Heaps Good

I'm glad to have studied abroad at the University of Wollongong. Academically, courses felt more focused on brute memorization than deeper comprehension compared to my home uni, but with that said, I still learned a lot from my courses. I particularly enjoyed INDS150 as I had never known about the struggle of Aboriginal peoples prior to studying abroad. What truly made my Australian experience memorable was the UOW social scene. It was easy immersing myself in Australian culture as well as to meet people of different backgrounds, both from different countries and from parts of the US, where I am from. A lot of that immersion is attributable to my dorm life in International House. I was able to get extremely close to friends from New England, Texas, Korea, Miranda, Wagga Wagga, India, Iran... the list goes on. One of my most memorable moments of culture shock was when I attended a birthday party for a dorm mate's high school friends and immediately realized I was the only American in a dorm room full of Aussies. It was the day I had my first piece of Fairy Bread, when people asked me if I could sound like Kim Kardashian, and when I learned the drinking song "True Blue." Though Australian youth culture is a bit different from American college life, I did not feel like an outsider for long. The people I met were welcoming and just as interested in my background as I was their's. I also loved the UOW Buddy program. My buddy, originally from Malaysia, helped me understand the Australian grading system and find some of the best Asian restaurants between Wollongong and Sydney. Overall, I am so grateful for the people I met during this trip as they helped me navigate through Uni and the surrounding cities, and made my study abroad experience indubitably memorable.