terminal 3, the new terminal of the airport. Dubai’s International Airport is very, very big and modern. But also busy. Like every airport, I guess. Unfortunately there were not so many seats for the waiting passengers. So I had to spend my stop- over with a cup of coffee in my hands on the cold ground in front of my gate.

I left Dubai at 9:30 am in the morning and arrived at the Changi International Airport in Singapore at 21:00 pm in the late evening. After 1 and half hour of waiting I leaved the airport and continued my journey to my final destination: Melbourne, Australia. The 6 hours in the airplane seemed to be like a whole never ending eternity.

ARRIVAL AT THE END OF THE WORLD: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

After the second night flight (different time zone: Dubai & Singapore) we finally landed at 7 am in the morning at the Melbourne Tullamarine Airport on the 12^th of July. The first thing I noticed while watching through the small airplane windows was the amazing color of the sky. Though it was cloudy, there were these small parts where you could see the bright blue sky which seemed like a piece of a painted landscape.

After tumbling through the immigration, quarantine bins, the baggage collection and at last the customer service with too many things in my hands, I came out into the Arrivals Hall and was picked up by the university’s driver. He took me and other international students to our initial addresses. It was nice to see other students with the same heavy luggage and the same situation. We didn’t know the city nor the traffic system etc etc etc. So we were in the same position, coming to a continent at the end of the world and had no control over the situation except the idea of taking everything as it comes.

But that isn’t that scary if you don’t think about it. Actually you don’t have the time to think about every detail you see and experience. That’s happened to me. The driver brought me to my hostel, “The Greenhouse Backpacker Hostel”, which I booked before I came to Australia and I was standing in a crowded street, alone and with a heavy luggage, a small but heavy flight case, an XXL bag, and two other bags, which contained my SLR and presents from my friends from Germany. So to put it short: I knew that from now on I would by myself. Then I took the elevator to Level 6, the reception, was asked to wait till 11 am before I could get the keys to my room. And while I was waiting on Level 6, where you had the kitchen, the meeting hall, the Internet section etc etc I met so many nice folks from so many different countries. Japanese, Koreans, Brazils, Taiwanese, French, Germans, and many other nationalities were at the Backpacker hostel and it was really cool to meet these guys.

I only can say to my hostel time, that you meet a lot of interesting people, which of course depends on how long you want to stay there. I stayed maybe too long at the hostel, since I couldn’t find a cheap accommodation, what is really difficult in the very expensive city like Melbourne. But I met so many cool people with whom I still stay in touch. If you come down to Melbourne, the best decision you can make to book the hostel I stayed at. It’s has a cool atmosphere which you won’t find at other hostels. The people are so nice and always open for a talk or a cup of GUN, the Australian cheap but good wine. I think I drank maybe too much of it during my stay at the hostel, so now I prefer more Carlton Draught, the Australian beerJ

If you want to know where to search for an accommodation, here you go:

www.gumtree.com.au

www.flatmates.com.au

www.shareaccommodation.com.au

And here the website from where I booked my Emirates flight: www.emirates.com

It’s a good prize, fantastic service and a safe aircraft. Comparable to others, Emirates is one of the best. So you decide if you want pay ca. 1200 Euro incl. return(Fra-DBX-SIN-MEL), yummy food and free drinks(!) during the flight. Plus ICE! In-Flight-Entertainment System!

In the next days, I’ll write more about my days here in Down Under and how fast money can slip through your fingers. Stay up to date with me!

See you these days!!!

Angelasbonvoyage has started;-) Cheers!!

Some nice pics of Melbourne:

The countdown is on - which means that my knees are already shaking and my mental condition is about to break down^^ Folks who are or were in a similar situation will probably understand my nervousness, some of you might experience it with me in the very moment, and there will be others who are going to make such experiences.

To make it SHORT: There are only a few days left till my exciting semester in Australia starts!!!!

PREPARATIONS (packing my bags, doing the final formalities at my home university, writing exams:( ) are in full swing and thank whom ever Im too busy to think about the really BIG THING, which is: 6 months abroad in a complete different environment, at the end of the world!!! Yeah, a big adventure awaits me in Down Under. Im looking forward to it.

