As told by Elisa. Elisa is an International student from China and was one of my mentees. And now we are good friends. She is in her second year of her Social work course at RMIT. Here's her story of how she got mistreated in the first semester in her homestay and at RMIT.
Advice before coming to Melbourne
"RMIT came to visit us in China. It was here that I have attended a seminar on living in Melbourne and how wonderful and glorious the place is"
"They didn't tell me how expensive it was. Rather they said that it was cheap and easy for students to find good accomodation here"
" I was told about all the free events and attractions that are in Melbourne for tourists"
" I was told that my English was good and that all I needed was a band of 6.5 in IELTS"
"I then applied for a homestay place via Gumtree.com. The homestay family emailed me back saying that they were willing to take me for $500 a month in a suburb called Werribee. I was told it lovely and safe and leafy and that the trains were safe at night. They said that it was about half an hour from RMIT by train. At that time I had signed up for the MATES program and was talking to a local student called Katherine who said that Werribee was really far far away. She said that it was in zone 2 and that I was not eligible for a concession MYKI".
"The homestay family said that they were really lovely and when I told them that I wasn't fond of dogs they told me they had no pets"
"They also told me that their children were in Year 12".
Living in Melbourne for the first time and staying in Werribee for the first semester.
" When I came I found that Werribee was about 50 minutes away by train. I also found that I had to change trains at North Melbourne due to the fact that no trains from Werribee goes into the loop. Sometimes I accidentally caught the wrong one and had to change at Newport. The trains were not very safe at night and I was robbed twice of my stuff. The first time I had about $1000 in my bag some of which is rent money and a very expensive iPhone. Just reccently before I moved to South Yarra I was beaten by a gang of teenagers at Werribee station at 9pm when I was coming back from work as a cleaner"
"I had to buy monthlies for both zone 1 and 2 and pay $6 for my MYKI"
" The family there were really hostile demanding that I work as a cleaner for 30 hours a week when I was only allowed to work 20 hours in a week during the semester. They also demanded that I cook and clean for them when I had to study. There were four people in the family, not including me. The couple had kids aged 5 and 8 and a big Golden Retriever. I had to walk the retriever twice a week and babysit their kids three times a week when I wanted to study. When I confronted the couple they beated me ".
" I was scared of calling the police because I thought that they would take my visa away and the family would find out and leave me for dead".
"Sometimes the retriever barked at night and it woke everyone up. The family couldn't be bothered telling it to shut up"
"The couple also loved to borrow my computer to play games and chat to other people. They also pretended to be me on Facebook and would write nasty stuff to my friends. I lost so many friends back home and here over this".
" I loved the attractions in Melbourne. They were mainly free for students".
"Besides Katherine and Sally, I found it really difficult to make friends as my home stay family would shout abuse at them in front of me"
" A few times my homestay family beat me...I only had my OHSC and that only covered me for 10% of the medical costs (about $37 only). They dislocated my arm so that I couldn't write. I didn't know about the free counselling service offered at RMIT, nor did I know about the other services, such as housing".
" My English suffered at uni. I did not know I needed a band of 7.5 to succeed at uni. I kept on failing courses and was put "at risk" by my school. Due to some of the beatings I had I had suffered a disability and the DLU did nothing about this, hence I failed exams".
"In June I moved out to a place in South yarra, about 10 mins from the city by train. I live with a lovely lady called Tali and she helped me through all of my issues. Now I'm a part time international student counsellor at Melbourne University and am helping students get through some tough times".
Some advice for students
"Do your research. Make sure that you find the uni that is best for you and go onto the actual IELTS website. Don't rely on just what the uni tells you"
" Look at different blogs about Melbourne. There are about 800+ of them so you are sure to find one"
" Use legitimate housing services such as the RMIT housing service"
"Join MATES and listen to what your mentors have to say to you. They are there to help you."
"Google the suburb that you'll be living in, rather than what RMIT tells you"
"If you don't like dogs choose a place that is not dog friendly. There are several on the housing database"
Elisa is not alone in this. There are heaps of other students just like her. Me am lucky to be living with family of five and in a good suburb.
