Having never been outside of Europe, Dutch student Silvie Vos decided to travel to the other side of the world to spend a semester studying at Murdoch.
Always knowing she wanted to study abroad, Silvie’s love of summer meant she wanted to travel somewhere warm and sunny.
With more than 300 days of sunshine per year, and as Australia’s sunniest capital city, Silvie couldn’t have picked a better place when she decided to call Perth her home away from home.
“Australia is on the other side of the world (to the Netherlands) and is known for its good weather, so I immediately thought about Australia.
“Perth and Murdoch University seemed really nice and fun to me, so I was happy with the option to study at Murdoch!”
Help where you need it
In her third year of studying Social and Legal Services, Silvie decided to study units in Law and Crime Science at Murdoch to complement her home degree.
Silvie found her transition to studying in Australia easy thanks to help she received from her teachers and other students.
“The teachers and students are really friendly. The teachers were always willing to help me when I had some extra questions.
“Murdoch takes such good care of its international students and the study abroad coordinators really make sure you’re having a good time.”
Everything at your doorstep
While living in Perth, Silvie stayed at the Murdoch University Village. ‘The Village’, as students like to call it, is Murdoch’s on campus accommodation option for both international and domestic students.
A vibrant community of more than 800 students, the Village features a wide range of secure apartments as well as recreational facilities, including a beach volleyball court, swimming pool, e-library and a student lounge.
“I absolutely loved living on campus. The village organises a lot of events as well, which allows you to get to know even more students.
“Because I met people directly after arriving in Perth, it was easy to settle into life in Perth and Australia because we explored a lot together.
“I loved meeting so many international friends from all over the world. It’s so nice and interesting to get to know so many different cultures while being in one country!”
Perth - big city with a small-town charm
When it comes to living in Perth, Silvie says there isn’t a thing she didn’t enjoy.
“I enjoyed basically everything and I’ve fallen in love with Perth and Fremantle.
“I’m from a small town in the Netherlands and I expected Perth to be a huge city, which it is, but it doesn’t feel so. It feels more like a bigger and cosy town.
"The Australians are so friendly and helpful, so it wasn’t hard to adjust to their culture at all."
The perfect destination all year round, Perth is consistently ranked in the top 10 cities in the world and provides residents with vibrant nightlife, spectacular outdoor spaces and a unique urban charm.
“I absolutely loved the (mostly) sunny weather, all the beaches and of course Kings Park. There’s plenty of activities in/around Perth and Freo, so there’s always something to do!”
Experiencing all of what Western Australia has to offer
One of Silvie’s favourite experiences from her time at Murdoch was getting to join other Study Abroad and Exchange students as they explored Western Australia with two unique Murdoch study tours, called the North West and South West trips.
“Murdoch organises a lot of events for exchange and study abroad students, like the North West and South West trips. I loved those trips!”
Lasting 10 days and spanning more than 4,000 kilometres, the North West Trip gives international students the chance to head into the North of WA, where they get the chance to hike mountains, swim in gorges, and sleep under the beautiful starry night skies of the outback.
Similarly, the South West trip offers students the chance to join a three-day sightseeing road trip through South-West of Western Australia, where they can explore this beautiful bio-diverse region while visiting world-famous beaches, forests and caves.
“The North-West and South-West trips were amazing and I’m very thankful I’ve experienced camping in the outback with a great group of internationals.
“Unfortunately I need to finish my degree in The Netherlands, but I would love to spend more semesters at Murdoch as I really had the time of my life there.”
Ready to experience Murdoch for yourself? Learn more about Study Abroad at Murdoch.
