{"id":9001,"date":"2021-02-26T10:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T00:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/?p=9001"},"modified":"2021-02-26T11:48:42","modified_gmt":"2021-02-26T01:48:42","slug":"uni-by-the-beach-diolch-swansea-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.qut.edu.au\/gone-global\/2021\/02\/26\/uni-by-the-beach-diolch-swansea-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Uni by the Beach! Diolch, Swansea University"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emma \u2013 Swansea University \u2013 Wales<\/h3>\n

Semester 2, 2019
\nBachelor of Fine Arts<\/h4>\n

“Diolch”, Swansea University!<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hey, I\u2019m Emma<\/span><\/span>, a creative writing student<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and I chose to go on exchange for my second semester of 2019.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0Swansea, a coastal town in the south of Wales, was by no means my first choice, it wasn\u2019t even my third. But after being unable to secure a place at my original three choices I chose Swansea. You see, I\u2019d been to Wales before but as a\u00a0<\/span>two-year-old<\/span>, so my memories of that time are non-existent and apart from that trip when I was a toddler I never went back, despite living down in England for another twelve years. So<\/span><\/span>,<\/span><\/span>\u00a0in the end, I thought, why not? Let\u2019s go to Swansea<\/span><\/span> University! <\/span><\/span>The university organised a coach from Heathrow Airport to take all international students up to Swansea and this service ran throughout the day to accommodate different arrival times.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

*This Meet and Greet Service is only available to students exchan<\/span>ging in the second semester though<\/span>\u00a0(first semester there)<\/span>\u00a0so September \u2013 December\/January. They do make this clear<\/span>\u00a0themselves though.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

**Also, ‘diolch’ means ‘thank you’ in Welsh!<\/p>\n

Travel<\/h4>\n

People from the Student Union and Go Global team were there to greet everyone and make sure we were ok after our travels, before one of them would travel up to Swansea with us. The journey was roughly 3-4 hours from Heathrow barring traffic. Swansea University has two campuses situated about <\/span>25<\/span>\u00a0minutes from each other<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>– Bay Campus, the newer smaller campus and Singleton Campus the larger, main campus. Depending on where we were staying, the coach stopped a<\/span>t<\/span>\u00a0Bay Campus first then Singleton.<\/span>\u00a0Swansea has accommodation on both the campuses, but also\u00a0run\u2019s\u00a0a student village and a student house. As a single semester student, I was given accommodation in the Student Village, called\u00a0<\/span>H<\/span>endrefoelan. Now, they don\u2019t guarantee accommodation for single semester students, but it\u2019s always worth applying. The accommodation department are more than willing to assist you in finding other accommodation <\/span>though and it won\u2019t hurt to do some research about other options in and<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>around Swansea<\/span> (trust me, there is plenty)<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>There is also a\u00a0<\/span>Facebook<\/span> group they will invite you to, which will help you meet other exchange students. I saw several <\/span>people\u00a0<\/span>join together\u00a0to find alternative accommodation.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Accommodation<\/h4>\n

Hendrefoelan<\/span><\/span>\u00a0is l<\/span><\/span>ocated 2 miles from Singleton Park Campus<\/span><\/span>\u00a0and there are b<\/span><\/span>us services run<\/span><\/span>ning<\/span><\/span>\u00a0regularly to both campuses and the City Centre.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0It<\/span><\/span>\u00a0happens to be the cheapest<\/span><\/span>\u00a0university<\/span><\/span>\u00a0accommodation option as well<\/span><\/span>, with internet and bills included<\/span><\/span>\u00a0– \u00a391 a week<\/span><\/span>. Also, by<\/span><\/span>\u00a0staying there the university gives you a free bus pass, so public transport in and around Swansea and other parts of South Wales is completely\u00a0<\/span><\/span>FREE!\u00a0<\/span><\/span>This came in handy when me and some other students had to travel to the student village by bus after being dropped at Singleton campus. The Student Village itself is quite sizeable and houses hundreds of students. Each house has three floors and three flats on each floor with seven rooms<\/span><\/span>, a kitchen and a bathroom<\/span><\/span>\u00a0\u2013 though some smaller buildings only have 2 flats on a floor<\/span><\/span>. There is also a Library up the hill, a basketball court and a\u00a0<\/span><\/span>launderette. <\/span><\/span>I shared a flat and a house with other exchange students; I met one of them on my arrival when he offered to carry my suitcase up the stairs as <\/span><\/span>my\u00a0<\/span><\/span>flat was on the third floor.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Quick note: there are no lifts in the student village but accommodation buildings at both Bay and Singleton campuses have them.<\/span>\u00a0If you exchange for a\u00a0<\/span>year<\/span>\u00a0you\u2019re more likely to get on-campus accommodation.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n