Excitement for Study Abroad
Written by: Adam Lesniak
Location: Australia
Study abroad is a unique experience. It allows students to study courses for their degree overseas and in different programs or at different institutions. Based on this alone, there’s already some sort of excitement factor. As I prepared for my upcoming abroad experience in Australia, there have been a multitude of things that I am looking forward too. Rather it be the vastly different culture and food, the different education system and learning style, or getting to meet new people, this trip has all sorts of reasons that ring excitement in my mind.
Culture: While Australia speaks English, the culture is vastly different and something I am deeply looking forward to exploring and living within. The Aussies are vastly known for abbreviating many words to shorten the context of sentences. Some of these words/phrases are “arvo”, “yeah nah”, “nah yeah”, “Straya”, and “brekkie”. Slang does seem to be quite popular and is something that I have tried to prepare for when trying to figure out what people may be saying. Another aspect of their culture that excites me is the different kind of food available. From seafood to classic Aussie dishes like meat pies, the different types of cuisine definitely intrigues me as I explore what Australians truly indulge on.
Education Style: This one may surprise people, but the Australian higher education style is vastly different. I’ve heard that it steers away from a typical American education that involves lectures, tests, homework, and memorization. Instead, I’m told that it focuses on the application of actually putting into work what it is that you are learning about. It’s also vastly different in the sense that all my classes have lecture, and what we would refer to as “labs” in the states. This is a difference in the sense that in the past, only the more generalized classes I had required big lecture halls. The last difference is that my final exam period for overseas is spread out over a month. This time is allocated to working on your final, preparing, etc. This is a huge difference as I’m quite used to the standard “finals week” at Western.
New People: Getting to meet new people is always exciting. Having the ability to connect and make friends with Australians is something that I’m looking forward to. It will definitely be a different change, and one that I think will benefit me greatly. I know that these people will have had different experiences then I have had in the past, and I’m looking forward to meeting and connecting with them!
Melbourne: Melbourne is a city that has intrigued me. I first came to know the city due to it hosting the annual Australian Open in tennis. Just based off of the research I have done, it seems like the city has much to offer! I am looking forward to studying at a university so close to such a trendy city. Melbourne seems to have much culture and character, and I hope to soak all of that in. Ways of doing this would be by visiting many landmark locations like the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, Flinders Street Station, and Melbourne Park to name a few. While there are too many things to do to name, these are a few that excite me, and that I look forward to seeing in person
Categories: Australia, Differences, Adventure