Since I first heard that we could go on exchange for our degree project, I knew that it was something that I wanted to do. I didn't however know where I wanted to go for my exchange. When the time for applying came along, I quickly decided that I wanted to go somewhere outside of Europe and that I wanted to go somewhere warm. The thought of being on a beach during the Swedish winter was very appealing. I finally decided that I wanted to go to Australia. It’s a country that I have wanted to visit for a long time, so in the end it was the obvious answer. Then came the time to decide where in Australia I should go. After reading other exchange reports and looking at the schools, I decided that Newcastle was the place that I wanted to go to.

Applying to the university was no problem. About a month after sending in my application, I got my acceptance letter together with a few papers that I had to fill in. I would really recommend sending everything back to the university as soon as possible, as it means that you will receive you Confirmation of Enrolment faster, which is needed for your visa application. Since the visa can take a few weeks to arrive, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. I did however not have any trouble with my visa application, and received my visa within 48 hours after sending in my application.

I booked my flight tickets around 3 months before leaving, which was before getting admitted to the university. You could of course book your tickets later if you want and wait for you acceptance letter, but since the flights to can get quite pricy, I thought it was a risk worth taking.

I arrived to the airport in Sydney early on the 6th of February. I then went from the airport to the central station and jumped on the train to Newcastle that took a little less than 3 hours. I arrived in Newcastle 10 days before the day that I was supposed to start in the lab. The plan was that this would give me enough time to find a place to live without too much stress. But as it turned out I was able to find accommodation before leaving Sweden, so I was able to move in the same day that I arrived. Therefore, instead of house hunting, those 10 days were spent on the beach and traveling. I really do recommend arriving at least one week before starting with your project. This will make everything a lot less stressful for you. 

The university had an orientation week, “O-week”, in the middle of February. Unfortunately it started the same day that I started my lab work so I was unable to attend most of it. But if you do have the chance to go, I’m sure that it would be a good opportunity to meet other students and also learn things that are good to know for your studies.

In my opinion, the price level in Newcastle is quite similar to the one in Stockholm. One thing that can be good to know is that while the housing might be at the same price level, that quality of the rooms/houses might not always be as high as in Stockholm. This means that if you want an accommodation that has the same quality as in Stockholm, you might have to pay a bit more.

When it comes to food, you can keep the costs down by not eating out all the time. Some of the restaurants are a bit cheaper than here in Stockholm, but is definitely cheaper to cook most of the food yourself. In Newcastle you have Coles and Aldi as the supermarket options. Aldi can be compared to Lidl and is the cheaper option. However, they don’t have the same big selection as Coles do, so if you need something specific you might have to go to Coles.

As I mentioned before, I found my accommodation while still in Sweden. I looked at the off-campus accommodation site (https://offcampusaccommodation.newcastle.edu.au/) that the university has. From that page I contacted a few of the landlords and told them that I was interested in their accommodations. One of the landlords got back to me and said that if I wanted to I could book a room by paying a deposit. If I didn’t like the room when I got there, I would get the deposit back. The rooms that he offered, were the ones I had liked the most when looking and he had his own site (http://www.barbeachstudentaccommodation.com.au) which looked quite reliable. Therefore I took the chance and payed the deposit, even though I couldn’t be sure that I would get what he had offered me.

Luckily there was no problem when I got there. I met up with my landlord the first thing I did when I got to Newcastle. He showed me the house and my room, which were really nice and looked just like the pictures that I had seen previously. I was then able to move in the same day which was very nice.

To get in contact with a supervisor, I got the help from a contact at the university. I got to describe what kind of project I would be interested in, and he then asked around to see if any of them had any work for me. A good thing to do is to look at the university's web page (http://www.newcastle.edu.au/about-uon/governance-and-leadership/faculties-and-schools/faculty-of-health-and-medicine/school-of-biomedical-sciences-and-pharmacy/research/our-researchers) and look at what kind of research they are doing, and then either contact them yourself or get help from someone at the university.

My degree project ended up being in the field of oncology. My supervisor had a project with a new gene in breast cancer that she wanted to characterize, so that became my project. Before I got there, I was afraid that they would expect me to know everything and that they would expect me to have more experience. But as it turned out they really didn’t have any expectations at all really. I even got asked if I had ever been in a lab before. So if you’re feeling insecure about going, don’t worry. They will be more then happy to have you there.

I had a great supervisor that was alway there to answer my questions and help me in the lab. The lab group that I worked with was quite small, only consisting of five people including me. All of them were great with supporting me in the lab, introducing me to new techniques and giving tips. The same went for people in the other groups that we shared the labs with. They were more than happy to help out if there ever was a problem.

Since you who is reading this, probably is a biomedicin student who has already studied in English for awhile, I can assure you that there won’t be a problem with the language. As I’m sure you have figured out, the study language here is English. From my experience they all try to make sure that you understand everything they are saying, and will more likely than not be impressed by your skills in English.

In my opinion, the swedes and the aussies are actually quite similar without many cultural differences. ALthough it is true that most people are very open, easy going and laid back. I can’t remember an actual real cultural clash, but my biggest cultural clash that I experienced, was probably when I went to the supermarket for the first time and the cashier started having a conversation with me. Since I’m used to a simple “Hello” and then silence, I was shocked when she started to ask how I was and how my day had been. I felt incredibly Swedish as I stood there spitting out short sentences and single words as I didn’t know what to answer her.

Newcastle has quite a lot to offer, even though it’s not the biggest city. Along Darby St you will find several restaurants and cafés and the occasional bar. There are quite a few bars in Newcastle and also a few nightclubs. On Wednesdays a lot of students go out, and also Fridays. Some also go out on Saturdays, but not as many. Compared to Stockholm, the prices of the restaurants are usually around the same price, but going out is definitely cheaper in Newcastle.

Newcastle has several great beaches; Nobbys beach, Newcastle beach, Bar beach and Merewether beach. Wherever you live in Newcastle, you will probably live reasonably close to one of the beaches, and I really do recommend a visit to all of them. Redhead beach is another beach that I really would recommend that you visit. It is a bit further away, but if you have a friend with a car or think that you can endure an one hour trip by bus, I think you should make a visit.

Not far from Newcastle, just on the other side of the harbour, you find Stockton. Here you can go sandboarding, drive a 4WD in the sand and also ride camels. Another place not far from Newcastle is Port Stephens. The university usually have a trip out there where you go on a dolphin cruise and walk up Tomaree Head which has a beautiful view.

If you like wine, you should definitely take a trip to Hunter Valley. There you can visit a few of the many vineyards and drink some delicious wine. The school do organize trips to Hunter Valley, but you could also go by yourself. Me and a housemate decided to book a tour for the day. We got picked up at 8 am by a driver, right outside our house. Together with about 6 other people we went to five different vineyards, drank loads of wine, and also visited a vodka distillery. We also got some really nice food and got to visit a chocolate factory.