Shop till you drop

-By Edwina 
       

Shopping! Well who doesn’t like to shop? Whether you’re a boy, shopping for gadgets and gizmos, or a girl shopping for the latest fashion, shopping somehow plays an important role in our lives. Shopping can also be our companion at times when we are sad or depressed or even when we go through a break up! It's not called retail therapy for nothing.

Well! When I first came to Australia, and to be more precise, when I first went out shopping, I was in wonderland. The shops in the city, the mannequins, all wearing designer wear blew me away; it was as if I was living my dream, and I did not want it to end. But it did end once it hit 5pm at the shopping centers (still not used to the shops closing at 5pm)

                            

              

Forever New was the first place I shopped since I needed a dress for a party, and honestly I had never shopped for party wear before; this was my first time which made it even more exciting. Till date it’s my favorite shopping destination. There is never something that you won’t like at Forever New. My cousin for her 18th actually bought everything the mannequin was wearing, because it gave her a complete look.

But ‘complete looks’ do cost a fortune and for me shopping at Forever New won’t be on a daily basis.

As I started getting used to the place, K-Mart and Coles, came to my rescue. I can shop for all my necessities from toothbrushes to make-up from Coles.And K-Mart of course is from where I get my basic T’s, singlets and even sandals. And not to forget jumpers from Coles, which are really warm and stylish as well, as I purchased one yesterday.

Let’s not forget shoes; well I still am aghast as I turn into every corner and there’s a shoe shop with sparkling shoes which look gorgeous from afar, but untouchable for me at this time of the year, but on sales days and especially on Boxing Day, it’s all mine. Boxing Day for example is a great way to shop from stores you have never shopped from before. On Boxing Day last year, I shopped from Myers, Just Jeans, Rubi Shoes, and Bardot - shops I could never think of shopping at on a daily basis, since I had just got a job and I didn’t want to burn a hole in my pocket. These brands were actually my incentive to work even harder. 

At the end of the day it doesn’t matter where you shop from, it doesn’t matter whether you paid 10 dollars or 30 dollars for the same item, all that matters is whether you feel good in what you wear. Its not about following fashion, it’s about how you can make a simple item like a tee and a pair of jeans into something fashionable that you feel proud of. I believe fashion is not about following the latest trends but what you feel comfortable in. 

Life as we know it

-By Aretha Zhen

Life as we know it

“I think Josh Duhamel from the movie ‘Life as we know it’ is truly one handsome guy!”

“No, he is definitely not handsome at all"


"Well your perception of who is handsome and who is not is utterly devastating!”

“No, it is you who has no taste at all!"

"No, it is definitely you!”

Cuttttt….. I’ll stop writing more about any stupid arguments…..

Hmmm well my beloved readers, hello! Please don’t be surprised with the stupid arguments I put up there. Those dialogues happened between me and my friends approximately a year ago, a time when we used to have arguments regularly. However, it only made me realize that although my friend and I may come from the same country but we indeed have different tastes. Well, that's why this post is called - life as we know it. Life could be kind and life could be bad too.

Coming to Australia as an international student, I'm sure a lot of you would have found out that Melbourne might be very different from your home country. It could be a lot bigger or a lot smaller. But all of this just makes me realize that studying in a different place is a new challenge. And the biggest challenge that possibly confronts us all is the difference in opinion and culture.

Getting back to the stupid dialogue I put up there, made me realize that everyone is different. No matter where we end up in the future- whether here in Australia or back in home countries or even some other planet (hehe..just joking. Sure thing not another planet, unless we are the crew of Star Trek, which I think will be quite cool:D), we will have a clash of opinion with others. All we need to remember is that everyone is different. So just be yourself, embrace what life offers you and get back every time life wants to beat you down. Just remember, life itself is one great big adventure! That’s why this life is the life as we know it!

As for my life at Deakin, the first time I came here I just went - oh My God! The term was very hectic as I had put a lot on my plate and I was going crazy trying to cope up with everything. I was stressed out and I knew that I needed help so I come to Student Life - the absolutely magical place where we can find out any information we need. From them, I found out that Deakin has a special service for international students called ISS - International Student Service Support. Just fix up an appointment with the ISS office and tell them your difficulties.Trust me, speaking to them really helps!

Up till today, Australia has been treating me well and I believe it will do so in the future. I try my best to enjoy every single moment of my student life here and am trying to make the most out of it. We international students, being away from family, can keep quite busy with either work or studies. But try to find time to spend with friends, and obviously, time to visit and explore this beautiful continent. Never forget, wherever you are now or in the future, keep trusting yourself, make new friends, and enjoy your life!


Cheerio

Melbourne: the city we all love

Do you want to get on the right foot in your studies? Why not get to know your tutors/lecturers?

