Why did you study abroad with GlobaLinks at the University of Queensland?
Rachel: I decided to study abroad with GlobaLinks at the University of Queensland (or UQ as they call it there) because someone else from my home college had studied there, loved it, and had done well. I go a very small college in the states with only 1,000-2,000 students.
I knew that I wanted to experience a complete shock from what I am used to and once I learned someone else from my small home college was able to tackle 44,000 students at UQ and huge lecture halls, then I knew I could do it, too. I also loved that GlobaLinks provided a weeklong orientation when we first arrived in Australia. I went by myself and didn’t know anyone or what to do, and through this orientation I met new people and did amazing things, like go snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef! (Yes, I saw Nemo!) We also went to a rainforest, held a koala in a wildlife centre and saw kangaroos up close and personal.
What made your study abroad experience unique and special?
Rachel: I have to be honest and first say that I went abroad to Australia because my parents wanted me to go study abroad in London and then come visit me. I knew right away that I wanted this experience to be me on my own with no visits from anyone I knew, being an adventurer and learning to become independent. I chose Australia because it was the farthest away I could get from the USA, and also because I didn’t know that much about it.
All I knew was Finding Nemo the movie took place there, Crocodile Hunter was from there and Heath Ledger (from Batman: The Dark Knight and 10 Things I Hate About You) was from there too. Okay, so I may have chosen Australian on very superficial levels (hot guys, good movies and far, far away from my parents), but it ended up being a really wonderful adventure.
At first, I was very homesick, which was surprising. I’ve been away to summer camp for about nine or ten years and never had a problem and I go to college about 5 hours from home and also never had a problem. However, I think it was the fact that I was struggling to make friends at first and I had no idea where I was going half the time (I think the bus drivers thought I was really annoying, asking them questions all the time of which way they were going!) that made me homesick for familiarity. Once I made friends, joined a few clubs at uni and settled into my classes and living situation, though, I had a great time.
I chose UQ because it was very different from my home college life. As I mentioned above, I go to a small college with a very discussion based classroom setting and it is a mostly all girls school (we became co-ed in 2007). I really wanted to immerse myself in the Australian culture so I decided to go to UQ (University of Queensland) because it had 44,000 students and was focused on research science and medicine, neither of which are my specialties.
I am an English major, which meant, to my surprise, my classes and lectures at UQ were smaller than I expected – the size ranged from anywhere between 100 to 80 students in a lecture and then about 20 to 15 students in a tutorial (which is a discussion based part of the course). I also lived in the center of Brisbane in an area called South Bank with 5 other girls from my GlobaLinks program in an apartment complex. At first I was upset that I wasn’t on campus at UQ in a dorm (I really wanted to be immersed with Australians as much as possible), but then I realized what an advantage living in South Bank was.
South Bank was a 15-minute walk from the main city of Brisbane, which means lots of different shops and restaurants to explore (my favorite is Pancake Manor, a 24 hour pancake restaurant) and we lived so close to many wonderful museums and the QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Centre). I went there once and saw Wicked the musical; it was so much fun! We also were very close to the train station, which made it easy to get to the airport or different parts of the state.
I also went on a wonderful trip for my “spring” break (it was really autumn at the time but it was April/Easter break) to New Zealand for 10 days. I traveled around the South island of New Zealand with a tour called TopDeck (I really recommend them!) and we got to go to a sheep farm, see beautiful mountains, go hiking on a glacier, and stay in different areas. One of the places we stayed in first was a really nice town called Otago. I actually recently saw a clip in the new Lord of the Rings movie where they filmed there – it was so cool to tell my friends here in the States that I had been there and it looked EXACTLY like I remembered it
One thing I really remember from that trip is that I went skydiving. I am not terrified of heights but I definitely do not like falling, but I decided to do it anyway. It was my birthday present to myself, and it ended up being one of the best experiences of my life. I wasn’t nervous being in the little plane, but it was a little scary that I was the second person to go. I saw the first girl and her instructor jump out of the plane and disappear.
