The Highlights
* From 2015 there will be cheap travel for all International students as Victoria has decided to participate in the scheme. More so there will be free trams
* We went to our very first masterclass with John Lawson at South Melbourne, High tea and buffet. We had not done this in previous years.
* Volunteering at the Couch has helped us to assess where we want to go with this blog and what some of the issues are with students.
* We have not done any fine dining whatsoever so this year was a first
* The Open for Inspection play let us see some of the issues that International students face in a share house.
* We organised our first picnic that year with lovely food from the market.
* We had our first ever high tea in Sofitel
* This year was also our first time visiting regional areas such as Silvan more than once and realising how beautiful it is.
* Our first time participating in the Good Food and Wine festival- Nobu and Atlantic gave us a bit of a taste into fine dining
* We volunteered for the welcome desk- in that we saw what sort of things students need to know before coming.
The Lowlights
* The cheating scandal- it brought Victoria's and Australia's reputation into question. It also proves that English is still pretty poor in Universities all around the country.
* We ate a bit too much over Winter and as students we do that sometimes
* International students are still having to take out Private Health insurance and on top of this fees are very expensive
* Education is still quite expensive and with the fees being deregulated we don't know what is next. But with Labour being voted as Victoria's government in a recent election fees might be a bit cheaper as of 2015.
* Living fees is still pretty expensive. To add to the insult the Emporium was built this year and whilst some shops are quite cheap, others are ridiciously expensive. Ie: Victoria's secret.
* Racism and attacks on International students is an ongoing problem in Australia.
* Underpayment of cleaners is another ongoing one with the news that MCG cleaners have underpaid. This is the same for students working in hospitality and fast food sectors.
* MYKI is still being a bit of a problem for some students and in fact one of our friends was fined for not being able to find a place to top up in an unfamiliar area and then it would not touch on.
In twelve months time we would love to see everybody being paid fairly. We also love to see that International students understand what their health insurance provides and what it does not. We are also trying to put more living articles up on our blog and working hard to maintain that.
As for the MYKI we hope that more places will be selling them seeing as its the only way to get around.
As for English it is hoped that universities would select students with a score of 7 or 8 in IELTS and not merely a 6. This would reduce the need for ghost writers and enhance Australia's reputation as a great study destination.
Happy new year to all of our readers and thank you for your support in 2014.
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