-By Erzsebet

Can you remember your years at school? You may recall you had one teacher for each subject, am I right? I remember every year the dreaded fear I had before going back to school and not having a teacher that I have worked well with or that I liked. At uni, we have a different system. We have a tutor and lecturer for each class we undertake to help us better understand our work.

Before I started at uni, many people who never really knew what it was really all about tried to make me believe that it's a lot like school. You have a single teacher for each unit, they take the class and the rest is all independent study. Although it's partly true about the independence, Deakin has proven to me something of a completely different nature. Let me tell you about it!

I came to university from a two and a half year ordeal of correspondence study due to ill health. Let me assure you, it was by far one of the hardest experiences of my life! I came to accept that going back on campus wasn't going to be easy and I really needed to work around it.Not to forget that because of my ill health, if something unexpected occurred, there would be someone who knows about it. I took the courage to contact my unit chair. I first visited the handbooks and got their name and then searched the staff directory to get their contact details.

I think it was the best decision I could ever make. It gave me a chance to speak to the unit chair and get to know what would be expected of me. I also learnt that by getting to know your lecturer/tutor early on, you can learn a lot about them. You're also looked upon as an individual as opposed to just a student who is undertaking a course because they need it to get into their career. The lecturers/tutors at Deakin are well known leaders in their chosen field and I have learnt that they are always willing to guide you along. You're not left alone in the dark. You can gain so much insight just from getting to know your lecturers and tutors! It makes a big difference in your approach to your study and everything else!

So, take the opportunity while you can! Get on the right foot of things early :)

Housemate rules and regulations

-By Ninah

What you need to know about share houses is that every house is different, so whether you are moving into a share house for the first time or whether it's just a transfer from one to another, what you need to realise is that the difference between a good and a bad shared house experience is the people. Now there is nothing you can do that will guarantee awesome housemates. It's basically a luck thing, except maybe moving in with friends. But the following tips that I'm going to give will help in living with awesome and not-so-awesome housemates.

Tip No. 1: Chocolate is a huge commodity within the share house community (especially with girls). It can gain you favours such as lifts to town and it can subdue the anger of a fellow housemate.
WARNING!! Keep chocolate out of reach from housemates or it will disappear without a trace.

Tip No.2: Hot water is essential for a good shower as we know; the trick is having one of the first showers of the day so that it doesn’t run out part way through your steaming hot shower and leave you screaming like a girl who has seen a gigantic spider.

Tip No.3: Having a sound system or earmuffs is useful as walls within share houses are not usually very thick and you never know what you might overhear from the rooms around you; there are just some things that were never meant to be overheard....

Tip No.4: Following on from tip No.3 there are some signs that are put up on doors as warnings of not to enter unless you want to completely destroy your life as you know it (if you are not sure though it's best just to knock first before entering). They are:

 





What's behind door number 1?? The tie is usually an indicator that...well if you don't know already I won't ruin it for you, ask a housemate they will enjoy telling you.

What's behind door number 2?? The sock means exactly the same thing as door number 1 it's just people's preference to what to put on the door. Again ask a housemate what it means if you don't know already.

What's behind door number 3?? If there is a sign on the door read it as it usually tells you exactly what not to do, but if it tells you to punch yourself or to stand on your head I would advise you not to follow those instructions for health and safety reasons.

I hope these few tips have been helpful to you newbies of the share house community, and I hope it has brought back some good and possibly some face-palm moments to those who have been in share-houses before. If you have any questions that need answering or if you want more tips just comment below and I'll get back to you

May your alcohol keep flowing and your hangovers be short.

Tootles,

Your fellow Housemate,

Ninah

Getting involved in clubs, societies and other groups

-By Jayne

Groucho Marx once said he wouldn’t belong to any club that would accept him as a member. While I appreciate the dry humour and ironic self deprecation with which Marx intended this statement, I have to say I disagree. I have been involved with a few clubs in my time, and without exception involvement has proved to be an enriching and infinitely rewarding experience. Well for me anyway-whether the club has been better off for my involvement is probably debateable ;)

In two cases now, I have been a group founding member. There’s something electrically exciting about the energy involved with starting a group (or even a social movement) at grass root level! However, whether you start a group of your own, or join a pre-existing group, the experience will surely be enjoyable, and could possibly be the beginning of a new career or study direction. At the very least, you will meet some great, likeminded new friends!

I’m going to tell you a bit about my most recent experience with clubs and societies here at Deakin.