Falling and tumbling into the sky, for me, was a very scary experience because you can’t control your movements until about 60-70 seconds later. You’re supposed to open your eyes when falling but I was too scared; I kept them shut until we came to a lull and then opened them. Seeing the New Zealand town of Queenstown like that was AMAZING. The sky was so blue, the mountains looked incredible and I couldn’t believe that I had once been one of those tiny, tiny people I could barely make out on the ground.
I also joined some clubs at uni and made friends through that as well as classes. I really advise joining a lot of clubs on campus while abroad; it helps you connect with other students: Australian and international. I really tried to make friends with Australians because I wanted to see what their culture was like. I ended up making some really wonderful friends from my writing courses and the clubs I was a part of, and finding out that they’re not so different from us.
I went out for pancakes at 4 in the arvo (afternoon), talked about my favorite movies and television shows, and I had sleepovers, basically typical things I do here. I do have to admit I ate kangaroo – one of my Aussie friends Emma told me I had to try it, and even though I was a little skeptical (I saw kangaroos on the orientation trip we took with GlobaLinks and also in the wild when I went to Sydney), I did it. I have to admit that kangaroo more or less tastes like beef except with a taste I can’t exactly describe.
Besides Sydney and New Zealand, I also made it to Melbourne and many of the coastal beaches on the East Coast. I had a great time, traveling, getting lost, meeting up with friends and discovering new cities and towns.
I think what made my trip to Australia special was that I proved to myself that even though I was scared and sometimes alone, I made it through 5 months of living in a country that was so far from home.
I included a photo below, which is on this bridge right when you walk into the city of Brisbane. What you are looking at is South Bank, where I stayed. I spent a lot of my time at this spot just looking back at where I lived and feeling the sun on my face. It was such a peaceful view for me and it was a constant reminder I was here and doing great things even if sometimes it was hard to be away from home.
How has this experience impacted your future?
Rachel: This trip has impacted me in ways that I probably can’t even put into words or explain. While I don’t feel like I came back a totally different person (a lot of my friends from my home college studied abroad and said that they did), I think studying abroad in Australia changed me for the better. I am more independent. I am also more aware of what goes in Australian politics and their racism issues.
I took a course on Aboriginal Issues, a sociology elective, and I learned so much about the racial tension between the Aborigines (the natives) and the “white” Australians. I think that as Americans, we are often so wrapped up tightly in our own bubble that we forget about other countries. Australia is definitely one of them. For example, did you know the prime minister of Australia is a woman named Julia Gillard? She is the first woman prime minister of Australia, which is pretty awesome if I say so myself.
I also think I came home having a serious appreciation for cheddar cheese (I don’t like “American”/Kraft cheese so imagine my excitement when wherever I went in Australia, I got to get cheddar! On my burger! On my sandwich! It was awesome.), and Tim Tams, which are the most addicting, amazing biscuits (cookies). I brought home 5 packages and that was not enough. They don’t make them here (okay, that’s a lie – Pepperidge Farm makes a “version” of Tim Tams but its not the same at all), so I really miss them. I did find an Australian candy bar in the international grocery store here, which was really exciting and made me just the tiny bit homesick for Australia.
One of the greatest things I’ve found about coming home after studying abroad is that people are really eager to talk to you about your experiences. I have to have an internship to graduate my college and one of the first questions I was asked in many of my interviews was about my time studying abroad in Australia. I can’t say enough positive things about it and it is definitely a conversation starter.
I recommend that people go abroad because I think no matter how long you go for (a week, two weeks, a month, three months, five months, a year), it is an eye-opener. I had no idea of the issues Australia was having and if it weren’t for my Australian Literature class, I never would have read some of the most famous Australian writers. Just by looking at the coins and paper money they use is totally different than ours. Studying abroad is a life-changing event. I’m sure my family and friends can elaborate more on how I’ve changed since I got back, but one thing is for sure...sometimes I still wake up and think I’m in Oz! ;-)
Read more about Rachel's time in Australia on her blog: Rachel's Australian Adventures!