Tasmanien...wenn ich daran denke, dass ich in einigen wochen bereits dort sein werde, fallen mir immer auch die gründe ein, weshalb ich mich entschieden habe einige monate auf dieser inseln zu verbringen. Schließlich ist es doch eine ziemlich lange reise über dubai nach melbourne und von dort aus nach hobart. Jetlag oder so werde ich daher einfach mal ignorieren ^^

Im Grunde hatte ich bisher bei der Vorbeireitung keine gröberen probleme. Den flug habe ich schon relativ früh gebucht und mittlerweile habe ich auch die bestätigungen der universität bezüglich kurse und der unterkunft erhalten. Die letzte formalität ist daher das Studentenvisum, das ich bereits bei der australische Botschaft in Wien beantragt habe. Zudem habe ich mich auch dazu entschlossen keinen Direktflug zu buchen, da dies einerseits teurer ist und andererseits auch mein eigenes zeitmanagement eingeschränkt hätte. Insofern habe ich einen Zeitrahmen gewählt, der vor allem was die abreise betrifft einige reserven bietet, falls ich nach meinem studiumsaufenthalt doch mehrere Wochen haben sollte um auch das festland zu bereisen.

Australienreisen sind allerdings immer auch ein finanzielle herausforderung. Alleine der flug ist eine große Kostenstelle, wobei es gerade von Wien aus überraschend günstige Angebote gibt. Entscheidend ist also, dass man sich hier relativ bald festlegt, was zwar einiges an organisation erfordert, doch den vorteil hat, dass man eine orientierungshilfe für die übrige reiseplanung schafft. Es klingt vielleicht wie eine kleinigkeit, aber auch im hinblick auf einen längeren aufenthalt von über 5 monaten, ist es gut zu wissen wann man wo auf welchem flughafen sein wird :)

als vorbereitungsphase habe ich folgende schritte beachtet:

1) auswahl der uni

- ich hatte das ziel eine englischsprachige universität zu wählen

- zudem habe ich versucht möglichst viel info über infrastruktur und lebensbedingungen zu erhalten

- außerdem ist ein erster überblick über studienmöglichkeiten (kurse, programme,...) entscheidend

nachdem also die sprache ein entscheidendes kriterium war und ich mich auf einer partneruniversität der JKU festlegen sollte, kamen neben den USA und England auch Südafrika und eben Tasmanienin Frage. Die Entscheidung für Hobart ergab sich dann aus den objektiven kriterien in kombination mit diesem gewissen "begeisterungsfaktor", der sich recht rasch eingestellt hat ^^

2) kostenübersicht:

- neben den flügen von wien nach hobart fallen fixkosten für visum, versicherung und unterkunft an.

- es empfiehlt sich die bezahlung mit kreditkarte, da banküberweisungen ins ausland teuer sind

- einen gewissen betrag werde ich in Aus$ bar mitnehmen

- die möglichkeit von stipendien sollte unbedingt genutzt werden (JKU und Land OÖ)

ein auslandssemester ist mit kosten verbunden, die erheblich sind. Diese tatsache muss bei der planung berücksichtigt werden, da schwierigkeiten so relativ einfach vermieden werden können. Mit dem Visum kann man geringfügig nebenbei arbeiten, doch kann man sich nicht darauf verlassen, dass man einen passenden job findet. Ein finanzplan ist somit neben dem flugplan wohl die wichtigste möglichkeit sich einen überblick über die rahmenbedingungen zu verschaffen.

3) unterkunft:

ich habe mich mit den unterkunftsarten vor ort auseinandergesetzt, wobei natürlich jeder individuelle vorlieben hat. Mir war die nähe zum campus sehr wichtig. Außerdem kann es im herbst und winter kühl werden und somit sollte man schon auch auf gewisse standards achten. Eine günstige wohnung in hobart kann teuer werden, da die meisten gebäude nicht unbedingt gut isoliert sind und die betriebskosten somit stark steigen können.

Meine wahl fiel auf die "student-apartments" direkt am Unigelände. Das ist zwar auf den ersten blick die teurere option allerdings sind heiz- wasser- und stromkosten inklusive und die lage ist einfach unschlagbar :)

also kann es jetzt eigentlich losgehen ^^

Tasmania as I know it:

I started my journey on the 9th of February 2011 leaving Vienna heading for Dubai. I really enjoyed the first view hours but came to realize that once I had reached the airport I had no chance but to wait for over 9 hours till my connection flight to Melbourne was scheduled. So I sat in the amazing but not really entertaining Terminal 3 which by the way belongs to Emirate Airlines exclusively. Except the times I went to get something to eat or drink there was not much I could do to pass the time so I just ended up watching movies on my laptop. Sleep was kind of out of the question cause the seats weren't that comfortable. Still I manages to write an article about the latest developments in Egypt for the Unifon.

A view hours an coffees later they finally opened the gate. It was then that I learned that the plane would stop for service at Singapore International Airport which basically meant another hour of waiting inside a terminal. But by the time I arrived there I did not really care about that anymore since I had been either inside a plane or an airport for more than a day. So I was glad when I was able to get back on the plane again because I knew that this time it would bring me to Melbourne without any further disturbances.

