The Stress Less Guide to Studying in Australia - Part Two
Pre departure - Still
Now that you have all the paperwork sorted out its time to start giving some thought to what you need to take with you. Again this won’t be an exhaustive list but feel free to leave a comment or send me an email about any suggestions you have.
I like to travel light. If I can’t carry both my suitcase and my hand-luggage at the same time then I usually like to repack them. It’s a rule that’s served me well in the past, though it does say a lot about my life when I can fit it into a backpack and small suitcase. Luggage allowance on the flight to Australia will vary from place to place and airline to airline but I usually have about twenty kilograms to work with. Keep that in mind when you come to packing.
Clothes
The agreed upon rule on this seems to be pack the minimal amount. You’ll want summer clothes if you’re arriving in February and warmer clothes for June and July. The clubs usually won’t let you in unless you have smart-casual clothes and close-toed shoes, so pack appropriately. Anything you don’t bring with you can probably be picked up reasonably cheaply in one of the many clothing stores. There’s even a warehouse outlet called Harbour Town in Perth but I’m cheap when it comes to what I wear so rarely go there.
Toiletries
I honestly didn’t give them much thought but I have been told by both my mother and sister that this is an important section. You should take fresh bottles of all your shampoos and conditioners. It gives you a bit of breathing space for a few weeks and can also be a bit comforting when you first arrive. You’ll probably be able to get the same products or something very similar in the supermarkets and pharmacies but it’s still nice to have the same product as what you’d use at home.
Computers
Laptops are fairly cheap these days and are really easy to transport. I knew a guy that flew his entire desktop computer over with a printer and it cost him a fortune. If you plan to live in the Village at Murdoch then you’ll most likely have internet access through the ethernet port in your room but you can also get wireless on campus and in lectures. I like to use my laptop to take notes and often end up checking Facebook at the same time. Presumably you’ll be more industrious than me. Printers are also fairly cheap and you can get them in Fremantle and Perth.
Books
Unless you are really dedicated you probably won’t have any of your unit textbooks when it comes to fly across. The books I’m talking about are the sort you read for pleasure rather than the much dryer academic texts, unless that’s your thing. I usually travel with four or five books because I read so quickly but it can add to my hand-luggage weight. I suggest taking one or two books that are special to you, I know someone who has a treasured copy of Atlas Shrugged, and keep those with you throughout your University career. If you plan to go the Village route most of the rooms have good bookshelves in them, though you will probably have to sacrifice space to the dry academic texts.
Mementos
The most important thing you can take is something special that reminds you of home. When my sister went off to University she took her favourite stuffed animal, I took a few photos and my guitar and I know a friend who took enough photo’s to fill a wall. These objects are important for two reasons, first because you’ll need something familiar in the first few months and second because they can be very comforting if you get sick so far away from home.
That, as far as I can see, is most of what you should think about packing. I’ve probably left something very vital out so please don’t try to use this as a checklist. If you decide to use this as a checklist please don’t blame me if you forget something. If you decide to blame me please don’t kill me. If you decide to kill me please at least have the decency to not dump my body down a mine shaft. I get nervous in dark, enclosed spaces.
Stay tuned for part three where I will show you how to make a cat out of macaroni!
1 comments:
I have killed my cat, when does the macaroni appear?
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