• Here a list what you might need in your suitcase:
  
• 1) Electronic equipment like adapter( to connect your laptop with the power plug from your home country and to avoid a short)
  
• 2) Clothes: To speak for girls I need a lot of clothing stuff…. But of course you cant take a dozen of suitcases with you unless your name is Mariah Diva Carey. So girls and boys take only the clothes you wear and not the ones you like to look at. I know its difficult for fashion lovers but take the important things with you like: 3 or 4 trousers, 2 -3 skirts, 1-2 shorts, 2-3 dresses, 5-6 t-shirts, 3-4 sweaters(depends on where and when you are),  1 jacket, 1 trenchcoat(or rain jacket), 1 warm coat(once again it really depends on the weather conditions=)), 1-2 panty hose, 1 pair boots, 2 pair of casual shoe, 2 pairs od sandals…. If you are a bag fan like me, you might take 2-3 bags with you just for the case…;) AND of course you will need underwear, socks etc.
  
• Some of you may raise an eyebrow but believe if you take a suitcase which size is about 80 cm everything I mentioned will fit well into your case.
  
• 3) DOCUMENTS:  Passport (plus copy of it), ID, Travel documents like the electronic ticket etc.(copies of these too), University Confirmation Of Enrolment(if you are a study abroad student), short: CoE, VISA!!!(copy of it in your suitcase plus in your bag…I know Im too careful..but youll never know..), Checks/Credit cards, money in cash (most hostels are payable in cash after arriving…like the Greenhouse Hostel in Melbourne),   health insurence document(make a copy!), travel insurence(!) and and and….
  
• And the final point is: make sure that you suitcase is BIG enough for everything…;)

• & GET READY!

• SO….
• THE NEXT TIME ILL BLOG FROM DOWN UNDER!!!!
• 
  
• See you then!!!
  

]]> http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/the-countdown-has-started-only-a-few-days-until-take-off-from-frankfurt/feed/ 1 angelasbonvoyage Frankfurt International Airport http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/my-lovely-netbook-the-asus-1005ham/ http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/07/05/my-lovely-netbook-the-asus-1005ham/#comments Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:49:20 +0000 angelasbonvoyage http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/?p=31 ]]>

AND HERE IT IS: THE BRAND NEW ASUS  1005 HA!!!!!!!

Are ya envious???

A very thin and mobile computer!

Really adorable!

I Love It!

The story behind it: I really needed a mobile networking computer, so I began to look out for a netbook that has a good battery life, a good display(non glare!) and a firm keypad. And as girl I also needed a fashionable netbook. And lucky me, I found the perfect Netbook that was affordable with my student income;))

Of course the important idea was that the Netbooks battery life should last at least 5 hours, and suprisingly (the European market price was/still is: 299 Euro in Media Markt) it CAN do more than the expected: It lasts with my 6cell battery about 7-8 hours while working on PP-projects or listening to music. In my case I bought the Asus with the Li-ion Battery 6-Cell 2.2Ah(48W/h), 8.5 hrs. Maybe you ask why I overact about the 7 hours of battery life that even doesnt reach the full 8,5 hours like stated  in the netbook description? Mmm..the answer is simple: The Asus maker (and other manufacturer from this industry^^nope, Asus is not alone ..) tend to exaggerate about the battery life of their products. Its just a fact.  So Im really happy that the battery life difference of my brand new netbook is  not that far away from the quoted 8,5 hours in the Asus product description.

If YOU want a cheap netbook, that is comparable with other netbooks out there and wish to have an unique design, the Asus 1005ha is perfect for you! I really love this thin baby that I call mine since a couple of days and would recommend this NETBOOK any time!

Last but not least,

some important facts about the ASUS 1005HA:

The Eee PC 1005HA is powered by Intel’s Atom N270 or N280 processor, 1GB RAM, 160GB hard drive. It supports Bluetooth 2.1 and WiFi 802.11b/g/n. It has a 10.1-inch 1024×600 LCD display and SRS Premium Sound True-to-life 5.1 surround audio.

It has a 1,3 mp webcam and battery life upto 10,5 hours (model 1005ha-h-)!!

Source: http://www.netbookreviews.net/asus/eee-pc-1005ha/

–>IMPORTANT NOTE: You can choose between two models of the Asus 1005ha : the one that I have, the ASUS 1005Ha-M differs in battery life(upto 8,5 hours) and no  Bluetooth availability and is going for €299 ($405), and the Asus 1005HA-H for €349 ($473) which has Bluetooth and a better battery(up to 10,5 hours) .

Hope you enjoyed my report and the presentation of my new possession of the ultra fashionable Asus 1005ha-M!

Nice week and look forward with me to my next adventurous months in Australia!

Stay on with me!

Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey everyone! Its me again, writing about my next adventure: a study abroad semester in Australia’s second largest city, Melbourne! Today, Ill write about the preparation of a study abroad semester and how to plan such a huge event. Hope you’ll read it to the very end;))

If it comes to planning your study abroad semester, its quite difficult to manage many things at the same time.  As a university-student, I know how it is and thats why I share my personal experience with you, which surely will not end by writing the things down, since my study abroad semester begins in two and half weeks. But..I’ll try to give you an overview of how you can achieve the most important thing, which is: to have the greatest experience in your life-time by studying in a foreign country and get to know a different culture and its people.

The first main thought which should appear in your mind, is the „where“ and the „what“ question. Where is referred to the country you intend to study in, which is  the most weightily issue in planning your year abroad. And „what“ concerns the  university and the subjects.  So if you have a country in mind, that support your idea of studying at some good national/international university you should go for it. That means, this certain country (in my case: Australia;)) should not only be safe for you to live in, but should also provide a wide and good range of university programs.  Like I mentioned in my previous posts, I gonna study Humanities and Arts in Melbourne, at the La Trobe University and had in the very beginning also some difficulties to choose a better option for myself.

You see, in the beginning you need to decide which country is the most inviting for you and whether it offers you, as an international student f.ex. a high living standard or rather your student budget can bear with the living standart costs in that special country. To speak of Australia for example, I did not know that Sydney, which was my first choice (I must admit it still is..)is more expensive than Melbourne, the second largest city (in terms of population etc.) in Down Under. And according to its high prices, most of the universities were(are) not affordable for me. So that made the decision pretty clear. I decided to choose Melbourne, since the universities there also have a higheducation level like  most other  Australian institutions. Unfortunately this process takes more time than I thought before.

Lets assume, you know exactly were you wanna go or have at least an idea in mind, and that means you are ready to the process of choosing a university, which should in fact have a good reputation or at least your courses from your home country. If you dont need the credits and just wanna study for a semester in a foreign country, you can choose any subjects you’ve always dreamed of.  (If I had the opportunity to choose any course I want…gosh..) Anyway as a study abroad student/ or „Gasthörer“ in deutsch) you can choose almost every subject from a wide range of courses at an Australian university. This is insane, I know, since the variety of courses/subjects is incredibly huge and you can choose f.ex. Photography and Popular Media or Australian history etc etc.

To decide what program to choose is simple: If you need the credits like me, you only can choose those subjects from a certain course which you need for your initial course(f.ex.Bachelor Of Arts–>Australian University–>Bachelor Of Arts and then choose from the Arts faculty your preferred subjects).  But don’t worry, you can choose 3 to 4 subjects, and from 4 subjects you can choose one subject from a completely different course. I decided to try out „Popular Media and Photography„. Or something like this from that category. BUT…and there is always a „but“: before you start to choose and to check the programs or universities you always need to have some savings…In fact, a lot of cash… You need to have in mind, and this only concerns countries like the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia: for each semester at an Australian university you should afford between 7000 AUD and 10000 AUD (–>Australian Dollar: 1 AUD=0,57 EURO). Like you noticed its also a  matter of money. Ill tell you this on purpose that late, ’cause you should also know that it is a huge amount but if you have some savings, (if not, I really encourage you to save some money f.ex. from working, „birthday presents“ from parents, grand parents etc.) please dont be „encouraged“ by the amount I stated, the experience has much more weight than the money. Im not in a position to force you to something.. Ill just advise you to save some money before starting the applying thing etc…(And usually you need to have the tuition fee money before you apply, you only get the offer letter from the universities when you paid the fees!) I know that its a lot of money…but if you are willing to make a dream/goal  come true,  don’t hesitate and do it!

Step three is also the final step…or almost the final. Its about the applying. In Germany I was supported by a  German&Australian office, which help German students with the applying, translating certain certificates and sending it via email to the Australian universities.  From the site link below you can choose the universities (only Australian & New Zealand on offer). It ranges from the tuition fees cost to alphabetical order or differentiates the universities by cities / states.

index.php After you chose your university( you can choose up to four universities)  you  can send them(Apllication Form etc. photos, other documents the universities need from you etc.) by post to the Ranke-Heinemann-Institut-address. Its quite nice since you always stay during that process in contact with the institute, which calls itself: Ranke-Heinemann-Institut( here the link for German students, who might read and be interested in this great staff: )Institut bzw. Sekretariat für Australien/Neuseeland

