[學習] 昆士蘭大學第一學期心得 My Experience of Studying at UQ: First Semester

上一篇大致介紹了學校和課程的概況，這次就分享一下一個學期下來的心得感想。像上圖大概是很多人對出國讀書的印象吧，總會期待能夠和來自世界各地的學生交流，也能夠有獨處的時間讓自己能成長～殊不知學習實在太忙碌，匆匆走過學校大草皮趕路的時候遠比躺著拿本書享受陽光的時刻多😂 而且商學院普遍以中國學生居多，常常下課時聽見中文比英文還容易，實在太有趣了！話雖如此，還是認識了許多不同的人、看到不同的事物，收獲量多，所以我歸納出三項我覺得值得分享的事物。

In the last post, I gave a brief introduction to UQ and the program I'm studying in. This time I'd like to share the experience of my first semester at UQ. The left picture above may be the image some people have for studying abroad. It is expected to communicate with students from all over the world as well as to have some quality time with ourselves and to gain some personal growth. However, the reality is more like the right picture above 😂  Students are so busy during the semester that we would rather rush through the great court than read a book or enjoy the sunshine. As for the multicultural friends, at business school, there are a lot of Chinese students and thus it's more likely to hear Chinese than English at the break between classes. It's still fun though that I've met so many different people and seen different things.

Below I'll share three things outstanding from my first semester of studying.

1. 學校環境非常的「自然」優美 The natural environment of UQ

 

這是學校的湖畔，湖面上與周圍草地有很多的水鳥、飛鳥棲息，牠們也不太怕人過著怡然的生活～當寶可夢還流行的時候，有一次開著AR螢幕裡出現一隻大蜥蜴簡直嚇壞我，真是特別的神奇寶貝啊ＸＤ 在校園裡漫步真的是一件很享受的事。

The pictures above were taken around the UQ lakes. There are a lot of birds and other creatures that are not afraid of human beings. When Pokemon Go was still a thing, I once saw a huge lizard on the screen that scared the heck out of me. Lol. What a special Pokemon! I enjoy taking a walk in the campus all the time.

除了自然環境，學校建築也是蠻有特色的，有些看起來很現代有科技感，也有澳洲傳統學校常見的「砂岩」建築，其實我覺得來布里斯本的遊客也可以考慮把UQ當成一個景點來走走，看看我們學生的學費花到哪裡去（誤）！

Besides the nature, the architecture is worth looking at too. Some buildings are modern, and some are made of sandstones which is a feature of many Australia's oldest tertiary education institutions. I would recommend tourists who travel to Brisbane to consider UQ as a attraction and to see how our tuition fees are spent.

UQ Art Museum

UQ Great Court

2. 包容多元文化 Cultural Diversity

澳洲本身就是個移民眾多的國家，現在學校裡更是有很多國際學生，所以學校對待不同文化背景學生的態度就顯得很重要，而UQ的確也做了許多努力。像是學校有個計畫叫做「Mates At UQ」，計劃裡有分成不同的組別：聊天交友、語言交換、出遊、用餐等等不同主題讓學生可以參加，更容易適應融入大學生活。學術方面則有很多免費課程可以讓學生精進英文聽說讀寫，圖書館也有協助學生解決在作業上寫作相關的問題。另外，校園裡也有空間讓不同宗教信仰的人能夠進行活動。

There are a lot of immigrants and international students in Australia. I reckon it's an important issue for uni to treat students from different cultural background right. I think UQ has made a lot of efforts in this aspect. For example, there is a program called "Mates At UQ" and there are a lot of sub-groups such as chat mates, language exchange mates and so on. This program is to help students fit into uni life. There are also various free courses to help students with academic English and assistance with assignment at libraries. On the other hand, there are many facilities to support people with different religions and traditions.

由此可見學校不但會幫助學生的學習方面，也提供了生活方面的協助。在開學前一週是新生訓練週，學校規劃了很多工作坊，像是租屋、文化介紹、學校設施環境介紹等等，讓學生可以更快適應新的生活。

As you can see, UQ not only helps students with studying but also living. During the orientation week, the uni holds many workshops such as accommodation, Aussie culture introduction, uni introduction, etc., to let students adjust better to uni life.

