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Thursday 26 April 2012

Who needs a GAP year when you can travel and earn credits?


-By Vanessa


OK I must admit I am a study tour addict.
I have been to Tunisia to study Arabic.
I have been to China to study Chinese Commercial Law.
I have been to Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Prague, Geneva, Basel, Paris and London on my last trip on the AEF study Tour and maybe I still have my sights set on just one more before I graduate.

My Bucket list

 
Climb the Great Wall of China

Walk in Tienanmen Square

Eat chocolate in Switzerland

See the terracotta warriors

 Ride a camel through the Sahara

Go shopping at Harrods London

Dance all night at the 5 story nite club in Prague     


Ice skate on the Eiffel Tower

Ride on a Junk in Hong Kong




Walk on Tower Bridge aka London Bridge

Eat Frankfurt's/sausage in Frankfurt  









 
Stroll along Lake Geneva   

Celebrating New Years in a remote location with locals aka Sahara Desert.





I could go on but you get the idea.

In any case, remember travel insurance is an absolute must. Trust me, seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time out the back of an ambulance in Paris makes you really appreciate it.

  


O.K so its not all play, but even the serious aspects of Deakin University Overseas Study Tours are truly amazing!




Friday 20 April 2012

Online classes friend or foe?

-By Amanda

Dear Students,

I'm an on-campus student, however over the Summer I undertook a few Trimester 3 subjects. All of them were online.

First of all, I must say if you are not one for checking DSO regularly, if you know you won't go through any of the i-lectures or attend eLive classes, and if you know that you're going to leave everything to the last minute - avoid online subjects like the plague. However, if you hate the travelling, and if you have the means (good, reliable Internet access), then I can't praise online classes enough.
 
In my first post, I wrote about my sometimes difficult journey to Uni. Probably the biggest positive about online classes are that they eliminate the need to travel - perfect for me! Plus everything is readily available online, you can easily communicate with your peers, and did I mention there was no need to travel (which saves both time and money)?

My only warning though is that it is easy to fall behind. Personally, I prefer i-lectures because I can pause them and write my notes at my own pace, but at the same time I do find myself a bit more motivated if I'm actually on campus. The beauty of Uni is that it's you're choice, so go with what works for you.

Just a few tips if you do decide to study online;
  • Pretend you're actually at Uni; studying from home has the potential for a loooooooot of distractions, try and pretend those don't exist (switch off the TV, close the YouTube & Facebook tabs).
  • Build a routine; maybe check DSO at the same time every week, and make sure you know when you need to download your lectures or attend eLive tutorials.
  • Enjoy the perks; get a good amount of sleep, eat well (chances are you won't have to buy junk food because you're out), and stress less!
Hopefully you're enjoying this Trimester, take care!!

Tuesday 17 April 2012

Masterclass: Simple chicken congee recipe

-By Karen 

Hello dearest readers! Thank you for all the supportive comments and tips in my previous post! It has been a great encouragement hearing from all of you, and I look forward to more comments in my future postings! 

In today's post, I thought I'd share a simple chicken congee recipe with you. I was feeling a little unwell last week, and it brought back memories of how horrible it felt to be sick during my uni days. That feeling was worse when the assignment due dates or exams are just round the corner! Those were also the days when feeling homesick would be exaggerated to a whole new level. So a favourite comfort food that I'll usually cook when I'm sick is congee, which is just rice cooked in heaps of water until it breaks down into a thick or creamy consistency. It is popular in the Asian culture and is usually served during breakfast or even as a late supper meal. It is also commonly served to people who are sick because it improves their appetite and is easy to digest while providing much needed nutrients to the body.

So here's how I prepare my chicken congee in combating those snotty tissues...


Preparation: 10 minutes              Cooking: ~1.5 hour

Ingredients:
Part 1: For chicken broth
Part 1: Making the chicken broth
  • 1 pc chicken breast with bone (skin removed, fat trimmed, and washed thoroughly)
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic
  • 4 pc Chinese red dates (optional)
  • 6-8 pc peppercorns
  • 6-8 cups water (depending on the size of the chicken and pot)

Part 2: For congee
Part 2: Cooking the congee
  • 1/2 cup rice soaked in water for about 2 hours (Any rice would do but I prefer using sushi rice because it gives a thicker consistency. Left over rice is also great for this recipe and cooking time might be reduced.)
  • Handful (10-15 pcs) goji berries (optional)


Method:
1. To make the chicken broth, combine all ingredients in part 1 over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil and cook the ingredients for about 45mins to an hour (broth would have reduced by about half). 

2. Remove the chicken from the broth and drain the broth. Set the chicken aside to cool and shred finely. You can also reserve the garlic cloves or add fresh ones when cooking the congee. (Got a fear of garlic? Don't worry, the garlic will be all mushed up by the time the congee is cooked and you won't really notice it. Garlic is good for cough and colds and it adds extra flavour to the dish)

3. To make the congee, drain the water from the rice and add the rice to the broth. 

4. If you're adding fresh garlic cloves, then add them with the rice. Otherwise add the chicken (I used about 1/2 of the shredded chicken for my dish and kept the rest to use in other dishes, eg. salad or sandwich), leftover garlic, and goji berries half way through the cooking process.

5. Boil the rice for about 25-30min until it is cooked, and simmer for about 20-30mins or until rice has broken down. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from burning. 

6. Salt and pepper to taste. 


P.S. Remember to stir the congee occasionally to prevent burning (burnt rice stuck to a pot can be a nightmare to remove)

P.P.S. When cooking the congee, you may add extra hot water if you think the consistency is too thick. The congee will thicken up slightly when cooled. 