–> And the best thing is: you dont pay a cent! Its all for free, since they are paid by the Australian universities and these universities are paid by its international students who pay a lot more than the domestic students! Yeah, this fact hurts a bit… Anyway…Im getting of the topic again.. Well, we now presume, you have applied, the process of the evaluation of your application form takes usually not that long (in terms you applied for a Australian university: then in general it takes: 2-4 weeks). Then you’ll need to do the last move:

Getting the Acceptance Offer (sometimes also called „Offer Letter“)which comes first after applying. When you paid your tuition fees for one or two semester, you get the final offer, which is called : CoE=Conformation Of Enrolment! This is the final step and with this letter you can apply for an Australian Visa(for German students: Non-award Sector-TU 575)). If you complete these last few steps you can book a flight. Of course you can do that before, to save money, but in my case it was quite difficult, since I applied for four universities, located in both cities: Melbourne & Sydney. Of course if you know which city you’ll want to choose, then that’s just fine. Nevertheless, please take the travel cancelation insurance always by booking any flight to Australia/NEW Zealand or any other distant country/continent, believe me its really important for such long distance flights(especially when you’ll be away for such a long period-no one knows what happen in the future). You definitely would not regret it.

Okay, after all the explanation of how getting to your/our main goal, you’ll be right there where I am now: Waiting and trembling^^ By they way, here are some nice pics of Melbourne’s best attractions..

I hope I gave you a short (okay it was quite long..)but a good overview and you could read it through without getting all confused…:)

Once again, everyone is invited to leave a message or a comment. That would be really nice;))

Thanks for that!

Byeeeee!!!!

]]> http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/06/21/what-you-need-to-know-for-a-study-abroad-semesteryear/feed/ 1 angelasbonvoyage Study abroad: Melbourne http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/the-whitest-boy-alive-fireworks/ http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/the-whitest-boy-alive-fireworks/#comments Sat, 20 Jun 2009 18:30:55 +0000 angelasbonvoyage http://angelasbonvoyage.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/the-whitest-boy-alive-fireworks/ ]]> Hey!
Wanted to post this unbelievable song from „The Whitest Boy Alive“ and it makes everyone feel a bit more happy;))

Ja ich verspüre langsam sogar die Nervösität, die ich in dem ganzen Vorbereitungstrubel vollkommen vergessen/ignoriert habe.. Ja…das ist echt ein komisches Gefühl.. Noch bin ich ein ganz normaler Student der Gutenberg Universität Mainz, gehe zu den deutschen  Vorlesungen, beschwere mich über das Lehrmaterial an meiner Heimatuniversität/Fakultät und doch rückt der Tag des Abschieds immer näher und lässt mein Herz höher und höher schlagen.

Ach ja, falls Ihr euch fragt, warum ich euch dieses komische Bild oben zeige: Das ist meine momentane Heimatuni: Johannes-Gutenberg Universität Mainz.

Und das ist die Stadt, in der ich über ein halbes Jahr leben werde:

And this is Melbourne, the city Ill soon be living in:

Nice right? Its really different to my home town city and the surrounding area. I like German cities especially the old town places. I really think that they represent the old European times and this is something I guess Ill be missing a lot.

So…the countdown nears to its end…and its driving me crazy…hahaha…No, not the two and a half weeks, but my super big case…which should actually be big enough to put everything I need, since Ill be away for over six months… But like any other girl in my situation..my case is still to small to place everything I „really“ need…mmm.. any suggestions what Ill definitely need in Australia?

Everyone is welcome to give me a nice advice;))

Okay, that’s it for today,

schaut  mal hin und wieder bei mir rein,

ich freu mich immer über Besucher und Nachrichten,

see ya next time!

The angelas-bon-voyage- blog goes online…

and I’ll hope you’ll take a voyage to my blog too…

Ok..I’ll try to make it short for you guys: This page will take you with me on my epic voyage or my study abroad year in Melbourne, Australia!

When? From  July to January this year!

Why? Mm..To study in a foreign country, at the end of the world is kinda exciting and a completely new experience to me!

Till now, I live in Germany, near Frankfurt, which must be known to many of you.  Im studying Humanities & Art(to sum it up:  literature, culture, languages: German/American Studies) and Im in my fourth semester. Ah, I forgot to mention: Im 23 years old! (Yeah I know, I should be at least in my eight semester by now…what can I say…)

So I hope you’ll join me on my first „long-term vacation“ on the biggest island on this earth, Australia, and will follow me in the very beginning of my hopefully amazing experiences!!

So guys,

take some free minutes next time and come along with my on my biggest adventure!

See ya!

By the way.. Its my first blog and also the first time I’ll try to blog in both languages, German and English. We’ll see how it’ll work out;))