第１回　イギリス＆オーストラリアに留学！（語学留学＆ワーキングホリデー）Sさん

Vol. 1: the U.K. and Australia (studying and working holiday)

Please tell us briefly about your stay.

・the U.K…I went to Scotland, the U.K., and stayed there for 2 months with a sightseeing visa. After going to a language school for a month, I temporarily came back to Japan and headed to Melbourne, Australia 5 months later.

・Australia...I stayed in Melbourne for 9 months with a working holiday visa. I lived in a sharehouse with a Japanese student.

When did you actually leave the country?

I left for the U.K. in March at the end of the 2nd year of university.

Why did you choose the country?

I was originally doing research about community gardens at university, and visited Scotland as a part of my research. I didn't like English much, but I felt like learning practical English.

Did you use an agency?

No, I didn't do it in order to save money. I directly contacted the language school in Scotland myself and proceeded with the preparation. I think you can cut off about 100,000 yen that way.

How much did the entire stay cost?

・I think I used about 400,000 yen for going to school and doing various fun things.

・The tuition plus the homestay fee was about 200,000 yen for a month.

・I didn't go to a language school in Australia.

・I would stay in a homestay for the first 3 weeks and a sharehouse most of the other time.

・The living expenses were about 40,000 yen each month.

How was the country?

・Scotland is a really serene place to live with little population and lots of nature. On the flip side, the weather suddenly changes and sometimes it snows, which was hard to get used to.

・There is terrorism in some cities in the U.K. like London but not in Scotland, so it's quite peaceful. It is a rural area, they have a train only once an hour or so. 

・Melbourne in Australia is called 'a city of art' and is full of street art all over the city, which made me want to settle there.

・There is a risk of terrorism in Melbourne. Actually, it happened once during my stay.

Lastly, please let us know how you felt overall and advice for juniors.

Through going abroad, I found the importance of stepping out from Japan. So many things were different from Japan, like they picked up the news that Japanese people aren't familiar with for example, and I was able to broaden my perspective by touching different cultures directly. 

At first, my parents opposed my going abroad for the financial issue, but I persuaded them with deep research on scholarships. If you feel anxious about the financial aspect, I recommend you to look up the scholarship from universities and other institutes!! 

Thank you for your time!