P.P.P.S. For an extra "zing" factor, serve the dish with some chopped spring onions. 


There you go! My simple home remedy for a snotty tissue fiesta. Congee fills you up and keeps you full for a longer time. Also when you're sick, your taste buds tend to go into sleepy mode too (that's why most people lose their appetite or feel that things don't taste as good when they're sick), and congee is a great pick-me-up and its easy to digest. 


Now that exams are around the corner, do remember to still keep that balance. Remember to eat AND rest well. Bulk up on Vitamin C to give your immune system an extra boost. Best wishes for the exams!! You're almost reaching the finishing line!! 


Would love to hear your comments and queries about the dish so do remember to drop a line or two in the comments section below. And do let us know if you would like to see more recipes in future postings! 

Wednesday 11 April 2012

Six Months in Australia, Six Months of Adventure



-By Edwina

Adventure - well what is an adventure? Mountain climbing, skydiving? Or animated adventures like Alice in Wonderland? When one reads about all this it sounds great and adventurous and fun, but my life’s adventure is a little different. I was born in India, and was pretty much spoilt from the time I opened my eyes. I never really did anything back at home, because like any other spoilt kid, my theory was “my mum will do it for me, I don’t have to worry”. But coming to Australia changed that; it changed my idea of fantasy and the world.

First thing was - I had to start travelling by myself from the very first day, not having a clue as to where I was going. This was something I never did in India. So while on the tram, the minute I used to see ‘Deakin University’ written in bold I knew I made it, but I couldn't breathe a sigh of relief until I reached home without getting lost.

Speaking of getting lost, I think I got lost more on-campus than outside campus. Deakin was about three times the size of my school and I got lost multiple times. Sometimes I even missed lectures because I couldn’t find my classes (or rather I was too tired to walk to the classes. I felt jet lagged for a long time and probably still am, considering the fact I wake up at lunch time each day!). It was like a mini adventure for me. But when I figured my way out, it wasn’t too bad. After all, I just needed to use my brains a little.

Cooking - never had to do it in my life before, but when I came here, things changed. I had no other option but to learn how to cook, that is if I didn’t want to starve. So far I have only learnt how to cook eggs and 2 minute noodles. When I’m tired of it, I’ve got McDonald’s just round the corner. My baking skills in one word: ‘fantastic’ but that’s because I follow the instructions on the box closely, not because I have the skills like “Buddy” from “Cake Boss”. However, I still have to get somebody to pop it in the oven for me because I still do not know how to work that.

I love Melbourne CBD. At first I kept putting off to visit it because I didn’t know how to get there, but once when my cousin took me there with another friend of mine, I did not want to leave. With the busy streets, colourful walls, shops and restaurants, I was in wonderland. From hopping into trams and getting off at random stops and just walking around taking photographs at every corner to running in to shops and coming out wearing a different pair of shoes, the times I have spent in the city have always been an adventure for me. There is so much to do and so much to see, that by the end of the day you still want more.

Beaches - my second home. I can’t swim but that doesn’t mean I won’t go into the water. I love the whole atmosphere, the smell of the water, the sound of the wind, the feel of the sand on your feet, even the feel of the first chill your body gets when it touches the water. Six months ago, all of this was in my dreams and now my dreams have turned to reality. Whatever I dreamt of doing all my life, the adventures I wanted to go on, the experiences I wanted, all of that is slowly coming true.

I’m only 18, I’ve been here six months, and I’ve just finished my first semester at Deakin. These were just my freshman adventures, and I’m pretty sure I have many more exciting adventures waiting for me.








Thursday 5 April 2012

Feeding the habit


- By Jo

I forgot to feed my family. Yes, that’s right and it wasn’t for one night either, more like half a trimester. I also forgot about the dirty laundry. Yet somehow I had clean clothes. The cat litter was clean and the dishes done. It was then that it occurred to me that I had officially been consumed by university life.

Textbooks, computer, paper, pen (vintage fountain pen thank you), something to eat and drink (double espresso stat), and of course the all-important Internet connection for Facebook and Twitter, I mean DSO, and that’s all I believed was needed at the start.

But there was one last resource I had forgotten. To be frank, I’m not sure how as it is seriously hard to miss a fifteen year old with a personality twice her size and a husband over six feet tall, but I did and I still do.

When I’m hunched over my books and I fail to notice them because I’m on a deadline and my only activity is to wear a track in the carpet from my desk to the kitchen to refill my mug, I forget. In fact, I forget to feed them, among other forms of neglect. I only realised this recently when I cooked dinner and they both looked at me like I’d done something newsworthy. Obviously exams had just finished and I fell back into an old routine. They had a new routine. They cooked and cleaned. They made food for me occasionally. Somehow I hadn’t noticed I was living off caffeine, chocolate and toast. But they did.

The moment of epiphany came at a graduation ceremony when the vice chancellor asked the graduates to stand and look for their family and friends and to give them applause for all their support. Family and friends, classmates and internet buddies have all helped me get this far - whether it be bouncing an idea about on Twitter with strangers, or with fellow students on Facebook, or having my daughter play the accused so I can practice cross examination skills or my husband fielding telephone calls when I’m studying, it’s a resource that needs recognition (and probably feeding, must put that in the diary – feed family!) It’s a resource I remember from secondary school – my dad cooking meals every night through VCE (all vegetarian, despite his carnivorous tastes). Come to think of it, this is probably why I forget to cook when I’m studying – default setting. Now sounds like a good time for me to make a resolution, I know New Year’s is past, but I’m never one to conform to the pack, so I’ll make mine now – I shall remember to value the support of my family and friends for the huge contribution they’re making to my academic success, and yes I’ll try and feed them...do you think take out counts?