William Luckettt
While studying abroad in Australia, I learned about many different customs specific to Australia. I found that getting used to cars and pedestrians travelling on the left side rather than the right. That only really affected me when I was crossing the road, but I still had to pay very close attention to avoid getting hit by a car. Since Australia is so similar to America, there were not a lot of customs or values that I had trouble getting used to. One thing that surprised me, though, was the overall respect that Australians have for nature and human rights. Australians are very conscious about the environment and how humans have an impact. For example, every toilet has a button where you can choose if you want to send more water into the toilet or less. There is also a long history of successful protests fighting for environmental rights. This was inspiring because I saw how change can happen through a passion for a cause. I also found it interesting how when I brought up the fact that Australians are more environmentally focused than Americans to Australians, they would respond with how they still have a lot of room to grow and that they are not as environmentally focused as you would think. But compared to the general American lifestyle, they are by a landslide. I would share meaningful conversations with other Australians about the difference in mindsets between Australians and Americans and how there needs to be more of a conversation about raising environmental awareness and that we can look to Australians as role models in helping us become more environmentally conscious.
Back in Australia, someone would view my experience as exciting and even feel jealous because of everything we did. The only reason why I say that is because while abroad, we did things that the average Australian would never do. We did things such as travel to Tasmania, and when I would talk with Australians, they told me they had never been there, considering it is just off the coast of South Australia. We also went on a camping trip with Aboriginal elders and made boomerangs and threw spears. Once again, when I told other Australiana about the trip, they explained that they had never done something like that. They would view my experience as jammed packed and something that really screamed “THE COMPLETE AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE!” When having these conversations, I realized how unbelievably grateful I am for these experiences.
Now that I have studied abroad, I have a better understanding of cultural differences and more patience for these differences. Despite living there for over four months, I still have a lot more learning to do in regard to learning about cultures. Sometimes I think if I went somewhere other than Australia or with a culture less similar to ours, I would have felt like I could have gained more knowledge about cultural differences, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t learn anything. After having many conversations with Australians about the environment, I feel more prepared to continue these conversations here in Florida.