We arrived in Australia almost on time and I was pleased to find out that my bag had not been lost during the journey which had brought us to three different continents.

I entered Australian Territory without any problems just to enter the next terminal 3 minutes later. This time I had to check in for my flight to Hobart with Tiger Airways. So I did not really get to see anything of Melbourne except that the weather was nice :)

I got myself a coffee and did what I could best by then...wait for my journey to continue!!

The flight to Tasmania took only 55 minutes and I really enjoyed looking out the window at the passing clouds as I knew it was the last flight for quite some time!

At the airport in Hobart I got picked up along with a few other students who all seemed to come from Asia. The drive through the city was nice as it was a beautiful day and we got to see some interesting places around the city center. Short time later we arrived on campus and were brought to the accommodation service. There I got my key card and some general introduction to the different facilities. The funny thing about this uni is, that its actually built on a hill so first of all the view is spectacular. On the other hand it means that I have to climb up and down to get from accommodation to campus and back again. Looks like I'm not in risk of gaining weight here ^^

Getting to my apartment was really easy cause its just next to the office and whats more next to the Restaurant.

At the flat I met Michael who is studying here too and comes from Victoria. He was really friendly and introduced me to my new home which I'm going to share with five other guys. Kind of funny as I'm usually used to being around women too but we'll see about that anyway.

I put my bag into my room which is really nice by the way and hoped under the shower which was really necessary after almost 40 hours of travel.

After I had freshened up I decided to go for a walk which became more of a hike instesd. Walking to the next shop takes about 15 minutes and what I discovered there is, that living in Tasmania is going to be pretty expensive...Milk, bread and vegetables are really not cheap around here so I'll have to stick to the cafeteria I guess. Walking back to the Uni took me some time as I had to climb up the street again to the accommodations. Exhausted as I was I just loaded the fridge and was off to bed at around 7pm.

The next day I discovered that I actually had to pay for internet services around here. Not Cheap, but absolutely necessary though. After I had established a connection I was finally able to contacted the people I love but had to leave. For the first time since I'd left I really got homesick but the world is turning on and the good times roll with it ;)

A few hours later I met up with Clemens, who is on exchange here, too. That was nice, cause we discovered quickly that we had basically the same interests and pretty much a matching approach to our stay here. My main goal is to explore as much of Tasmania as I can while I'm here and at the same time do as well as I can at Uni which will be challenging enough I guess.

In the afternoon we decided to take the bus to the city center and explore a little bit of downtown Hobart. As we arrived at Franklin Square, which is obviously the main stop for public transport, we realized that the Hobart Regatta was just a few days away. As Tasmania is an island sailing is really an important thing around here and it was kind of amazing to see all the people strawling around the harbor enjoying the beautiful weather and of course the "Wooden-Boat-Festival".

A really nice side-effect of this national holiday is that the buses are free all weekend. This really helps with getting started around here. The Orientation Week is beginning next week and so Clemens and I have the whole weekend to visit a few places at the outskirts of town during the weekend!

On Sunday the weather was really nice and so we thought about taking advantage of the free bus service during the whole weekend. That's why Clemens and me hoped on the line to Lauderdale which is the last stop at the far west end of Hobart. But quickly it became clear, that this was actually a place in the middle of nowhere and cause one can never be sure when or if the next bus is going to arrive around here we just took a few pictures and took the same bus back to the next bigger part of town. There we went to a mall and got refreshments before walking to the beach.

The feeling I got when we arrived at the shore is hard to describe. The sea in all its beauty opend up in front of us and presented a spectacular view towards Hobart Bay. The sunlight was glittering in the waves and a slight breeze was brushing salty air over the white sand. I've never seen anything like that before and wont ever forget this day!

Stunned by the pure and wild beauty of this place we started wandering towards Bridgewater, where we wanted to stop for lunch. As we walked along the feeling I had before did not at all vanish, cause the beach and the weather kept on getting more and more beautiful with every step I took. I tried to capture a few impressions by taking pictures but I'm afraid they just cant match.

After almost 2 hours we arrived at Bridgewater and soon got on the ,bus which took us back to the center. A beautiful day which became a nice evening cause finally I got to meet my roommates. So far I knew Michael who is 20 and besides being a nice guy also studying computer sciences. Then there is Anthony from Canada, who is 24 and starting Med-School here. He is also into lifting weights and healthy food which is nice to know, cause a lot of people around here prefer their food fast I guess. Next to my room lives Chris, 27 and an awesome guy. I think we are all really fortuned to have him, cause not only does he know the ways around here but he is also willing to share this with us, which is very helpful. Thanks to him we now have an equipped kitchen with plates and everything for less than hundred bucks which makes the apartment now much more of a home.

The only other person except me who's mother tongue isn't English so far is Boss. He is from Thailand and this is not his real name but no one is able to pronounce his name correctly (according to him, not even all of the other students from Thailand). He is here for an English Course and is going to start preparation program in order to be able to study here full time. The last room in our apartment is still empty for the time being. On thing is for sure its gonna stay a bachelor-place cause guys and girls get separated here....I don't know why that is ^^