When I started as a first year mature age student last year I felt isolated and lacking in connection with others mature agers. Never fear, I won’t bore you with that tale again (yay they all chorus in unison!)... but read here if you are interested ;)

I had tried to contact the mature age club listed on the DUSA website without success. It turns out that the committee members of that club had finished their studies leaving the club somewhat alone and unloved. I was extremely frustrated with this, so I began to entertain the somewhat crazy and delusional idea of starting my group. I’d started a group once in another life-so why not? Why not indeed. Oh no reason at all...other than the small fact of being a full time student and single parent with a gazillion other responsibilities. Hmm. Maybe not such a great idea, the sensible side of my brain reasoned. However, as ever, the more impulsive side raged against Ms Sensible and the seed was sown. Being somewhat lazy, a notoriously adept procrastinator who never actually gets many of her ‘brilliant’ ideas off the ground; I typically did nothing with it...*rollseyes at self*

That was until I met some passionate likeminded students via the Facebook page for one of my subjects (yay social media!) Meeting up with these amazing people, who had similar ideas about the need for a new mature age group became the catalyst for ACTION! We formed an executive committee, became affiliated with DUSA as a club, held a highly successful stall all throughout O-Week at Burwood...and the rest is history. We even formed ties with other such groups at other Deakin campuses; even other universities. Some awesome friendships have been made via our club. I love knowing so many great people to whom I can turn for study support, advice or just a chat; it has made me feel a part of something amazing and wonderful. And observing how the mere existence of the club has eased the transition into uni for many first year students is incredibly rewarding.

While starting your own club may not be something you are interested in, I’d definitely urge you to check out the DUSA clubs page, and if there is something there that tickles your fancy contact the club to express your interest. And hey, if you are interested in forming your own club or group, it’s not that hard-it just takes passion and a few like-minded souls. If I can do it, anyone can.

Hopefully this post has been useful (if not, perhaps at least you enjoyed the lolcats? ;)) You can find out more about joining a DUSA club, or starting your own club or group here J

Clubs can help members out with study support and advice

N = the least favourite grade

-By Jo

Results are usually a relief, they arrive, you got what you wanted, sometimes more and sometimes less, but it usually means you can tick those units off your course and sigh happily that you’re still on track.

That’s how it usually goes for me, until trimester one last year. Of the four units I had taken that trimester I had completed three of the optional assignments, but the fourth one remains on my hard drive to this day, approximately a day away from finished but totally useless to me. I went into the exam knowing a pass would be very hard to come by – but not turning up to the exam would have made me feel worse.

I chose to sign up to receive my results by SMS.

I paced the house from 4 pm.

I held my mobile in my hands from 5 pm.

I stopped pacing at 5.40pm when the message tone sounded.

Here’s where I would normally open the message as quickly as possible and announce my results to my family and then share by email with fellow students.

But I sat.

I starred at the message preview in the lock screen of my mobile phone.

I waited, but I wasn’t sure for what.
There is a certain last minute hope that is hard to give in to. After some time passed I concluded that the marks were there and as they weren’t going to change I had to be brave and look.

There were three credits that I was happy with and one dreaded ‘N’.

I sat and starred some more.

Perhaps I should have gone to my lecturers and told them about the intense semester I had endured and the house move, and my physical health problems, but I hadn’t, thinking I could never fail.

Then I went into denial. I sent an email to the unit chair, one to my lecturer to see if they had got it wrong (after all it was the only logical explanation).

Then I went into meltdown. 
This unit was a pre-requisite for a unit in trimester two, and for a unit the following year. I had effectively added another year onto my degree not to mention the extra fee for when I repeated the unit (back then I didn’t know the textbook would be updated by the following year so on a very tight budget I was going to need another textbook too).

All these thoughts kept leading me back to that assignment I’d missed. I kept comparing my results with that of my friends – how come they passed and I didn’t? Was I not as intelligent as them? Was it a cosmic sign that the powers that be felt I shouldn’t be in this course? Was it karma for lying to my mother in the 90s?

Then the tears and self-pity moved in and decided we should be roommates for the next week or so.

I didn’t access Student Advocacy (through DUSA) which is available free to all students, and which I should've accessed. I felt I deserved the ‘N’ like I’d deserved all my other marks. I had failed a unit and my pride and my ego were suffering from severe bruising! 


I found out that failed exam papers are looked at twice to make sure the grade is correct, that lecturers are usually willing to go over your paper with you and help you understand where you went wrong and most importantly the world doesn’t launch into an apocalyptic ending.

My failure highlights a few things for me – I’m human, life events do impact my study, it’s best to speak up as soon as this happens and maintaining a strict study time table is more important than it sounds.

‘The only failure is when you quit’ is now the first thing I write in my notebooks.

Deakin rollercoaster - the ups and downs of university life

-By Ryan D'Souza


When I started to think about this blog topic, I had no idea where to start and where to end. Really speaking, the ups and downs of university life are so many that one can go on and on. You ask any student about his/her experience at university, and you can come up with a huge book.



Let me share with you my experience at Deakin. The first good thing was that I received an offer letter from the University. Being accepted by a prestigious and renowned university gave me immense pride. When people asked me, ‘Which university are you studying at?’, and I replied, ‘Deakin,’ it gave me a tremendous sense of satisfaction that I had decided to pursue my dreams at one of the best universities in Australia.

