Queen Mary University of London BSc Mathematical Sciences student Abena Sithivinayakakumaran spent her Year Abroad at the University of Melbourne, throwing herself into Aussie life by experiencing university societies, food markets and of course indulging in her love of coffee!

Being here in Melbourne has been a huge experience for me. As someone who has lived at home for my whole life, moving away to the other side of the world was a big jump and despite the numerous challenges it was worth it.  

As an avid caffeine lover, coffee here is amazing I was almost dreading going back to London for coffee. There are so many great cafes on campus like St Ali and Castros and cafes in the city like Seven Seeds and Lunes the latter of which is supposed have the best croissant in the world. I became too attached to the coffee here with a better price and taste!!  

The Yara River which is the most iconic building in Melbourne CBD is officially my favourite place in Melbourne. I would usually go on night walks with my roommates or by myself and explore the CBD across Swanson Street and Flinders Street Station. There are many stalls, food, events, that occur most nights. The QVM Market runs every day selling fresh fruits and eggs if you know where to find them!!! They have both a winter and summer night market running every Wednesday from 5:00-10:00 pm where we could try any food from any cuisine.  

My favourite building on campus was near the South Lawn, where the buildings had their own exhibitions and had a Hogwarts vibe to it. On campus I didn’t just go to my subjects but took part in different cultural events the main ones being Mallu Society, where we had Chai near the South Lawn, Yoga Society where every Wednesdays we would get nutritious and delicious vegan lunch for only $5 and the Swimming Pool which is free to use from 9-11. At Melbourne University, I did have a tough time adapting to being independent for the first time being on the other side of the world and managing really hard subjects, especially during the first semester, but in the second semester I took more chiller diverse subjects that got me to broaden my horizons and learn a bit more about different things.  

The public transport here was efficient and cheaper especially for students, trams are free around the CBD and there are many running around on campus. The trains and buses also operate though not as frequently as TFL. It is important to get a MYKI card though since you can’t use contactless, but a concession card as it is 50% off. There are many areas the trams and trains take you.  St Kilda Beach is something I grew familiar with, being only one tram ride away from my student accommodation. I also went to Philip Island which was cold in Peak Summer, since we saw the penguins at sunset. Pictures weren’t allowed to be taken but it was a great experience, I loved seeing the wildlife and natures of Australia such as the koala park and Melbourne Botanic gardens. I took a 10-day road trip across from Melbourne to Lakes Entrance to Canberra to Jervis Bay to Sydney. Spending Christmas day at Manly beach was a very weird but unique experience where everyone wore Santa hats in the sand.

Flinders Street Station has the best view at night!

My time here at Melbourne certainly changed me a lot, especially with me taking the biggest jump of living alone for the first time on the other side of the world with a time difference of 10 hours. This meant I couldn’t call when I wanted to or fly back home when I wanted to. Melbourne is not cheap either, grocery shopping is quite expensive especially fruits coming to at least $6. My accommodation was also very expensive, and I had to learn the art of budgeting and maintaining my finances. I did have support from Queen Mary’s Turing Funding alongside working part time as a tutor in an Australian Tutoring company. This helped me become more self-sufficient and independent.  

The National Gallery Victoria, one of the free museums that you can visit. Melbourne – being the capital of arts, culture, coffee, cinema – has many museums with the main one being the National Gallery and ACMI. ACMI had many cool exhibitions, one of which showing how animations were drawn like in Shrek and Madagascar.

While I admit that I did struggle a lot, especially in the first semester from feeling homesick, lonely and in a completely different environment with an extremely challenging academic system, I did try to make the most of it, using the resources the university provided alongside making some new friends who were also exchange in my flat or in societies. Melbourne occasionally did coffee meet ups for undergraduate exchange students to make them feel at home. The support Queen Mary gave me back home also made it smoother, showing that they still had our backs and we could go to them about any doubts we had. I believe that if you are looking for a unique experience of travelling, studying and experiencing a new place as a young individual then studying abroad in Melbourne is the place for you!