我遇到的老師也都很好，幾乎都會特別強調不要太擔心語言能力，反而希望學生努力嘗試表達、參與課堂互動。並且也許學的是旅遊的緣故，老師問問題時也常希望大家分享自己國家的例子，讓學習的廣度增加。

I also encountered many good teachers. They eased the anxiety of the international students who have English as a second language by encouraging students to engage in the class discussions. On the other hand, maybe it's because of my program (tourism management), teachers asked us to share examples from our home countries all the time.

至於同學相處方面，可能很多中國同學是先念語言班就認識彼此而且數量也比較多，所以比較會成群結隊，但是分組作業時還是有機會認識相處，而且大家都很友善。相對獨立的臺灣學生其實也不錯，厚臉皮點就有機會認識相對少數的其他國家的同學啦！記得新生訓練時，有不同學系的印尼學生主動來跟我說話，第一句話就是：「你應該不是中國人吧？」我有點訝異想說她怎麼分辨的，她說：「除了穿著打扮不太一樣，還有就是你一個人。」哈哈，雖然我至今還是不太理解到底是怎麼不一樣，但她說的實在太有趣，讓我印象深刻。

As for the classmates I met, there were plenty of Chinese students who had known each other from Bridging English Program so they had been friends already. However, they were still friendly and we've become friends by doing group assignments together. Actually it wasn't a bad thing to be alone at the beginning of the uni. It made me to get to know people from other countries as well.

3. 課程壓力重但不難 Pressure of studying

這裏學期長度幾乎比台灣少了一個月，所以課程很緊湊，開學一個月就要期中考，但老師們一再強調考試並不難，是想了解我們的理解程度。考試後不但有檢討試題，也會讓學生提出對上課的想法意見，讓老師可以調整日後上課的方式與方向以更貼近學生學習的需求。

Semesters here are one month shorter than the ones in Taiwan so studying is more intense that the period of midterm exam is only one month after a semester starts. Nevertheless, the lecturers said that they were not going to make it hard on us. They only wanted to know how well we understand the things covered at class. Afterwards, they reviewed the questions with the students and asked for our feedback regarding their teaching so that they could adjust the ways they teach to suit the needs of the students.

 

一個課程分為大堂的課和類似輔導課性質兩種，我的系學生人數很多，所以大堂的課其實比較難和老師互動，通常都是固定幾個同學會回答老師問題，而輔導課時一班只有大約20人，老師也會設計許多活動讓每個學生參與互動。我蠻喜歡這樣的課程設計，可以兼顧知識性與主動學習的機會。團體作業的機會也很多，所以能夠學習和不同的人溝通合作。

There are two parts of one course: lecture and tutorial. In the lecture, it's harder to interact with lecturers since there were over 200 students there, but in the tutorial, there were more chances and activities for use to engage in. I like this kind of course design (In Taiwan we usually only have lectures.). In this way, knowledges can be delivered during the lectures, and activities of engagement can take place in the tutorials. There were group assignments as well so that students had the chance to learn to work with different people.

還有，雖然是授課型碩士，但非常強調批判思考的能力，所以不論是作業報告，或是考試，都讓學生學習找資料、閱讀學術文章、提出自己的見解，還要培養申論的能力。一開始會感覺困難，但老師會提供很多協助，像是會先學生繳交報告大綱再給予建議，讓學生在寫正式報告時比較有頭緒。

Last but not least, although I'm taking a coursework master program, it still emphasises on the ability to critical thinking. Therefore, students have to do a lot of research and reading for assignments. Students also have to come up with their own opinions and ideas. At first it is hard to do so, but lecturers are there to help. For example, after we handed in our report outline, they gave us advice on what we should pay attention when we develop the complete report.

