staying in touch
Staying in touch with friends, friends and news of back home is important, and below we have listed some of the ways you can do this…
phoning home
mobile:
If you bring an unlocked mobile phone with you to Brisbane, there are plenty of places to buy sim cards for Australian phone providers. You can buy pre-paid credit on the phones from places all over the city including supermarkets, convenience stores etc.
skype:
If you have a computer with the internet and a microphone headset, skype is a great way to call anywhere in the world. Skype allows text, video and voice chat and if your friends and relatives have skype too you can call them for as long as you want.Skype can save you loads of money in keeping in touch.: www.skype.com
phone cards:
Using phone cards is generally around 80% cheaper than calling normally from a landline phone. Newsagencies and convenience stores sell a whole range of different cards – check out what’s on offer, and find the best one for the country you want to call.
international dialing codes:
To call an international number you need to use a combination of numbers before the phone number you want to call.Dial 0011 first then your international dialing code, followed by the phone number.
Find the international dialing code here
newspapers
Sometimes there is nothing better than reading the local paper from your country.The Brisbane City Council Libraries offer amazing services, and stock a huge range of international newspapers. If your paper is not available, speak to someone at the library and see if they are able to source it for you – whether in print, or online.
Find a library near you
Some local Brisbane and Australian newspapers include:
The Courier Mail http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/
The Australian http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
The Australian Financial Review http://www.afr.com/home/
multi-cultural media
In Australia you do not require a licence for TV, there are five free channels including:
The SBS – Special Broadcasting Service has television programs in many different languages. The weekly programs are listed on the website and in metropolitan newspapers.
multilingual radio stations
There is a huge selection of radio stations available in Brisbane that cater to all tastes, some of the most popular multilingual stations include:
- Community Radio 4CCR (FM) – 89.1 KHz>
- Chanel 9: www.ninemsn.com.au
- Radio 4EB (FM) – 98.1 KHz
- SBS Brisbane (FM) 93.3 MHz
The SBS – Special Broadcasting Service has television programs in many different languages. The weekly programs are listed on the website and in metropolitan newspapers.