Margaux · France
Edith Cowan University · ECU City Campus · Perth, Australia
Semestre abroad
Why study abroad, and why Australia?
Since secondary school, I have always wanted to discover another culture and especially improve my English. I never felt like my English classes at school were giving me enough. I think the best way to really progress and become bilingual is to actually live in an English-speaking country.
Originally, I was supposed to go to Canada for six months in my final year of school, but the organisation had to cancel the project because they could not find enough host families. So I had to put it off. When I chose my school in France, I decided to follow the international track so I could finally make it happen and build a real international outlook for my career.
I chose Australia because if I was going to go abroad, I wanted to go far and discover somewhere truly different from anything I knew. It also felt like a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience. Maybe the only time in my life I would be this far from my family.
Australia also appealed to me because universities here offer event management units, and that is the direction I want to go in my third year back in France. And being passionate about the sea and surfing, I simply could not picture going somewhere without access to the ocean.
First impressions
My first impression was that the city was absolutely stunning. I come from a small town, so arriving in Perth and discovering somewhere that vast was genuinely overwhelming in the best way.
I was also struck by the ECU City campus. It is huge and incredibly modern. The atmosphere is friendly overall. What I noticed immediately is that international students approach you easily and want to get to know you. Local Australian students tend to stick together a bit more, which is understandable since they already have their social circles.
What surprised me most
What surprised me most was just how much the city has to offer, and also the campus, which is incredibly modern and equipped with the latest technology. It is genuinely impressive compared to what I was used to in France.
I was also surprised by some small everyday differences: having to put on sunscreen from 7am in summer, and the sun setting around 7-8pm.
The way classes work here surprised me too. You can sometimes leave early, arrive late, or not show up at all and the lecturer will not necessarily say anything.
And driving on the left is genuinely disorienting, especially at roundabouts. Even just crossing the road, you have to remember to look right first. It takes a little while to adjust.
What my days look like right now
Right now I still have classes, but I have a week off at the end of September going into October. During the week, I am either at my classes or at the library studying when I do not have any, mainly because I have several assignments due.
Monday I only have afternoon classes, so I usually come in just for those. Tuesday I have no classes: I do my grocery shopping on alternate weeks in the morning, then go and study in the afternoon. Wednesday is a full day of classes. Thursday I have no afternoon classes so I usually stay at the library and work. Friday I have no classes at all and I often spend the day at the library catching up.
On Saturday mornings I do babysitting. In the afternoon I either work on assignments or make the most of my free time: walking around the city, going to the beach, shopping, or visiting somewhere new.
On Sundays, when I have videos to film for assignments, I sometimes come to the library in the morning because there are rooms you can book, which gives me a quiet space to record. Then I usually do my laundry in the afternoon.
Most days I am back at my apartment by 5 or 5:30pm at the latest. I wind down, and some evenings I carry on working a little.
The classes: different from home?
The classes are completely different from what I had in France. Here we have lectures in large rooms that can hold around 200 people. At the start there were a lot of us, but now sometimes only around twenty students show up because others have stopped coming.
During these lectures the professor presents the content with slides for two or three hours. For some subjects we also have one-hour tutorials in small groups of around 15 students. In some units there is just one two-hour class per week with a group of about ten people.
The whole system is much more relaxed. It is a bit like university back home in that sense: you can arrive late, leave early, or skip entirely, and the lecturers do not say anything.
In France it was very different. I was in a class of only 13 students and attendance was compulsory. If you were absent, you had to justify it.
Here, what I appreciate most is the freedom and the autonomy in how I manage my own studies.
Making friends
I have met students from so many different countries: Australians, Mauritians, Japanese, French and more.
The two weeks of orientation really helped me meet people at the start. After that, I kept building connections through my classes and then through meeting my friends’ friends. Gradually my circle grew on its own.
My advice for anyone on the fence
My advice would be: just go, even if it feels scary. The beginning is not always easy and there will be moments of doubt or times when you feel a bit low. But it is a truly unique experience that makes you grow a lot and gain real independence.
Going alone also teaches you to rely on yourself more, to become more independent and mature. And most importantly, you are never really alone: when you go abroad, you always end up meeting new people.
I also think about how some people would dream of doing something like this but simply do not have the chance. So when the opportunity is there, make the most of it.
On the language side, the Australian accent can be quite difficult at first, and some words used here are different from what I learned in French English classes. I left with a B1 level, so the first few weeks were hard. But after two months, I can really see progress and I feel much more comfortable.
The highlight so far
What I have loved most so far is discovering landscapes and environments that are completely different from anything I know in France.
Arriving in a big city and seeing the skyline, but also wandering through more natural settings and spotting kangaroos and whales: that was exactly what I came for.
Volunteering in event management for a charity run that brought together more than 35,000 people was another highlight. That experience was everything I hoped it would be.
I also love discovering new cultures and meeting people from all over the world. But more than anything, what I appreciate most about this experience is being able to speak English every single day and watching my own progress as I go.
Inspired by Margaux’s story? Explore Beyond Abroad programs in Australia, including ECU in Perth.