Overseas Studying Experience in Australia is over-rated
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Ever since i was mature enough, i often hear media reports, word of mouth and remarks in the forums which suggested that it is very glamorous and prestigious to study in Australia.
Some suggested that after graduation,they can then find employment there, hopefully gain PR status and stay there.
BUT, in a straits Time report, feb 6, P16:
"Singaporeans at Aussie varsities a lonely lot: Study
Young Singaporeans are the loneliest of overseas students at Australian universities, a new study has found. Every single one of those surveyed by researchers from Victoria's Monash University and the University of Melbourne admitted to feeling friendless and isolated. Students from Malaysia, Indonesia and China were not that much happier, according to the study. Overall, 67 per cent of female and 62 per cent of male international students said they experienced 'periods of loneliness and isolation' Down Under. Some of the young men and women polled said they felt like they were in 'a very strange place' and likened their experience to being 'lost in a jungle'. "
So yeah. if ordinary mortals. aka Singaporeans cannot even adapt to uni life in Australia, how more can they adapt to settling down in Australia?
Fundamentally, Sg students need to open up, be less culturally eccentric and for God's sake, go mingle with the Angmors and not merely mingle with ur pathetic villagers aka the SG students' Union.
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do correct me if i'm wrong but i dun believe the mingling part onli applies to singaporeans.
Foreign students who come over for exchange programs usually also hang out with the people they came over with which kinda defeats the purpose.
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Over-rated = very true. Cos' Australian lifestyle is very "rural" or suburban and S-L-O-W. The life here definitely cannot be compared to sg's speed. The "quality" of life here is of a different calibre, that is to put it blatantly - it would be advisable for one to love nature, lots of space, languidness and preferrably have some spare cash to buy yourself speed (car) and comfort (house).
Making friends? = subjective. Students from China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia & (also) sg.. of course will prefer to mingle with one of their own. It's human nature. The Aussies? There are those who still assume all chinese-looking individuals are from China or Vietnam.
Bottom line, deal with it maturedly and you will soon earn some respect and make new friends. If you can't, don't come.
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Originally posted by fiberz:
Over-rated = very true. Cos' Australian lifestyle is very "rural" or suburban and S-L-O-W. The life here definitely cannot be compared to sg's speed. The "quality" of life here is of a different calibre, that is to put it blatantly - it would be advisable for one to love nature, lots of space, languidness and preferrably have some spare cash to buy yourself speed (car) and comfort (house).
Making friends? = subjective. Students from China, India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia & (also) sg.. of course will prefer to mingle with one of their own. It's human nature. The Aussies? There are those who still assume all chinese-looking individuals are from China or Vietnam.
Bottom line, deal with it maturedly and you will soon earn some respect and make new friends. If you can't, don't come.
Yup. There has to be a thorough management of One's expectations living and studying in Australia, or be it any other countries.
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Ok to experience loneliness and to experience a different culture what.
It might make you cherish your own country even more.
I feel that it is good to get some overseas exposure. It might not be a full 3-4 years overseas but at least a semester or so.
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A friend of mine is currently studyin' in Perth, from wat he observes amongst SGaens there, non-chinese SGaens seem to be getting along well with everyone, including angmohs...chinese SGaens seem to always wanna stick to SG peeps or worst...China peeps! Only a few actually bother to widen thier social circle...
It's like they're there just to "study and get over with it" kind of mentality...
He tells me even the Jap folks fair alot better in socialising...
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dun tink the article is all true cos seen frens getting along well with locals... drinking, pubbing n more... sg got spgs gng aussie oso therefore sure wun b lonely like wat the article says... hvnt read the full article but will sure wan to know how they get the stats...
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propaganda..
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Think it has to do with the locals u meet and the people u actually come across. On top of that, it's gotta do with personality!
I've dealt with staying alone before, and well u cant be everyone's friend, but at least if u tried to mingle and socialise and it did not work out, then I guess it's just (well) fine...I was on my semester exchange and though I did not get to know a lotta people very well, at least I was close to a couple of students, which I felt was good since I was not speaking their language and there's seldom any after-school activities other than drinking!!! :)
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Not just Australia, but in the US as well.
