Studying in Australia is a great experience but for international students, particularly those from countries where English is not the dominant language, it can get a little tough, but, to help make the process a little easier, we’ve put together a guide that covers food, religion, cultural support and language.
Food
Good quality Indian food is available in Melbourne, ranging from local family restaurants that produce the classic butter chicken and rogan josh etc, to high-end eateries like Tonka, which are more expensive but offer a refined take on the cuisine, like duck korma with blood plums. Indian grocers are also available where you can stock up on staples so you can cook at home.
Religion
Most Indian Australians are affiliated with the Hindu religion. At the 2016 census, Hinduism was the fifth most practiced faith (behind Christianity, No Religion, Islam and Buddhism) in Australia with 440,300 people.
Cultural support
With record numbers of Indian students choosing to study Down Under, there are plenty of support networks available. These include the Federation of Indian Student Associations in Australia (FISA), as well as institution-specific groups such as University of New South Wales’ Indian Culture Association and the Indian Students’ Association at the Australian National University.
Language
There are a variety of Indian dialects spoken by people in Australia, including two that featured in the top 10 languages spoken in the country. Hindi and Punjabi being amongst the top ones on the list. Other languages to feature on the list included Tamil, Bengali, Malayalam, Gujarati, Telugu, Marathi, Kannada, Konkani, Kashmiri, Oriya and Sindhi.