As someone who has traveled a significant amount in their life, I did not find many aspects of my host culture incredibly hard to adapt to. That being said, the biggest difference between my host culture and my home culture would have to be the education system. The New Zealand education system is heavily exam-focused, where each paper that I took had maybe 2-3 assignments throughout the semester with a final worth 50-70% of my grade. I also found that the New Zealand education system requires a significant amount of deciphering and self-discipline that I have not experienced to the same extent in the U.S. For example, most of my lecturers did not have office hours, and assignments were not explained in great detail. The formality of education was also something that I had to adapt to. At the end of my time at the University of Otago, I learned that exams are incredibly serious in New Zealand universities, where a specific office, not related to the paper, proctors the exam, and the entire atmosphere mirrors standardized testing instead of course exams. The last difference relating to the education system would have to be their frequent use of hands-on and community learning, something that I would like to see more in U.S. colleges.
Although New Zealand education certainly works great for people who are good test takers, it is not my preferred way to learn. I enjoyed some aspects of the education system of my host culture, such as the use of the surrounding areas to facilitate hands-on learning. However, I prefer a system where one’s course success is not fully dependent on a single test. Starting at a new institution or taking a class from a new professor is always a bit challenging at first, but in the U.S, I feel like I have been able to quickly adapt to professorial changes after the first few assignments, something that was harder to do while I was abroad.
My experience living abroad definitely showed me that it is easy and normal to have misunderstandings and differences in opinion, but the way we respond to them is what truly matters. Something that my on-site TEAN host would often say to students was, “It’s not wrong; it’s just different,” which resonated a lot with me. There were times while abroad when I disagreed with the way of doing things because it wasn’t what I was used to, but it was a great experience for me to learn about different successful ways of accomplishing the same tasks. My experience abroad will help me be more accepting and freer-spirited like I have witnessed from many of the Kiwis that I had the opportunity to meet during my semester at the University of Otago
I think someone from my host culture would view my experience as valuable, which I agree with. Many people I met did not know the differences between my culture and theirs concerning the educational system, so we were able to teach each other about cultural differences. I would like to think that people from my host culture would recognize my determination to learn another education system by taking classes with people who know the university and are in their final year of university. The Kiwi university students that I met during my time abroad were very free-spirited but also dedicated and humbly accomplished in their studies, so I don’t believe that anyone judged me for any cultural slip-up that I may have made during my time abroad. Overall, I had an amazing experience studying and adventuring around New Zealand this past semester and would definitely recommend this experience to current and future Rollins students.
