Farewell party

Had the most awesome farewell party yesterday - was so nice to have so many people show up! After a looong afternoon in the park, some of us went on to Tröls, then Debaser, and then the final 3 champions had a grand finale down at the beach and watched the sunrise.. :) Beaches and beer.. Thank you everyone for a fantastic evening!
x

Confirmation of Enrolment

The eCOE came about 24 hours after I sent the Acceptance of Offer form. Fantastic. The courses I will be reading are:

1. KIB338: Print Media
2. KVB104: Photomedia And Artistic Practice
3. KIB104: Digital Media
4. KIB101: Visual Communication

I have also been accepted to KKB102: Creative Industries: Making Connections, so I have a back-up course in case I want it, but it seems to be more of a theoretic course rather than a hands-on practical course.. So I think I'll skip it.

On the down-side, when I applied for my visa I was asked if I had lived in any other countries during the last 5 years - which I have, I lived in Swaziland until 3 years ago. So I was told that I was required to undergo a chest x-ray as well as a medical examination as part of my application. GAH!

The x-ray cost 500 kr, the examination cost 1500 kr, the blood-test cost 200 kr, and shipping the whole package to Berlin cost 150 kr. And then the visa itself cost a whopping 3600 kr..
So now I'm broke.

Letter of acceptance!

Dear Anna,
Congratulations! You have been successful in your application for admission to QUT. Please find attached your official letter of offer and Acceptance of Offer form.

Awesome! Have filled in the Acceptance of Offer form.. now anxiously waiting for the Confirmation of Enrolment :)

Google Maps

Google Maps is golden. Have already taken a street-view tour of Brisbane, my university campus and have even checked out the house of the guy who will be hosting us the first few days when we arrive! Seeing everything in an interactive map is way fun.. :)

EILC

Am super interested in maybe doing an EILC (Erasmus Intensive Language Course) after I get back. Portugal is one of the listed countries.. Wouldn't it be awesome to go to Lisbon and get normal CSN funding, plus a scholarship for 150€/week (!!!) for studying portuguese for a few months? That would totally kick ass.

Kickoff

Was at the Kickoff today, which actually was really good.. Lots and lots of practical information! Bring a notebook and a pen.. Most of the stuff I knew already - but it felt good to have it reinforced. It also felt good to look through the lists they gave us. I like lists. And I like checking things off of them even more :)

More information about the kickoff can be found on their website, as well as their powerpoint presentation with lots of info. A summarised version of their checklist can also be found online here.

Accomodation

Couchsurfing is an awesome site! The first week in Brisbane we'll be staying with a guy called Beren, who seems really nice.. will be lovely to come to a home once we arrive instead of a hostel. I've never couchsurfed before, so this will be interesting :)

But if you don't want to crash someone's home, here's a tip from Frida: Bunk is apparently a really good backpackers and a great way to meet new people..

It's still too early to find a permanent residence for when we arrive in July, but I'm checking every week anyway just because I can't help it :) Some good websites for those who are curious:

• QUT's own Accomodation Services
• The Pad
• Rooms 4 Rent
• Campus Living Villages, for those wanting to live on campus. A bit expensive, but the flats do look nice!

Sara's also coming! :D

When Sara heard I was going to Brisbane, she applied for some biology courses at the University of Queensland - and got in! Kickass! We are going to terrorize that city..










At Café Mojito in Cape Town :)

Scholarships

Some of the other students had gotten information about how to apply for scholarships. The package costs 325 SEK but is apparently really worth it.. Shame I didn't find it in time! But here it is in case someone wants to have a look.

Papua New Guinea

Everyone I've spoken to who has traveled to that area of the world has always spent their last weeks of the trip lying on beaches in Thailand. I'm sure Thailand is great (the pictures do look amazing) but.. I will already have spent half a year lying on the beach by the time I'm done in Aus, so I think want to do something completely different before coming back home.. Have been looking around for info on Papua New Guinea.. It's apparently really dangerous, but imagine how awesome it would be to explore one of the last few proper wild jungles left in the world.. :)

• PNG Tourism
• Jungle Fever: Papua New Guinea
• Papua New Guinea: A World Away, Pt 1
• Papua New Guinea: A World Away, Pt 2
  

I'm sold.