Author: Niamh Bush

Student blog: Niamh – One Year On…

September 25, 2017 / Niamh Bush

So, my time in Australia has unfortunately come to an end. I have had the most incredible time, and had the pleasure of meeting the most amazing people. This past year has gone by so unbelievably quickly; it feels just like yesterday that I was taking the long journey over here and stepping foot in a place I was so unsure of. But now, I am leaving the same place: a place I was once so nervous about, a place I now call home.

If you’d asked me a year ago, whether I would travel to 7 different states/territories around Australia, represent ANU in the Eastern University Games, or try my hand at AFL, I would’ve said no. But here I am! There are so many things that I have done this year that I would never have imagined I would do, and I can’t thank everyone here enough for helping to facilitate that. It has been an adventure, and an adventure I would repeat a thousand times over.

Now, as my time here has ended, I have left the cold Canberra winter to settle back home in the *slightly* warmer British summer, and prepare to start my third and final year of university.

But before I do, I have a couple of words of advice for anyone considering going on exchange.

Whether it is to ANU, to Australia, or to anywhere else:

Try not to fly under the radar
Try new things (cliché, I know)
Meet new people (also incredibly cliché)
Load your days up to the max
Don’t study too hard (find the perfect balance)
Don’t be afraid to ask for help
Appreciate the people around you

Student blog: Niamh – “Christmas Holidays”

February 22, 2017 / Niamh Bush

Something very different about studying in Australia is the fact that we have a 3 month holiday over the Christmas period. This is the summer holiday like we have from July-September in England – but from November-February. It’s a bit of an odd feeling, but it’s a perfect time to go travelling, especially seeing as everyone back in England is busy with university.

During November, I spent some time with friends in Australia, before heading back to England for Christmas. It was lovely to be back at home, but as soon as all my family/friends had gone back to work/university, I didn’t have much to do. At the very start of January, however, I ventured back over to the Southern Hemisphere to join a 3 week tour of New Zealand with GAdventures’ ‘Best of New Zealand’ tour.

My time in New Zealand went by faster than I could ever have imagined. Visiting both the north island and the south island, our 21 days were packed to the brim with activities. From completing many 5:30am hikes, experiencing Maori culture, and visiting Waitomo Glow Worm caves, the north island was an amazing 7 day experience. I could definitely have spent double the time there if I had the opportunity.

With 14 days on the south island, I decided to be a bit more adventurous with the activities I chose to do. So…in Queenstown, I completed my first 15,000ft tandem skydive! It was the most amazing experience and I would highly recommend it to anyone! Other than skydiving, I was able to go dolphin watching, visit a seal colony, and go zip-lining on the world’s steepest zip-line.

The whole journey was a whirlwind, but I would do the whole trip again in a heartbeat!

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Student blog: Niamh – “Accommodation at ANU”

December 7, 2016 / Niamh Bush

As I promised at the end of the last post, this post will be dedicated to the accommodation options available at the Australian National University.

For the last 5 and a bit months I have been living in on-campus, catered, shared (i.e. sharing bathroom facilities but having a bedroom to yourself) accommodation in a college called Ursula Hall. Ursula Hall is one of six undergraduate halls on campus: Bruce, Burgmann, Burton and Garran, John XXIII, Unilodge, and Ursula.

Bruce Hall is currently being demolished, with residents being moved to a new building for 2017/2018 (SA5). Because nobody has lived in SA5 before, I’m not sure about the arrangements or how it’s going to work, so I probably wouldn’t recommend it for 2017/2018 exchange students.

B&G is a great option if you would prefer being self-catered. It has a very large kitchen area consisting of around 10 individual kitchens, so it’s a perfect space for meeting new people.

Unilodge is the newest and most modern of accommodations, but the flats are either shared with a very small number of people, or are single studios. From talking to my friends in Unilodge, they’ve said that it can really be quite isolated living there, and it’s mainly made up of international students. I would suggest that the ‘shared’ accommodation types are best for meeting new people, and getting a more Australian experience.

The off-campus options for undergraduates are Fenner and Griffin halls. Griffin Hall does not provide accommodation, but is a community that students who live in town (i.e. have found their own accommodation) can access in order to participate in sports and arts activities that the other university halls offer.

Fenner is around a 20 minute walk from campus and will follow Bruce in being demolished in (I believe) 2018/2019, so this may not be the best option.

Even if you’ve been in self-catered accommodation in Lancaster this year, I would definitely recommend trying a catered college. Being in a catered college with set meal times means that it’s so much easier to meet new people and make friends. Plus, it’s much easier in terms of not needing to buy all of your pots and pans, and having to do a weekly grocery shop. This saves so much time (and money in the long run).

No matter which college you choose, each will be involved with a range of arts and sports competitions. Netball, softball, choir, dance -there really is something for everyone. I would definitely recommend getting involved with as many of these activities as you can. They’re a great method for meeting new people.

I have had the most amazing time at Ursula Hall and I would recommend it in a heart beat.

I think that’s all for now, but if you have any questions please feel free to email/facebook me.

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Student blog: Niamh – “From England to Australia”

October 24, 2016 / Niamh Bush

Hi everyone,

I thought I would start this off by telling you a little bit about myself and ANU, why I chose to study in Australia, and what my experience here has been like so far.

So without further ado, my name’s Niamh and I’m currently doing the second year of my English Language and Linguistics degree at (you guessed it!) the Australian National University (aka, ANU). The ANU is situated in Canberra, and is only a 3 hour drive from Sydney (or, a 50 minute flight), so it is an ideal location for travelling all across the country, and further afield. The university itself works in a similar way to Lancaster in that it has a collegiate system. With 8 colleges to choose from: ranging from catered to self-catered, shared to ensuite, and on-campus to off-campus, there really is an option to suit everyone. I, myself, chose a shared catered college on-campus: Ursula Hall (which I will talk about in my next blog post).

I chose to study abroad for a variety of reasons – some of which are more cliché than others! Here comes the cliché… From an early age, I always dreamt of studying in a different country, experiencing a different culture, and meeting new people. Yes, I told you it was going to be a bit cliché. Further though, the fact that Lancaster offers such an inclusive program, alongside such a broad selection of host universities, really helped make such a big decision so much easier.

But why Australia?

Last year I went on holiday and travelled along the East Coast of Australia. I had so many incredible experiences, and everyone was so welcoming on my travels. From this point, I had a gut-feeling that Australia was the place for me. Having researched the ANU itself, the courses it offers, and the accommodation that was available, there really was no doubt about it: this is where I wanted to go. Plus, the Australian National University has been ranked number 22 in the world (yes, the WORLD) according to the QS Top University Guide: so, what’s not to like about that?

I have been here for almost 4 months and my experience so far has been nothing short of amazing: the people I’ve met, the places I’ve been, and the actual studying isn’t too bad either! I have absolutely no regrets about coming to Australia, studying at ANU, or living in Ursula Hall, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone considering going on exchange.

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