Queensland Experiences

Queensland Experiences

Australia – Living and Learning by Emiliano Valente Reyes

G’day mates! Welcome to Australia!

Well, first of all…, are you ready for some challenge!? If your answer is a bold YES, so Australia is so your next destination!

I am writing here as an University of Queensland post-grad student and I want to share a little bit of my knowledge and experience in this huge (man…, it is massive!!!) country with you.

I know how many people out there thinking about living the “Australian dream” and I want to do basically two things here: First, support your willing to come and, second, tell you some true things about this country so that you are not going to feel regret of coming without thinking twice!

Can you imagine living in a place really secure, where families leave their cars open, their homes have no fences and they can walk and play heaps of sports at night on the streets!? That`s what this place is about. You really feel the safe environment everywhere you go. It doesn`t matter if you are in a big city or in a farm area. It is a free country, with people from everywhere in the world. I am currently studying with people from China, Vietnam, Russia, Canada, Korea, Japan, Sri-Lanka, Zimbabwe, Italy…, so you can have an idea about the amazing environment which permits you sharing your experiences and brief that different cultural aspect all times.

You really feel blessed for being living here. But, obviously, everything in life has a price to be paid. So, check your savings before flying! And pay attention to all the details. In Australia, things are really done in the correct way so, if it says you cannot bring food in your travel bags, do not bring any. There are so many tourists who are fined just after land the country because believe the rules are just there to make people scared. That’s not true! They really check every travel bag and, if you disrespect the rules, you will find out how expensive it can be in the worst way.

This happens also after you purchase your first car here. Did not read the sign? “No worries mate!”, as people here say. You will receive a great fine and, the next time, you will triple check before parking your car. And do not think the fines and the whole cost to live here is cheap.

All students spend most of their money paying rent and food and, it’s getting more expensive, year after year. It is worthwhile to check prices before coming. A great website to check accommodation, for example, is www.realestate.com.au. Have a quick look and plan your budget!

Travel is the best thing to do here. Every break you have from your activities, you can easily rent a car (it`s even better to hire a camper van, so you can save money on hostels) and travel everywhere you imagine! The country has plenty attractions and most of them you can see for free. The only thing you have to do is find a way to get there! You will certainly meet a lot of people to build friendship and travel with around the whole country so…, get on the road and enjoy the best of it!
Everyone here is really used to tourists and if you ask anyone about any information you need, friendly answers are given commonly. Sometimes a simple question can give you a new friendship. So, do not be shy, try to talk to as many people as you can and you will start making a great networking.

One of the work experiences I had here was as a door-to-door sale’s rep for an Australian program authorized sale’s company, during six months. That experience was outstanding! I had the chance of visiting thousands of Australian families and checking the way they live in their own homes. It was fantastic! I could write a book about the things that I saw. So that means, depending on the job experience you have, you can easily see a lot about the country and really live it! Hmmm, and guess what…, you can end up doing a couple of Australian Dollars on the end. So, what are you still doing there?

Come try to eat vegemite and see the wonder you always hear about. Plan your trip, set your goals and feel the challenging adventure environment that Australia has to offer. Ask someone who came and you will see how good it is!

Emiliano Valente Reyes
Brisbane, QLD - Australia