As one Chinese Proverb stated that “Reading ten thousand books is not as useful as travelling ten thousand miles", this overseas learning program is a perfect tool for me to learn how to become independent and I can experience the education abroad.

In this PPA program, I thought my biggest achievement was making many friends different countries in this program. They are students of IPM, students from Japan and pre-university students in the Monash University. I knew other different cultures when I talked with them. I really enjoyed sharing Macau’s culture to others and I also like to know how their lives are in their own countries.

I learned many useful English. For example: I learned many words to describe myself at self- introduction, and I had learned how to write formal and informal emails. I thought these two parts are very important for me for finding a job and communicating with teachers or colleagues. Moreover, I thought I learned more English words and used more English to communicate with my classmates and other people. I do not usually use English in Macau, and my English teachers are also Chinese, so I always speak Chinese in class. But this time I was in Monash Collage and all the teachers and staff do not know Chinese, so when I talked to them or need some information, I must speak English. That makes me improve my speaking and listening skills.

I thought this program is suitable for me because my English is really poor, and I have not learned any business English before. I think the PPA program is suitable for my level. But I think some classmates will think this program is too easy for them. It is very difficult to satisfy everyone in the class, because all of us have very different English levels.

I lived in Melbourne for three weeks; I thought the most challenging thing for me is the traffic. Macau is a very small city; I just need to go to school by my motorcycle in 5 to 10 minutes. However, I needed to take the buses and then changed the train for going school. And when I came back home, it was so dark, and it’s really challenging for my sense of direction.

However, I have some bad experiences in the host family. She once told me that “Here are the chicken wings, if you don't want to eat these, you can give it to the dog." Moreover, I found a lot of foods have expired at home-stay. And my home-stay did not prepare any breakfast and lunch for me. I always ate the same foods at dinner. And they liked to stay in their own room; we did not always communicate with each other.

Although I have some unhappy memories in this Melbourne trip, it really was informative and memorable. I really want to live in Australia for few years. I checked the information about the working holiday. Unfortunately, Macau residents are not allowed to get working holiday in Australia. So, I hope I can study for a Master degree in Australia. That is the only way I can live in Australia. And I think Monash University is my first choice to apply.