As the semester here is coming to a close, I figured that I would just reflect on my semester here and the experiences that I’ve had and the differences between studying in America (and specifically Rollins) and studying in Australia. The first thing that I noticed from classes at least, is that compared to the states, classes and studies are much more independent than what I’m used to back in the states. At the University of Sydney, the classes are set up so there are two sections for each class, a lecture and a tutorial. The lecture is pretty self explanatory, there is just a lecture about the required readings from the previous week. The tutorials are composed of smaller groups of students from the lectures and are more similar to classes back home. There is a teacher and about 15-20 students per tutorial class and we have class discussions and go over the topic more in depth. Even though the tutorial classes are similar to classes back in the states it is still very different in terms of student/teacher relationships. I feel like back in the states teachers are very personable and have a closer personal connection to their students than I’ve noticed here. While the teachers are more personable than other countries/cultures like in Europe and Asia, it is still not the same. I feel like the approachable-ness is something that I missed a lot this semester in terms of communicating with them during their office hours and hours outside of class.
Apart from classes though, I’ve learned a lot about that it takes to live on my own. Because it’s very different “living on your own” at school back in the U.S. and living on your own in a different country. Pricing is different, the food is different, currency is different, customs are different, you have to be careful crossing the street again because cars drive on the different side of the road here and even though you joke about it you don’t actually want to test whether your insurance works or not. You also realize how far you are from home and your usual support system is. Despite the advances technology has made it’s different not having those people and resources at your usual beck and call. You have to rely on yourself and your own independence.
