Student Strategies

• Keep busy when you arrive and start meeting people straight away. Although it may seem overwhelming to begin with, most people are excited to meet someone from another country and act as a tour guide for them. If staying on campus, introduce yourself to the people from your housing block which you think will be a lot of fun. Also simply introducing yourself will put you in their minds and they will usually invite you to places they may be going.
  

• Meet other exchange students. Usually these people are in the same boat as you. When I arrived I had the mindset that I didn't really want to meet other exchange students, esp. Aussies as I was there to immerse myself with the locals and the local culture. However I found that other exchange students have the same anxieties as I did, so it was easier tackling them together. More so one of the Aussies I met was very similar to me, so we could easily bounce off each other and use each other for support when meeting others. This allowed us to meet a huge amount of people as you feel much more confident in meeting people when there are two of you.

• Remember that everyone you meet can help you out one way or another, I don't want to sound like you should use them, but it is certainly a great way to meet someone asking: "Hi, I'm Matt, are you busy at the moment because I could really do with your help. Would we be able to go for a quick drive to get a few necessities from the shops?" I used this when I first arrived and everyone was more than willing to take me, its great method for meeting and getting to know other people around you. Also they feel really good because they're helping someone out, so they hardly ever decline unless they ABSOLUTELY cannot go at that time!
  

• Try to be brave and open up to as many of the local people as you can. You will find that they often see you as a novelty, and will be more than willing to help you understand the tiny things that are often difficult when living in a new country. I chose to live in a Canadian student share house with two other Canadian girls, and this was the best experience I could have asked for.
  

• It's best living on campus as you come in contact with such a large amount of people. I met 100's of people that lived on campus so there was always something to be doing. I met other exchange students who were living off campus that found it a lot harder to meet and interact with people. Living on campus also allows you to get answers for anything to do about university from the Resident Advisors (RA's), whom are students themselves and are there for you to answer your questions.
  

• The accent is a powerful tool and don't forget that! The mere fact that you have an accent, people will find you interesting and want to talk to you. So when on campus ask people for directions, you will usually end up talking with them for a while as they'll ask "So where are you from?" From there you can chat away, ask more questions e.g. "So where are the hot places to go out in this town?