I’ve had the best time
I’ve had the best time studying Maths and Psychology at LaTrobe University in Australia, making friends with people from all over the world, as well as travelling to lots of places I never would have had the opportunity to go to had I not studied here. I spent 4 months studying and then had 2 months to explore Australia and spend time with my family who live in Adelaide, which was so lovely since I haven’t seen them in 5 years.
One of the first trips I went on was to Tasmania, where we hired a car and drove around the island. We saw some beautiful beaches and explored the mountains and forests with 3 other friends I met at LaTrobe.
A trip unlike any other was to Uluru with a couple of friends from LaTrobe, where we camped out under the stars and cooked our own meals. We hiked all around Ayers Rock, Kata Tjuta and Kings Canyon and caught every sunrise and sunset. This trip also taught me a lot about the Aboriginal culture, and I got to fully experience the outback.
I then went to New Zealand with a couple of friends from Reading University and a friend from LaTrobe. We spent a jam-packed week on the southern island and hiked A LOT! Firstly, we went to the Franz Josef glacier and the hot pools near there. We then hiked 1576m up to Roy’s Peak and 1748m up Ben Lomond, which were tough climbs, but the views were completely worth it. Finally, one of my favourite stops was Milford Sound where we took a cruise in the rain through an insane number of waterfalls and saw some rare penguins.
One of my favourite days in Australia was spent cycling around Rottnest island where the rare quokka lives. Next, I went camping along the west coast of Australia where I saw the oldest fossils in the world and went snorkelling and saw dolphins, sharks, sting rays, turtles and some amazing fish. From there, I met up with my boyfriend in Cairns where we explored the Daintree rainforest, Fitzroy Island and The Great Barrier Reef.
I spent Christmas with my family in Adelaide and then stayed in Sydney for New Year’s where we watched the fireworks from Darling Harbour, and then travelled up the east coast towards Brisbane. Skydiving in Byron Bay was a major highlight of my whole experience in Australia, I’m so glad I had the opportunity to do it.
Academically, I’ve learnt about psychology specific to Australia and have been studying clinical psychology which is an area I haven’t really looked into before. With maths, I really enjoyed studying Algebra, Linear Codes and Automata, particularly when learning about Turing machines. I’ve definitely made use of the resources available at LaTrobe, such as the 24-hour library and maths hub, which was very useful. However, I did struggle a bit with keeping up with work at Reading Uni whilst being abroad since it is more difficult to keep in contact in different time zones.
I have absolutely loved living in Melbourne as it such a fun city where there is always something going on. My favourite example of this is White Night Festival which was a free festival throughout the whole city. Buildings were lit up and there were psychedelic light displays in the parks. There are also plenty of cool bars and restaurants in the city and its suburbs, which were great fun to explore. I have previously done some modelling in London, which I continued to pursue in Melbourne via an agency. I modelled for some fashion students and a hair company which were so much fun and involved travelling around Melbourne.
Although studying in another country is a big change and can be really hard at first, choosing to study abroad was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, and I’ve had the best time studying at LaTrobe.