But then started week one!


The system of education in Australia  was completely different from that in my home country. During week one, I was bombarded with lots and lots of information about units, assignments, workshops etc and as the weeks kept flying, I wondered how was I surviving. There is also the cultural transition that international students have to make, and this can be a very difficult process at times. The good thing is that you don’t have to feel stressed - the university is there to help you and of course, you have friends whom you can always rely on.

Speaking of friends, I have made and continue making new friends from different countries - friendships that I will cherish forever. I have also had the opportunity to mentor new students and this has been very fulfilling for me. Doing well in exams and obtaining good grades has been very rewarding as well. Balancing studies and work has helped me to become more focussed and improve my time-management skills. Above all, my post-graduate studies have broadened my thinking and equipped me with skills that will certainly help me in my professional career.

I am waiting for that special day - the day we all look forward to! I can already visualise myself standing in a line waiting for my name to be called and then being crowned a graduate! At that moment, I will think about the first day when I started my degree at Deakin, I will think about the struggles and difficulties I faced, I will think about the hardships and the trials I went through, I will think about the sleepless nights I had, and I will smile with a tear in my eye, and say, ‘Well done Ryan, it was worth it!’

Eating on a budget

-By Jodi


When I first went to uni and was living away from home I had minimal money and I existed on toast (with no butter as that cost too much) and cheap pasta cooked with a can of diced tomato. Luckily, my new family-to-be took pity on me and fed me copious meals of carb-laden homemade pasta, salads, and richly cooked meats.

Like my in-laws, I think we all know the message about five serves of fruit and veg a day, add some protein, some carbs (low GI preferably), some essential fats and lots of water. We also know that food is a fuel to our body and we are affected by what we eat. But with limited time and finances (like when I was living away from home) it is sometimes hard to make an effort to eat well.

I think that planning is a key. As Karen put it so well in her post, it is helpful to write lists, such as:

* a list of meals for the week,

* a list of grocery items that are needed for those meals (include breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks in this list). 

It also helps to:

* have a budget that you can stick to (I find that shopping with cash means that the budget can’t be exceeded and it makes me think more about my purchases).

* Have a predetermined shopping day each week to make sure that there is food to cook.

*Buy no-name brands as they save so much money and usually taste good.

* I also find that if I cook double portions and then freeze the extra amounts, it saves time and cooking later (more time for study!)

Because we’re talking about food I have included my favourite basic muffin recipe here which can be varied to make chocolate muffins, fruit muffins, or hide-the-veggies muffins. These can also be cooked in big batches and put in the freezer. Happy cooking!

Basic muffin recipe

1 ¾ cups of self raising flour

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 egg lightly beaten

½ cup of milk

drops of vanilla essence

80 grams of butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Prepare muffin trays by wiping with butter or oil.

2. Sift flour, sugar and baking powder in a bowl.

3. Add egg, milk and vanilla essence (I find that adding the vanilla essence to the milk first helps spread the flavour evenly), and lastly butter. Mix well.

4. Spoon mixture into muffin trays, filling them to half the height of muffin space. Bake for 20 mins (approx) until golden brown.

Variations:

At step 4 I sometimes add a couple of dessert spoons of cocoa to make chocolate muffins (choc chips work well here too), or I add berries or sultanas at this point to make fruit muffins. If I have added an extra ingredient then I omit the vanilla essence.


So bake-away and enjoy your semester break :)

   

Money, money, money!

-By Tenille

Now that you’ve enjoyed your first trimester at Deakin (and might be sitting exams now), I hope you’ve all had a blast.

Most of you would have had to purchase textbooks and new stationary, which would have put a major dent in your budget. Paid for parking permits, lunches, as well as hanging out with your new mates and spending some cash. Have some of you come to the sudden realization that you need more cash, a part time job, and have no idea where to start?

Well aren’t you all so lucky that Deakin provides a service called Jobshop! The title really speaks for itself. The staff there makes finding a job much easier, especially if you haven’t had to look for a job yourself before.

Don’t worry if you are off-campus either as Jobshop is also available online, just go to http://www.deakin.edu.au/jobshop and log in with your Deakin username to access all their services.

When I headed off to Uni after High School I’d never had a job or even attempted writing a resume, and I realized I had no real savings apart from some money I got for my eighteenth. That’s when I stumbled across Jobshop.

I went in to visit them one day and they help me perfect a resume as well as helped me browse for some jobs. I’m so glad that I did it too, as now I have a part-time and casual job, which just makes costs for Uni and other essentials so much less stressful.

So if you’re strapped for cash and need a job head into Jobshop on your campus today, or simply log on online. And best of luck for your exams!

Stay classy,

Tenille