As a Dutch international student, I often got the question why I wanted to go on exchange as I was already studying abroad. After studying and doing projects in labs in European countries (The Netherlands and Sweden), I wanted to experience how it would be to do a project in a lab outside Europe. When I applied, the Biomedicine master program had several exchange options in Australia, Singapore and Canada. As I always wanted to go to Australia, I decided to look into the partner universities on offer. The Lowy Cancer Research Centre (http://lowycancerresearchcentre.unsw.edu.au/) is a large centre with many groups having various approaches to studying cancer associated with UNSW (http://www.unsw.edu.au/), which is a KI partner university. Cancer research is my main interest in biomedicine and I wanted to do my master thesis in this field. Therefore, I decided to apply with UNSW as my first choice. And this was the start of an awesome half year.

Once I heard a was selected to go on exchange, I made an appointment with the International Coordinator. She provided me with all the information needed, both before and during my exchange. The application process for UNSW was very easy: just one online form. There are three types of exchange programs at UNSW, student exchange for students from partner universities taking courses, study abroad for students from other universites and practicum exchange (mine) for students from partner universities not taking any courses but doing a project. As I would study for longer than 3 months, I was required to have a student visa, subclass: 575 which costs 535AUD (http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/575.aspx). Again, this is an online process and could only be requested after you are enrolled at an Australian university that. I was required to submit several documents, personal, from KI and from UNSW, but when submitted, I received the visa almost immediately. Normally, an overseas student is required to have an overseas student health cover. Swedish students or students from Swedish universities do not need this, as they are covered by the Insurance of Kammarkollegiet, which I received from the International Coordinator.

As I was not planning to work in ahospital, I did not need any medical examination or vaccinations, which are required if you plan to work directly with patients. However, as I was working with human tissue, I received free hepatitis B vaccination from the UNSW health service.

How easy the initial application to UNSW was, the final enrollment was complicated. Every Monday morning, also during the uni holidays, there is an induction for arriving practicum students. During this meeting practicum coordinator will explain what needs to be done to officially enroll. During my meeting, there were some other students and after the meeting we saw the whole UNSW campus, which is massive, for the enrollment. Part of the process is to pay an application fee of 330AUD, which I got refunded by BIONK as this was part of the KI scholarship agreement.

Once I was enrolled at UNSW and received my student card, I was confronted with paperwork at the lab. Aussies like their inductions! Which are introduction sessions for anything. During my time in the lab I had an induction for virtually anything: the building, the floor, cell culture, and one for any piece of equipment at the floor. I also needed to do some online courses about safety and even ergonomics and I needed to do a half a day course about lab safety and regulations. Only when all of these were completed, I received formal access to the laboratory during office hours. I only gained official access outside office hours after a few months, another form and another induction.

So in theory, students could fly in the day before the start of their project. However, I do not recommend that. I arrived a week early which allowed me to explore the city, get used to the weather, get over my jetlag and find a room (see accommodation). If possible, I advice to arrive even earlier as this would allow you to do some travelling before starting the project.

The semesters at UNSW run from march to june (S1) and from july to november (S2). The student Union Arc (http://www.arc.unsw.edu.au/) organizes an introductionweek before the start of each semester (O-week). During this week, there are lots of social activities organized.  I, however, started at the end of January, so in the middle of the holidays and nothing was organized at that time. I did attend a few activities during O-week, but at that time I already had settled in and did not feel the need to attend more.

Australia and especially Sydney is expensive! Already before departure I spent money on the visa (535AUD) and flight tickets. As mentioned, I did not need any vaccinations or medical examinations which saved me a lot of money as I heard from other students that they are expensive.

The main cost is Sydney is accommodation (see accommodation). If you rent an on-campus room, it could cost you as much as 400AUD a week(!) and even a shared room might cost 150-200AUD depending on the neighborhood. My single room in a neighborhood very close to UNSW cost 230AUD a week. The only option for a slightly cheaper room is living in a cheap neighborhood. However, not every cheap neighborhood in Sydney is safe.

Another cost could be public transport. As an international student you are not eligible for the student tickets and also do not try. The fines when you are caught are about 200AUD (Aussies love there fines and you could get a fine for anything). To keep the public transport costs down, I bought a secondhand bike. In addition, the public transport system in Sydney is quite bad. Cycling to the city was faster than by public transport. Sydney does not have a metrosystem and only some neighborhoods are serviced by trains like the pendeltag. All other neighborhoods including UNSW are only serviced by busses which never run on schedule. Traveling from the outskirts of Sydney to UNSW could take up to 2 hours one-way. So make friends with Aussies that have a car and can drive you anywhere :). On topic again, as I did not use public transport daily I always bought traveltens, which are ten one way bustickets you can buy anywhere (but in the bus). Trains are relatively cheaper than buses. There are special weekly/monthly tickets for foreign students as you are not allowed to use student tickets, but you should ask the international coordinator for more details.

http://www.gumtree.com.au/ is a website you should have in your favorites: you can find anything here: from secondhand bikes and furniture to rooms for rent. And eventhough the traffic is sometimes crazy and the hills often high, I used the bike a lot. One of the main reasons was to do my groceries. Coles and Woolworths are the main supermarkets in Australia (like Ica and Coop), but again, they are quite expensive. Instead, I often cycled to Aldi, which is a German store very similar to Lidl and also cheap. Next to 'my' Aldi was a cheap vegetable store and the veggies here were a lot cheaper than in the supermarket.

The student Union, Arc, is free to join and their membership gives discount on various things. Another expense many foreign students complain about is alcohol. The price of alcohol is as expensive as in Sweden, but the bar of the student Union is a lot cheaper, especially during happy hour.

