Rodolphe
France
Institution attended in home country: IEP de Lyon – Institute of Political Studies of Lyon
Institution attended in Australia: University of Melbourne
Rodolphe,
a political science student from France, wanted to do his exchange in
an English-speaking country. He had already visited the United States
and United Kingdom, so when he found out that his home institution had a
partnership with a Melbourne university his decision was almost made
for him. “I simply jumped at the opportunity to come down here, which is
something I might have never done otherwise,” he says.
Two other
students from Rodolphe’s home institution in Lyon also decided to head
for Melbourne, so they were able to organise their trip together, doing
most of their research on the web.
Since arriving, Rodolphe and
his fellow students have had plenty of help from the international
centre at their host university. “Every time we had an inquiry, we asked
them and they were always able to help.” The centre also organised
accommodation for their first few nights, the shuttle from the airport
and a welcome program before the semester started.
Following a
time-honoured Melbourne tradition for students, Rodolphe found a share
house by checking student noticeboards. “I took a few phone numbers,
made arrangements and went to see the places. It took me about a week.”
He’s now sharing with two Australian students.
Although he’s
obviously settled into Australian life well, Rodolphe says it’s normal
to expect a bit of culture shock when you arrive in a new country. “You
might feel a bit alone and lost the first days.”
On the academic
side, Rodolphe has found that studying in Australia is quite similar to
France, apart from essay writing. “What I like is the relative freedom
for the choice of courses undertaken. In France, the courses you do are
entirely determined by your degree. [In Australia] there are less
contact hours (at least for arts subjects), which gives you a bit more
time to study and to relax.”