其實還有很多可以分享的，有興趣的話可以提出一起討論分享喔：）

Feel free to share your thoughts too :)

[學習] 昆士蘭大學心得感想:學校與課程介紹 My Experience of Studying at University of Queensland: Introduction of UQ and the Program

*English version below

一方面是怕文章太過冗長，所以這篇先簡單介紹一下學校和我的課程，算是比較工具型的目的，讓大家了解這裏的制度，之後再來詳細分享從申請到學習的過程與心得。另一方面是當初說要來澳洲讀書還滿多人不理解，大概是因為台灣人出國留學國家近10年來以美英兩國為主。但其實根據教育部的我留學生出國簽證資料顯示，民國103年時澳洲留學的簽證人數為5,237人，已經超越英國的3,826人，成為僅次美國（14,135人）、排名第2的國家，因此我覺得應該要讓大家了解一下澳洲留學的相關資訊。


[學校與課程簡介]

校名/ 昆士蘭大學 University of Queensland

學制/

• 第一學期從二月開始
• 第二學期從七月開始  (兩個學期都可以入學）
• 學期長度：實際教學十三週、學期中間有放假一週、期末考前有溫書假一週

學校特色/

• 歷史悠久：1909年建立，為昆州第一所大學
• 校譽優良：澳洲八校聯盟之一；該聯盟是澳洲享譽國際的八所頂尖研究型綜合性大學，包含墨爾本大學、澳洲國立大學、雪梨大學...等等。學校排名則大約落在全球50名左右。

課程名稱/ 旅遊、飯店與活動管理碩士學程

課程特色/

• 我選擇的是「授課型」碩士，意即不用寫論文，修課完成就取得學位；另外也有研究型碩士選擇，要繼續念博士的人就要選擇這個啦～
• 大學是相關領域畢業的可選擇1.5年的碩士，而我不是所以要讀2年
• 兩年課程的畢業條件是基礎課程＋三個領域要修滿32學分（一門課2學分），所以有些人是一個主修，然後隨意修其他兩個領域的課；雙主修，不修其中一個領域；或不選主修，三個領域各修幾門課程

優點/

• 布里斯本與台灣只有2小時時差，想馬麻時可以聯絡～
• 兩個學期都可以入學，所以準備時間比較彈性
• 授課型碩士對想要繼續深造但不想寫論文的人很適合
• 學校國際學生很多，因此給予學生的幫助很多，從學業到生活都有
• 學期比台灣短，暑假從12-2月有三個月長！（寒假是1個月）

缺點/

• 台灣學的是美式英文，所以需要花點時間適應
• 學期短所以比較緊湊，第一個月上完就要期中考
• UQ學費年年漲，而且比一些學校昂貴
• UQ是學術研究型大學，有一說是相較之下，業界比較喜歡偏重實務的昆士蘭科技大學

✎✎ English Version ✎✎

In this article, I'm only writing about the information of education in Australia, and I'll save my thoughts on studying here for the following post(s). The reasons for this are to make my posts concise, and to let people know more about the education system here since Australia has surpassed the UK and become the second place of Taiwanese students' choices of studying abroad.

[Profile]
University Name/ 昆士蘭大學 University of Queensland

Semesters/

• Semester 1：Feb.
• Semester 2：July
   (Students can start their programs from either semester 1 or 2.)
• Length of a Semester: 13 teaching weeks; 1 week of mid-break; 1 revision week before the final exam period.

University Features/

• History: Founded in 1909, UQ is one of the oldest universities in Australia.
• Reputation: A member of Australia's research-intensive Group of Eight, including Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, etc. According to the official website, UQ is a top 50 university as measured by the Performance Ranking of Scientific Papers for World Universities.

Program Name/ Master of Tourism, Hospitality, and Event Management

Program Features/

• I chose the master degree by "coursework", which means that I will get my degree by taking courses but not by doing research.
• Students with bachelor degrees in relative fields may study the 1.5-year program; others like myself may study the 2-year program.
• The graduate requirement of the 2-year program is to obtain 32 units (2 units per course) by taking all the foundation and core courses, and some of the other courses in the three fields. Therefore, students may graduate with one major, double majors or non major.