Cheap flight tickets can be bought at http://www.tigerair.com/au/en/ . I never flew with them, but apparently they are like Ryanair but slightly better. Another cheaper company is http://www.jetstar.com/au/en/home that fly to more destinations in Australia and New Zealand.

If you study in Australia on a student visa, you are allowed to work. I decided not to work as I made very, very long weeks at the lab and wanted to use my free time to explore Sydney and surrounds and have a social life too. Apparently, it is not easy to find a job as exchange students have to compete with the many backpackers in Sydney. However, this is what I heard and not my own experience.

When selected by KI, you will receive a scholarship. This scholarship entails more than just the sum of money they mention. You will also get your application fee of 330AUD which you have to pay when you apply for your student card refunded. In addition, you receive an Insurance and because of this Insurance you do not need to buy an OSHC which is an additional 250AUD (approximately).

Overall, the cost of living in Sydney is higher than in Sweden, mostly because of the very expensive accommodation. It is not usual for project students to receive any financial compensation from the lab. So make sure you have some savings or are able to get extra money from any source (student aid from your home country, scholarships, (grant)parents, ...).

Accommodation is an issue in Sydney, it is not very hard to find, but it is very expensive. UNSW has various on campus accommodation options, both catered and self catered (http://rc.unsw.edu.au/colleges/unsw-colleges). However, on-campus accomodation is very expensive. Therefore, I decided to find my own room.  I advice to look for a room while in Sydney so you can view the room. I was lucky that I could stay the first few days with a colleague close to UNSW as this gave me an opportunity to find a room in the same neighborhood. The main websites used are: http://www.gumtree.com.au/ and http://www.domain.com.au/, but there are more. I found a reasonable room in Kensington at walking distance from UNSW within a few days. It is normal for rooms to be available immediately, so I could move in directly. All continents were represented in my house, which always resulted in funny and interesting situations.

The standard of accommodation is lower than in Sweden. 'Cheaper' rooms are not insulated, do not have airconditioning and no heating. So make sure to bring a sweater to wear inside when you are in Sydney during winter.

Depending on your wishes good areas to look for accommodation are:

-Kensington, Kingsford, Randwick: walking distance to UNSW

-Coogee, Bondi Beach (very expensive), Maroubra Beach: walking distance to beach, bus to UNSW

-Newtown, Glebe: student areas, close to USyd/UTS and buses to UNSW

-Bondi Junction (expensive), Maroubra Junction: buses to UNSW

-CBD (expensive), Surry Hills, Paddington: buses to UNSW

Most Australian students still live with their parents and commute as they cannot afford to live on their own.

There was a group meeting every week, as is also usual in Europe. In addition there was a seminar almost every week. Someone from the floor, building or a visiting scientist would give a seminar about their cancer related research topic.

The working environment was very informal and because of this I had a good relationship with my supervisor. The floor had an open structure with several groups sharing the same office and laboratory. Therefore, I came in contact with other students, postdocs and group leaders on the floor.

The laboratory safety rules are very strict. Even if you had to put the PBS in the fridge, you needed to wear a lab gown (a labcoat was not good enough) and gloves. And I never washed my hands as often as during my time in Sydney. You were also not allowed to bring anything out of the lab into the office, including your sheet with notes you made during the experiments without desinfecting.

Only when I moved to Sydney, I realized how easy it is to live in a country I speak the language almost fluently. When I still lived in Stockholm, my Swedish was limited: I understood quite a bit, but could barely say a correct sentence which limited daily life (i.e. in the supermarket).

UNSW is an university with many international students. When walking over campus, it sometimes feels like you're in Little Asia. In general, Asian students do not study medical sciences. Therefore, Australian medical sciences students are not used foreign accents and my Australian friends had sometimes trouble understanding me with my strong Dutch accent. On the other hand, I'm mostly used to American English and got lost in Australian sayings once in a while. But bing surrounded by native speakers, improved my English.

One of the typical Australian phrases is "no worries" and this is very typical for an Aussie: relaxed and taking it easy. On the other hand, Aussies love their rules: very strict quarantaine at the airport (my shoes had to be desinfected), the many very strict rules in the lab, their fines, etc. While being back in Europe now, my favorite saying remains "no worries"!

I started my project during the holidays while the campus was deserted and no activities were organized. During the semester, the student union Arc consists of many clubs that organize all kinds of activities during the semester. In addition, the international office organized activities for student exchange students which practicum exchange student can also attend. However, when the semester finally started I did not feel the need to attend these activities. By that time, I already had good contact with my housemates and other students in the lab. In addition, a student started a hiking group on facebook and organized some hikes for international students. I joined some of them and those were good fun (and exhausting in 30C). UNSW has good sport facilities including a swimming pool, but I did not join any sports team. There are many opportunities for recreation with the main one being the beach. Coogee beach is nice beach very close to UNSW. In addition, Australian friends showed me several activities Sydneysiders do and tried to transform me into one. Sydney is so big that if you want to explore the whole city and not only the CBD and Bondi like most tourists do, you will need half a year. One of my favorites are the Blue Mountains. A must do just 2 hours by train from the Central Station.

Other exchange students taking courses were complaining that the courses were very easy and these students had plenty of time to travel to other parts during the semester. But I could not as I was so busy during my project. However, after my project I travelled from Darwin down to Melbourne through the desert and a month through New Zealand. I definitely recommend everyone going on exchange to Australia to stay longer for some traveling.

The exchange semester at UNSW was awesome. Although it is sometimes hard to be on the other side of the world than your family and friends, you will get so much in return. All the paperwork will teach you to deal with two universities, at least two governments and even more institutions. I can confidently say that I master online forms and writing e-mails and letters. But it is all worth it! Eventhough I experienced how it was to live abroad, living abroad at least 30 hours travelling from your family and closest friends, is a completely different experience. But  “twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” And Mark Twain knows where he is talking about!