Bryan School Study Abroad Program
Kate Maultsby
Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
I decided that I wanted to study abroad even before I knew what college I was going to; luckily I chose a school with an amazing exchange program. I wanted to study abroad to expand my knowledge of another culture, my only problem was that I did not speak a foreign language, but that was not going to hold me back. There are several different countries in the study abroad program without a foreign language requirement. I chose Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. I had the most remarkable experiences and I made some absolutely extraordinary friends. It was the single best decision of my life!
Accommodations
I stayed in Macquarie University Village, which was just a five minute walk from campus. They are five bedroom apartments, and we had our own bathrooms. My apartment was really nice and I loved my roommates. Life in “The Village” was amazing I had all kinds of neighbors. There were South Africans, Norwegians, and of course great Aussies! It was a very welcoming place. Our Brazilian neighbors were constantly having barbecues that would bring the entire apartment complex together to socialize. When I went abroad, I expected to learn about Australian culture but by staying in “The Village”, I was able to not only learn all about Australian culture but also Brazilian, South African, Norwegian culture!
Classes
The structure of the classes in Australia was different than the classes I had taken at UNCG. You go to class once a week for a lecture, that may last 2-3 hours and depending on the course you could have a tutorial. I took Principles of Marketing, International Business, and Human Resource Management. I only had a tutorial for Human Resource Management which was only an hour long and gave me some good one-on-one time with the teacher’s assistant to help explain material that was unclear to me in the lecture. Attendance is not taken in lectures but is in tutorials and my grades where completely dependent on one group project and a final exam. You must be able to self-motivate if you want to do well in your courses.
Traveling
Two days after I arrived, we had an orientation trip, which took us up the coast to see some of the most astonishing scenery I have ever seen. The great thing about the structure of the courses was that it allowed me a lot of time to travel because I only had class Monday to Wednesday. I went down to Melbourne for a long weekend with a group of friends. I also went up to Cairns where I snorkeled around the Great Barrier Reef and then went skydiving over it! On our way back to Sydney from Cairns we stopped in Byron Bay for a few days which was the greatest little surfer town. There are so many places to go and you have to take advantage of it.
Advice
- Make sure you pack for the opposite hemispheres weather (i.e. its summer down there when its winter here!)
- Make sure you travel. Have an idea of what you want to see before you leave, so that you can budget your money accordingly.
- Make local friends, its easy to stick with the other internationals but you’re there to meet people from that country.
- Don’t be afraid to ask people for help.
- Keep an open mind and experience as much as you can while you are there because before you know it you will be back at UNCG!