Advantages/

• The time in Brisbane is only 2-hour earlier than the time in Taiwan so that it's not a problem to contact friends and families in Taiwan.
• Students can start their programs from either semester 1 or 2 so that there's less pressure when preparing to apply.
• Coursework degrees are suitable for students who would like to learn more without the pressure of writing a thesis.
• There are a lot of international students in UQ, and therefore the uni provides both academic and living assistance.
• Semesters are shorter than the ones in Taiwan and the summer vacation is 3-month long! ( The winter vacation is one month long though.)

Disadvantages/

• American English is taught in Taiwan, so Taiwanese students need time to adjust to Australian English.
• Due to shorter semesters, the courses are more intense, and the period of midterm exams is only a month after the semester starts.
• Due to the policy, UQ's tuition fees become higher every year. UQ's fees are higher than some other universities as well.
• UQ is research oriented. I once heard that the employment rates of QUT graduates are better than UQ.

[旅行][美食] 黃金海岸主海灘衝浪+彼得魚店 Surf Lessons @Main Beach＋Peter's Fish Market

黃金海岸離布里斯本車程約1小時左右，而且可以搭火車前往，因此身邊有很多朋友已經拜訪過。有些人很喜歡，也有些人覺得太商業化，但畢竟是個頗富盛名的度假勝地，所以還是找了機會去看看囉～

Gold Coast is about one-hour ride from Brisbane and it can be accessed by train so that many of my friends have visited there before. Some like it, but some reckon it's too commercialised. However, it's still a famous tourist attraction so I finally went there.

在台東衝過浪覺得很有趣，所以想說好好學會，以後去各個海灘就有事可以做啦～（不然我們對曬太陽沒興趣，很無聊欸！）

I've surfed in Taitung and I found it interesting. I really wanted to learn it well so that I can surf when I go to beaches. Btw, Taiwanese don't like to get tanned so sunbathing is not our thing to do at the beach.

經過比價，選擇了Get Wet Surf School的3堂課的套裝行程，學生身份又有更優惠的價格（偷偷說，他根本沒有查我的學生證）。3堂課下來，我覺得有心學衝浪的人可以選擇這個套裝行程。因為第一堂課頂多能引起你對衝浪的興趣，教練會教你先用單腳跪姿再站起來平衡；第二堂課會教你直接站起來，不再倚靠膝蓋來輔助；第三堂課就能學習划水和選浪，以後就可以租設備自己練習衝浪囉！另外，網站上有說如果上完3堂課，可以用更優惠的價格升級成5堂課，所以也許也可以詢問是不是可以上完一次課後升級成3堂課。

After I compared the price between different surf schools, I chose the 3-lesson package of Get Wet Surf school with student discount. After the lessons, I think that it is good to take 3 lessons if you really want to learn how to surf.Here are the reasons:

1. In the first lesson, you'll learn how to stand up with kneeling on the surfboard with one knee first. The instructor will do the pushing so that you won't have to paddle at the first time. You may know if you're interested in surfing and if you want to learn more or not.
2. In the second lesson, you'll learn how to stand up directly without kneeling. The instructor will still push you onto the waves.
3. In the third lesson, you'll learn to paddle and catch the waves. From this moment, practice makes perfect.

Btw, I noticed that it can be upgraded to the 5-lesson package with more favorable price after you take the 3-lesson one based on their website. Therefore, I think it might be possible to upgrade to 3-lesson package after you take one lesson. (Well, you have to check with them then.)

這家衝浪幾乎每天有3個時段：早上8點、10點，和下午1點。我三堂課剛好都不同時段，8點的課太陽不大，但是浪有點大；10點的則是天氣炎熱晴朗，浪卻相對溫和；下午1點的課當天陰天，過不久回家時就下起午後雷陣雨，浪是最小的。

This surf school have three lessons a day at 8 and 10 o'clock in the morning, and 1 o'clock in the afternoon. I took each of them. In my experience, it wasn't very sunny in the one at 8, and the waves were strong. It was very sunny and the temperature was high in the one at 10, and the waves were gentle. It was gloomy in the one at 1 in the afternoon, and it rained heavily afterwards.

