Feature

Studying in Perth

Sabreena Ahmed

LAST year, I was walking with two friends on the footpath of the Charukola. We came across a palmist sitting with his khazana. The palmist commented that I am going abroad for studies! I do not know if palms tell the truth, the month after my honours final examination, I appeared in the IELTS examination and by that time had begun the process of applying abroad. I chose Australia as my destination because the living cost is cheaper than other countries. I was fortunate that my parents agreed to arrange the funds I needed.

I got the chance to study an MA in Applied Linguistics at Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Western Australia. At Perth, it is much easier to apply for permanent residency than other states of Australia. Once you get your PR, whether you stay in Australia or not, the cost of higher studies becomes free. Another advantage for student in Western Australia is a 40% discount off public transport through Smart-rider card. This facility is not available in any other Australian State.

Before leaving Bangladesh, I contacted all Bangladeshi people I knew in Australia. They all provided good advice. It is better to contact someone before you leave for abroad. Some Bangladeshis here are teachers in the engineering and commerce department of Curtin University. They promote different scholarships provided by the university and help Bangladeshi students to come to Australia as well. There are also some other teachers in the University of Western Sydney, which is the oldest and biggest university of Western Australia. There are also a few Bangladeshi students in Curtin University, Perth.

In small dinner parties at Bangladeshi seniors' houses, a chance to speak in Bangla is never let gone by as it comes rarely in this fast and busy life abroad. You will miss the zeal of the Ramadan and Eid festivals here. The offices will give you an optional holiday, but the educational institutions probably will not. Just imagine, how it feels like carrying a tiffin box with you to have Iftar during class time whereas in Bangladesh one would be provided by all kinds of spicy, fried snacks and sharbat by one's mother. Adda is a farce to think about in Australia, Everyone is busy with work and they just go off after classes. I am glad that my batch mates are really nice and we managed to plan a BBQ and a lunch during my stay where each one of us brought in one food item of his/her own country. We had everything from Japanese sushi to Bangladeshi khichuri to offer our Australian friends and teachers.

The Aussies prefer to start working after high school. There is a general apathy towards university education. Bangladeshi students who are thinking of coming to Australia now, I would say forget about getting a part-time job. Global recession has affected this continent and new international students barely have a chance to get a part time job as they do not have the experience and often the employers prefer the Aussie accent. Many Australian adults are doing a part time job. This leaves little opportunity for international students to get a part time job. However, if you know driving and you have your Bangladeshi driving license with you, you have a higher prospect of getting delivery jobs at restaurants or cleaning jobs.

Many Bangladeshi students have problem submitting assignments as we are seldom properly taught how to write academic papers in APA or MLA style in our institutions back home. Often, assignment marks are deducted if the student has not used the list of references properly. Academic resources of my university's library include movie DVDs and all kinds of books and electronic journal. If students want to order a new book which is in press now, they can inform the librarians to bring that in whenever it is found in the market. If you are a research student, abroad is the best place to continue your quest for knowledge, as you will be provided with all these facilities.

I have seen most Bangladeshi people living here become sad after returning from a vacation spent in Bangladesh. I would like to be where my heart is and it is in Bangladesh. John Denver's jet plane would go across the hemisphere, and land where it had once took its flight from. And soon I will be back in Bangladesh.

(The writer is a student of MA in Applied Linguistics at Curtin University, Perth in Western Australia.)