On February 15, 2016, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime to Perth, Western Australia. This was the farthest I’d traveled and longest I had been away from home in my life. Although I go to school in a different state several hours away from home, it is a different story to be on the opposite side of the globe.
I did not really expect the culture in Australia to be that different. In my mind it would be like the United States but with different accents. For the most part, I was correct. Students went to classes daily, those who were employed worked 9-5 jobs, and the day-to-day hustle and bustle that I was used to back home was very similar. The main difference was transportation.
I am used to being able to drive wherever I want whenever I want thanks to my car. But when you are 10,000 miles from home, your car tends to get left behind. Now it's not like I have never used public transportation before, but it isn’t as common back home that it is in other countries. There is one small bus transport company in Burlington that has approximately 10 different lines and the nearest metro system would be in Boston.
Overcoming the hurdle of not having a car was tricky at first, but I learned to work my way around it. Google Maps and many bus and train line maps later, I was able to navigate myself pretty much anywhere in Perth and the surrounding suburbs. I even found myself at a beach 20 miles away and was able to get myself back just by surveying the connecting train lines. You should know that before I left the United States I was infamous for holding maps upside down and getting lost driving in any new place. While in Australia I was able to work on those skills and now am able to navigate in many different environments with ease. Studying abroad helped me learn how to focus and analyze in ways I never thought possible.
Another experience that I learned is to take pride in my work and privilege to be able to attend school. The way my college works is your classes put a lot of grading weight into attendance and participation and less weight on final and midterm exams. In Australia, I only had two classes with 10% left in your grade for attendance. The rest of your grade was either split between the midterm and final or a couple of essays. This was completely foreign and an absolute shock when I read the syllabus. I remember my jaw dropping when I read that the final was worth 50% of my grade in one class.
This made me evaluate my study habits and how I applied myself in class. I moved from small discussion-based classes of no more than 20 students, to lecture halls filled to the maximum capacity of 400-500 students. I found that I needed to take extensive notes and read the textbook deeply because asking questions during a lecture was nearly impossible. I learned how to teach myself instead of letting someone else do it for me and what ways I could really get the material to make sense and stick in my mind.
I know this account of my study abroad experience is mainly academically focused, but I also learned many lessons while also having fun.
While camping in the outback I learned how to adapt without everyday luxuries, such as cell phones or many necessary luxuries as well, such as running water. During the two week camping trip I found how to make the most of problem-solving whether it be climbing through gorges and figuring out how to “spider crawl” for the first time, or combating seasickness and helping my friends with theirs while snorkeling with whale sharks. Even my fun moments taught me valuable lessons.
Study Abroad Experience
The other part of taking pride in my privilege to be able to attend school came from the lack of grading in attendance. Australia has some of the most beautiful weather I have ever seen in my life. Warm sunny days, thousands of beaches to explore, and breathtaking wildlife. It made sitting in a lecture discussing sea snails almost torturous on some days. From this, I learned discipline. That if I worked hard and attended my lectures, I would be able to go out and have fun during my free time. I watched many of my friends skip out on their lectures and struggle to stay afloat with the material when it came time for exams. Yes, they may have had more time to frolic in the beautiful weather and have fun, but the main purpose of studying abroad is to study in a different country.
I have been able to apply this discipline to my school and work life back home. I take pride in my work making sure to make it my best and also manage my time efficiently so I am not wasting other time that could be used for a different project.
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