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Singaporeans overseas are realy good with setting up groups to find fellow Singaporeans.. Oddly , i don't have any Singaporean friends here in Toronto. Only one i knew went back to Singapore.
Didn't fly half way aound the world to hang out with Singaporeans..
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An overseas experience is only what you make out of it ... it's really up to you to step out of your comfort zone .....
for me personally, if your sole objective to go for an overseas education is to get yourself a piece of parchment, then I suggest you stick to NTU or NUS .... an overseas education is so much more than getting a piece of paper ...
loneliness is a state of mind too ... one can easily be lonely anywhere, even in Singapore ... interaction is really a 2 way street ... if you don't initiate contact with others, don't expect others to do the same to you ....
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thats correct to spend lots of time and money oversea is beyond books and grades.
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they play mahjong play dota....
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take pilot license for small plane,
take sky diving.
take up leadership program in DC.
drive solo across the US. or jog across the US.
internship with UN in NY.
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Originally posted by BangHong:
they play mahjong play dota....
thats what the hk and indo guys do when they live in residence...
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I dislike aussies..... sorry if I offended anyone, even if you are a good aussie guy or gal... but really I hate them generally! I dont like australia either - its really a bad place to study! if you are considering studying in australia - please dont, cos you are making a mega big mistake. go america. go nz. go canada... so many places to go.... dont go australia! Its overrated! I apologise if I have offended anyone but this is my personal p.o.v.
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Originally posted by w.eikaas:
I dislike aussies..... sorry if I offended anyone, even if you are a good aussie guy or gal... but really I hate them generally! I dont like australia either - its really a bad place to study! if you are considering studying in australia - please dont, cos you are making a mega big mistake. go america. go nz. go canada... so many places to go.... dont go australia! Its overrated! I apologise if I have offended anyone but this is my personal p.o.v.
Why so much hatred towards australia? did something happen? Can't the same things be said of america, nz and canada? Really its all what you make of it. Not that I am defending australia, i know it has it's bad points.
So just a bit of tongue in cheek, do you like singaporeans who stay is aus?
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Originally posted by ben1406:
Singaporeans overseas are realy good with setting up groups to find fellow Singaporeans.. Oddly , i don't have any Singaporean friends here in Toronto. Only one i knew went back to Singapore.
Didn't fly half way aound the world to hang out with Singaporeans..
Yes that happens a lot here too in Australia... wonder why...
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Originally posted by breytonhartge:
Yes that happens a lot here too in Australia... wonder why...
i notice south east asians are really close to each other.. indos by themselves, singaporeans and malaysian groups and the hk peeps just go shopping together. only the filipinos i've notice mingle alot with the 'whites' or local ppl.
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Originally posted by ben1406:
i notice south east asians are really close to each other.. indos by themselves, singaporeans and malaysian groups and the hk peeps just go shopping together. only the filipinos i've notice mingle alot with the 'whites' or local ppl.
I wish it were not the case, but that tends to be the truth, when I was younger, I used to run with a mixed crowd of indo's, sg chinese, hkers and a few viets... we were all part of a car club..
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i'll just say this..
WTF are they doing?
that.. i've seen myself.. a few fellas moved to my hostel after their lease ran out.. and i realised they never went anywhere other than to school, to the chinese restaurant, the supermarket and their apartment.. no where else!! for TWO BLOODY YEARS!!
i went there, made friends with the locals there, lived like the locals and came back with an education which was more important to me than the paper itself...
i dragged them out to go out with us, a weird group of singaporeans, malaysians, indonesian, HK fellas, cook islanders, samoans, australians, a scot... and had a blast... they later told me they wasted 2 years of their lives...
we make the best of what we can.. and usually, it's better than we can even imagine
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i like your last sentence, bear
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yes, i had friends who when study oversea at the same time as I did and they returned to Sg almost the same time as I did and I am sure they did welll accademically but they still behave and think the same way before they left SG.
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Originally posted by Arapahoe:
yes, i had friends who when study oversea at the same time as I did and they returned to Sg almost the same time as I did and I am sure they did welll accademically but they still behave and think the same way before they left SG.
that sort of defeats the purpose of going overseas for an education don't you think?