徐嘉琦 (護理學士學位課程)
Choi Ka Kei (Bachelor of Science in Nursing)

 

It has already been two weeks since I came back from Melbourne, Australia. In this August, I joined the overseas study program held by MPI. Since this was the first time for me to leave home and study abroad for three weeks, I was quite nervous about that.

Still remember the early morning when we arrived in Melbourne and stepped out of the airport, the coldness refreshed my mind and I arrived on the land of the world’s most livable city – Melbourne. With the warm welcoming hug by my host mother, the coldness went away and I started my three-week Melbourne life.

In the first week, I was allocated to the afternoon class which I thought was good, since I was not very familiar with the transportation there and might have been late everyday for the morning class. In fact there was no different between morning and afternoon class, because if you get up early, you could also go and visit the attractions before attending the school. Therefore, the first thing you needed to know was the transportation in Melbourne in order not to get lost easily in such an unfamiliar city. However, Australians are kind and they will give you a helping hand. Therefore, you just need to learn to ask in a polite way.

About the lessons I had in Monash College:
Although I was not a business student, I thought what they taught were things that were useful in my daily life, such as the presentation skills, employability skills, communication skills, etc. They usually divided us into groups for discussions and since there were students from Shanghai and Japan, we could discuss things from different points of views and share with each other the cultural differences between China, Japan and Australia. The program also provided us the visiting of CPA and Ford companies of Australia which were really great experience for me to know more about Australians’ business industry.

About my host family:
I only had a host mother who I thought was a good cook. Because the meals she prepared for me were delicious although I had sandwiches everyday for lunch. However, it was also an experience of living in an Australian family. Overall, I was satisfied with my host family because she communicated with me everyday, giving me advice and suggestions on planning where I could go on weekends even though she was tired after work. Therefore, I was thankful for knowing her and I wish I could go back and visit her again.

So, how about my weekend? Actually I loved wandering around the city because I was always impressed by the city’s buildings, they are stylish and unique. Aside from that, I was also impressed by the beauty of nature, such as the view in the Great Ocean Road or taking helicopter to see the Twelve Apostles. I also went to the Zoos to visit the Kangaroos, koalas and many different kinds of animals; actually there were lots of places you can go. However, I highly recommended to try skydiving; it was cold and excited! Besides, you could go up to the Eureka Tower to see the great night view of Melbourne, or went to the St. Kilda Beach to see the penguins. The Brighton Beach was also very beautiful and worth to go. I really missed the clear water and beautiful sunset when I was on the beach.

Last but not the least, I really thank MPI for giving me the chance to experience the life in Melbourne, made me to be a more independent person, and what's more is the friendship that I built in Melbourne. I shall never forget the people I meet in the college. The precious memory will never be fade away.