Advice before coming to Melbourne
"RMIT came to visit us in China. It was here that I have attended a seminar on living in Melbourne and how wonderful and glorious the place is"
"They didn't tell me how expensive it was. Rather they said that it was cheap and easy for students to find good accomodation here"
" I was told about all the free events and attractions that are in Melbourne for tourists"
" I was told that my English was good and that all I needed was a band of 6.5 in IELTS"
"I then applied for a homestay place via Gumtree.com. The homestay family emailed me back saying that they were willing to take me for $500 a month in a suburb called Werribee. I was told it lovely and safe and leafy and that the trains were safe at night. They said that it was about half an hour from RMIT by train. At that time I had signed up for the MATES program and was talking to a local student called Katherine who said that Werribee was really far far away. She said that it was in zone 2 and that I was not eligible for a concession MYKI".
"The homestay family said that they were really lovely and when I told them that I wasn't fond of dogs they told me they had no pets"
"They also told me that their children were in Year 12".
Living in Melbourne for the first time and staying in Werribee for the first semester.
" When I came I found that Werribee was about 50 minutes away by train. I also found that I had to change trains at North Melbourne due to the fact that no trains from Werribee goes into the loop. Sometimes I accidentally caught the wrong one and had to change at Newport. The trains were not very safe at night and I was robbed twice of my stuff. The first time I had about $1000 in my bag some of which is rent money and a very expensive iPhone. Just reccently before I moved to South Yarra I was beaten by a gang of teenagers at Werribee station at 9pm when I was coming back from work as a cleaner"
"I had to buy monthlies for both zone 1 and 2 and pay $6 for my MYKI"
" The family there were really hostile demanding that I work as a cleaner for 30 hours a week when I was only allowed to work 20 hours in a week during the semester. They also demanded that I cook and clean for them when I had to study. There were four people in the family, not including me. The couple had kids aged 5 and 8 and a big Golden Retriever. I had to walk the retriever twice a week and babysit their kids three times a week when I wanted to study. When I confronted the couple they beated me ".
" I was scared of calling the police because I thought that they would take my visa away and the family would find out and leave me for dead".
"Sometimes the retriever barked at night and it woke everyone up. The family couldn't be bothered telling it to shut up"
"The couple also loved to borrow my computer to play games and chat to other people. They also pretended to be me on Facebook and would write nasty stuff to my friends. I lost so many friends back home and here over this".
" I loved the attractions in Melbourne. They were mainly free for students".
"Besides Katherine and Sally, I found it really difficult to make friends as my home stay family would shout abuse at them in front of me"
" A few times my homestay family beat me...I only had my OHSC and that only covered me for 10% of the medical costs (about $37 only). They dislocated my arm so that I couldn't write. I didn't know about the free counselling service offered at RMIT, nor did I know about the other services, such as housing".
" My English suffered at uni. I did not know I needed a band of 7.5 to succeed at uni. I kept on failing courses and was put "at risk" by my school. Due to some of the beatings I had I had suffered a disability and the DLU did nothing about this, hence I failed exams".
"In June I moved out to a place in South yarra, about 10 mins from the city by train. I live with a lovely lady called Tali and she helped me through all of my issues. Now I'm a part time international student counsellor at Melbourne University and am helping students get through some tough times".
Some advice for students
"Do your research. Make sure that you find the uni that is best for you and go onto the actual IELTS website. Don't rely on just what the uni tells you"
" Look at different blogs about Melbourne. There are about 800+ of them so you are sure to find one"
" Use legitimate housing services such as the RMIT housing service"
"Join MATES and listen to what your mentors have to say to you. They are there to help you."
"Google the suburb that you'll be living in, rather than what RMIT tells you"
"If you don't like dogs choose a place that is not dog friendly. There are several on the housing database"
Elisa is not alone in this. There are heaps of other students just like her. Me am lucky to be living with family of five and in a good suburb.
hi. thanks for sharing such informative tips. was really helpful.
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