The Land Down Under

Hanging out with my kangaroo friend, Freddie,
at Pebbly Beach in Bateman's Bay

So far, I have written about why you study abroad and factors to consider when deciding where to go. I thought now could be a good time for me to share a little bit of my experience in studying abroad because who wants to listen to someone who hasn’t actually lived the experience they are promoting? Here’s my story, which I could talk about for hours and hours! :)

Canberra is about 3 hours from Sydney and 7 hours from Melbourne.
Keep in mind Australia is about the size of the continental US!

Canberra, Australia

I studied abroad in Canberra, Australia (which is actually the capital of Australia) during Fall 2012 (our Fall, their Spring due to the season difference). Canberra is not located on the coast like most Australian cities.  It is about 3 hours from Sydney and 7 hours from Melbourne. The school I attended was the University of Canberra (UC), which had about 12,000 students.  

                                                                          

                                                                        On-Campus Living

Apartments I lived in while abroad!

 I lived in the on-campus residences, which Aussies call “Ressies.” I was fortunate enough to live  in an apartment with 5 other Australian students, which made my experience that much better since I became so close with students from the Australian culture! I lived with a mixture of males and females, which was extremely different from my previous housing experiences. While I was at first hesitant about this, I came to absolutely LOVE having the mixture of genders. It has been 2 years, and I still occasionally talk to some of my housemates. They were definitely extremely helpful for me in making the most of my experience abroad as they could tell me about the Australian culture, take me to do local things that maybe weren’t as touristy, and just give me travel advice! 

Center of the University of Canberra

Classes

Classes, or ‘uni’ as Australians say, were so different from home. Each class met twice a week, once for lecture (think about our large lecture halls) and once for ‘tutorials,’ which are smaller sub-sections of students from your lecture. I took 4 classes, and I only had 3 or 4 exams my entire semester. I had to do mostly applied and case study papers (I was taking all psychology courses), which was different from what I was used to at home. Their grading system was also very different, and professors graded things much harder than in the US. I could make an 80 on something in Australia and it would be an ‘A’ in the US, so it all kind of evened out though!

"Koala"-ty time with this cute koala 

Getting Around Canberra and Traveling

One of my huge worries when I decided to study abroad was how I would get around when I got there. Luckily, between the Canberra public transportation and my housemates, I never had a huge problem getting places. The mall (which included a grocery store) was about a 15 minute walk, so I could easily walk there (and made my housemates come pick me up instead of carrying everything back)! I also found Australia to be an easy place to travel around, as I managed to make it to several places I wanted to see! Some of my trips included Sydney, Melbourne, Cairns (which is where the Great Barrier Reef is), Cape Tribulation, Uluru (The Outback of Australia), and Bateman’s Bay (a small town on the coast). I also managed to make it over to New Zealand after classes and that was super awesome!

Friends!

My travel buddies! From left to right:
Me, Katie (Maryland), Anna (Tennessee), Mandy (Canada), and Shelby (Kansas)

The best thing that came from studying abroad was the friends I made! I traveled to several places with the same few people, and we all developed such a tight bond. I still talk to several of my friends I met in Australia on a regular basis-and some of them, I still talk to everyday. It’s amazing the connection we formed, but I guess that is what happens when you’re all in a foreign country and ready to go on all the adventures you could ever imagine. Since coming back, I have been to Kansas, California, and Canada to visit friends I met! I’ve had 4 people come visit me in Tennessee, and I think that shows the bonds I formed with my friends there. I also met my best friend while in Australia, and she just happened to be from Tennessee as well, so we now have weekly Skype dates that we refer to as “Team Tennessee Night.” Seriously, I just cannot imagine my life without the people I met while abroad!

While writing this, I have realized how hard it is to put my experience into such few words. It was the most life-changing and best experience of my life. It’s been 2 years, and I still think about my time abroad every day. It is definitely an experience I will cherish for the rest of my life!

Interested in Knowing More?!

*If you’re interested in having an awesome study abroad experience, then let us know! E-mail the WIU study abroad office at studyabroad@wiu.edu or call the office at 309-298-2504! You can check out additional information on our website as well! Our website is: http://www.wiu.edu/studyabroad 

*If you are interested in hearing more about my own experience in Australia, feel free to check out my personal blog from my time abroad at http://beasedownunder.blogspot.com/!