課程是用英文教學，但並不會聽不懂，同行的遊客來自世界各地，教練也會反覆讓學生在岸上練習姿勢才會下水。下水後，基本上教練會幫學生推一把，學生只須嘗試站起來平衡就好，大部份的人第一次上課就可以站起來了，所以只上一次課體驗也是很好玩的。

The lessons were taught in English but they're not hard to understand. There were people from all over the world to learn surfing. The instructors would let people practice the posture several times before they went into the water. In the sea, the instructor would push people when the waves were coming so that they only had to try to stand up and find the balance. Almost everyone can stand up successfully during the first lesson so that it is fun to experience even you only take one lesson.

基本上這些活動都會靠幫遊客拍照賺錢，這家是把所有照片（包含別人的ＸＤ）用一個USB給你，要價AU$25， 所以同行的人買一組就好。第一天我還遇到一個好心的中國女生她買了照片說可以傳給我，所以可以和其他遊客攀談互相交流也不錯喔！

They take pictures of you during the lesson and you can buy them afterwards. They will give you all the pictures including others' with a USB flash drive for AU$25. Thus you can buy only one set with your companions. I was so lucky that a friendly Chinese girl who bought a set said she could send me the pictures. So if you travel alone, you can make friends with other tourists and share the content :)

我是從布里斯本出發，自行前往集合的停車場，看到衝浪學校的貨車報到就可；其他住黃金海岸附近飯店的遊客可以從飯店搭接駁車前往，交通上沒什麼困難。

Since I travelled from Brisbane, I went straight to the parking lot and meet the others beside the truck with the logo of the surf school. Other tourists who stayed in the hotels around Gold Coast were picked up from their places conveniently.

因為我都當天來回布里斯本，所以只安排學衝浪的行程，沒有力氣去附近其他地方觀光，像是衝浪者天堂，以後有機會再去拜訪囉！但衝浪完真的很餓，沒有規劃的我打開tripadvisor 

找到了這家和其他景觀餐廳比下來相對平價，賣炸魚薯條的Peter's Fish Market（並不是魚市，只是一家賣海鮮的店。）

On my day-trip schedule was only surfing. I'll find sometime to visit other attractions such as Surfers Paradise. The other thing I did was to EAT. I didn't have planned beforehand so I used tripadvisor to look for things to eat in the surrounding area. I found a store called Peter's Fish Market where has fish and chips, and the price is affordable.

裡面遊客很多，從牆上菜單點餐後，大家就會等待叫號取餐，可以到戶外的用餐區享用。菜單上基本上就是炸各種海鮮和薯條，也可以從生鮮區買海鮮讓廚房幫你炸。我點的就是上圖坐下角的兒童餐加了一隻蝦，份量就很夠了，所以點其他套餐的話應該可以幾個人一起分享。炸魚薯條應該算是蠻有特色的，吃起來也不錯，很適合嚐鮮。

There were a lot of tourist there who were waiting for their meal after ordering from the menu on the wall. Costumers can also purchase fresh seafood and have it cooked by the kitchen as well. There is dinning areas outside the store. I ordered kids meal which was enough for me. Lol. I think "fish and chips" is worth to try for tourists and it tasted good as well.

最後提醒大家在戶外用餐看到鳥要堅定的把牠趕走，不然就會像剛來澳洲的我被鳥搶走食物，很慘痛的經驗ＱＱ

Last, I really have to remind tourists of birds stealing food from you. I had a really bad experience when I first got here QQ

旅行/ 布里斯本國際賽之一日網球迷 Brisbane International Day Trip

 J. Thompson (AUS) vs.  K. Nishikori (JPN)

我不是網球迷，網球啟蒙只是來自漫畫「網球王子」ＸＤ 但是剛好看到活動消息，還發現台灣選手謝淑薇也有參賽，那就躬逢其盛一下吧！

To be honest,I don't usually watch tennis games and my tennis knowledge was mainly from the manga, Prince of Tennis. Lol. I only went to Brisbane International this time because I found out that Taiwanese player Suwei Hsieh participated in Women Double.

