When I heard a lot of student do their internship abroad, I was fully determined; Australia is the place to be. Last year me, my parents and sister already visited Australia, but as a tourist to visit my relatives. We lived with my aunt and her family, consisting of my uncle and two cousins. The country impressed me so much that I had to come back, but now for more serious business. Also, it is a unique opportunity to see my relatives again. During my internship I am living with my aunt and her family, consisting of my uncle and two cousins. My three month-internship is located at the RMIT University in Melbourne City. It is very easy to reach by bus and train and is next to the Melbourne Central train station, just a few minutes walking. For my internship, I am designing a controller for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), with two supervisors.

In order to have permission for working in Australia you need a visa and it takes at least three weeks up to one month after request, before it is granted. In some cases, a medical examination is necessary and it may even take longer. After saying goodbye to my parents, sister, relatives, friends and colleagues, it’s time!

Melbourne is very multicultural and you can find all kinds of dishes:. From Korean BBQ to Japanese sushi, from Italian spaghetti to typical Melbourne brunch. Furthermore, the city has many touristic attractions. Let me mention a few: the kangaroos at Cardinia Reservoir Park, the Fairy and Royal Caves, koalas near Phillip Island, the penguins in St Kilda, Melbourne Zoo, the Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles. All these locations I visited with my relatives and the latter two locations I have visited last year with my parents and sister. Breathtaking places!

The fact that Melbourne is on the other side of the globe is quite obvious. They drive on the ‘wrong’ side (in the car and on the road), the seasons are the exact opposite (I went from the Dutch summer to the winter of Melbourne and I’ll be going from the Australian summer back to the winter in Holland) and people don’t bike often. The latter makes sense, because bike lanes are rare, Melbourne is pretty hilly and everything is located far from each other.