September 28, 2012

Assalamualaikum and Hello,

Please pardon our long hiatus!  Catch up on our recent events here on our facebook page:  BSSMelb

Take care Friends,
BSSMelb 

February 24, 2012

BSSMelb 28th National Day Celebration

"Negaraku Brunei Darussalam"


Assalamualaikum and Hello everyone,

Happy 28th National Day "Negaraku Brunei Darussalam" !

To celebrate our 28th National Day, BSSMelb and our special guests would be most delighted if you would join us for this celebration.
Our Guest of Honour for the event is Yang Mulia Awangku Abdullah Bin Pengiran Haji Tengah, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Pengajian Tinggi), Ministry of Education. Our Guest of Honour will be accompanied by high officials of the Ministry of Education.

Early bird tickets will be sold until Thursday 1st of March 2012. The tickets cover entry and dinner.

For students around the Clayton vicinity, Izzat will be able to receive your payments at the Monash Clayton Campus on:
Tuesday 28th February 2012
Wednesday 29th February 2012
Thursday 1st March 2012

For students around the city, both Ummi and Kamy will be in the city to receive your payments after 5pm on:
Monday 27th February 2012
Tuesday 28th February 2012
Thursday 1st March 2012

Further details on the exact locations and times will be updated by this weekend.

Be sure to hurry as seats are limited! We look forward to seeing you soon.

Best Regards,
BSSMelb

January 23, 2012

Happy Chinese New Year!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

BSSMelb would like to wish our friends celebrating Chinese New Year, a wonderful and prosperous year ahead.  We hope this year of the dragon also brings you much good health and peace.  




"The dragon is the most auspicious and powerful of the 12 signs of the zodiac, one associated with high energy and prosperity. It's also the only mythical creature in the Chinese astrological stable that includes horses, rats and pigs. This year is considered especially auspicious because it is the year of the water dragon, something that happens once every 60 years."
(CBCNews Canada)

January 9, 2012

how to find accommodation.

Hello all,

Hopefully everyone, having their holiday (or those, like me, who have to stay on and continue doing work :() are doing well! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


So, as the new academic year (one of them that is, there is also a July intake) is approaching, new students will be coming into Melbourne. One of the most asked questions in our Facebook group is concerning accommodation. This post will focus solely on this so it can be referred to if anyone else asks about it.



Right, first time going away is hard. It is reasonable to panic but don't! There are a lot of options you can choose from in terms of accommodation;

1. Living with friends or family (that you actually know before you arrived in Melbourne)
2. Flat/House-sharing (where you share a place with other people looking for accommodation as well)
3. Living by yourself.

Also, please check your university's website for housing options. They will be able to provide a formal explanation on what to expect in terms of housing and rent. But if you have any doubts about the places they have suggested, please feel free to ask us. We might be able to give a more personal account of those places if one of us happens to have stayed at the said place.

There are a number of sites that you can check for houses.

for living by yourself or with your friends or family, there are real estate websites that lists down empty apartments (sometimes furnished/more often not) along with their prices so you will be able to choose between them.

some of those websites are:

http://www.realestate.com.au/rent

http://www.domain.com.au/?mode=rent

please make sure to search within Victoria - be it Melbourne, Caulfield, Carlton, Hawthorn, etc., depending on where you want to live. Most people choose to stay near their campus so transportation won't be that expensive. However, other people also choose to stay in the city (Melbourne) even when their campus is not based there because it has easier access to a variety of shops, entertainment and necessities.

To calculate the price per month for a 12 month lease is...

the price per week x 52 weeks (the weeks in one year) divided by 12 months.

so if the advertisement says that it is $600 per week, the calculation for one month's rent would be 600x52/12.

For house-sharing, there are a number of places you can check. Again, please check your university website's housing options as they might provide a flatshare system where you can find other people who are looking for housemates. For example, in RMIT (where i go), there is a housing site within the university website that allows me to check for those looking to share a place together.

Other places you can look for this is:

http://melbourne.gumtree.com.au/ (under flat share/house share)

Please be careful with these advertisements. Do not give any payments unless you have seen the place yourself and are sure that they are the actual tenants/owners of the place.

From personal experience, when i first got to Melbourne, I stayed at a hotel for a few days to give time for me to inspect for a place. Although this is a bit risky, rest assured, it can be done. Also, if you have friends or family staying in Melbourne, i'm sure they won't mind giving you shelter for a few days before you are able to get up on your feet (But please, ask first :P).

Anyway, that's all I can really think of at the moment. But any questions, please ask away on our Twitter or Facebook page.


Thanks!