[活動介紹]

布里斯本國際賽是一項在昆士蘭州布里斯本舉辦的室外硬地職業網球賽。本賽視為ATP世界巡迴賽250賽和WTA頂級巡迴賽的一站。（摘自維基百科）經過搜尋做功課後，發現這個比賽等級還算高，而且有些選手會選擇這場賽事為之後的澳洲網球公開賽暖身。這個比賽每年一月舉行，今年比賽日期為1月1日到8日，地點在昆士蘭網球中心。

[Event Introduction]

The Brisbane International is a professional tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts in Brisbane, Queensland. It is part of the ATP World Tour 250 series of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and of the WTA Premier tournaments of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. (Information from Wikipedia)

After my research, I found that some players may choose to participate in Brisbane International in order to adjust themselves and prepare for the big game, Australian Open. It is held annually in January. The dates of this year are from 1st Jan. to 8th jan. The venue is at QLD tennis centre.

 

淘汰賽制度的關係，到了前一天晚上10點多才公布隔天比賽場次，確認謝淑薇有比賽後，直接在網路上購買單日票。我是1月6日去觀賽，當天天氣不好不時有陣雨，謝淑薇的比賽一度暫停。於是我到比賽場外逛逛周圍的攤子，買買東西吃。記得上次去看演唱會體育館周圍也有賣吃的，和小巨蛋不同，這些都可以帶去場內享用，很輕鬆愜意～

Not until 10 p.m. will the schedule for the following day come out. After I confirmed Hsieh will play on 6th Jan., I bought the ticket online. The weather was not nice and it rained occasionally so that the game was suspended for a while. Therefore, I took some time to wander around the venue and bought some snacks. I remember last time I went to Suncorp stadium for a concert and there are some food stands as well. This is different from Taipei Arena where audience couldn't buy food and have it at their seats.

 

可惜最後謝淑薇和德國搭擋Laura Siegemund輸掉了比賽，但還是一場精彩的賽事啊！基本上網球規則不難，節奏也不會太慢，就算不是很懂也可以看得很開心：）反正其他人拍手，一起拍手就對了ＸＤ

Unfortunately, Hsieh and her German partner Siegemund lost the game in the end. It's still a good game to watch! The rules of Tennis are not very difficult to understand and the pace is not slow so that people like me who don't often watch tennis games can enjoy the games very well 😁  Here is a tip, when other audiences clap, you clap 😂

最後介紹售票資訊：
Ticket Information

• 官方網站 Official website   http://www.brisbaneinternational.com.au/
• 票種 Categories：

1. Ground pass：沒有劃位所以最便宜，適合給想到賽場享受氣氛的人
                                不是在主要場館的比賽，不用劃位也可以去看
                                There is no seat assignment so that it is the cheapest one.
                                It is suitable for people who want to enjoy the atmosphere.
                                The games at the show courts are allowed to watch as well.
2. Single session：單日票且有分白天與晚上兩種票
                                 It's valid for one day or twilight session with seat assignment.
3. Multiple session：有男單、女單決賽的雙日票，和男單準決賽、決賽的雙日票
                                     There are two-day ticket for men's and women's final,
                                     and two-day ticket for men's seminal and final.

＊不同位子價位高到低有分 PLATINUM / CAT A / CAT B 三種
According to different section of the seat, there are 3 kinds of price: Platinum, cat A, and cat B.

＊除了Ground pass，其他票種的價錢也有分成人 / 小孩（3-14歲) / 團體（10人以上）/ 優惠票（學生、退休人士、退伍軍人和身障人士適用）/ 家人（兩大兩小或一大三小）

Except Ground pass, other ticket kinds have different prices for different types of people, i.e. adult, child (age between 3 to 14), group (more than 10 persons), concession (full-time secondary and tertiary students, Pensioners, Veterans Affairs, TPI and Health Care Card holders), and family (2 Adults & 2 Children or 1 Adult & 3 Children )