Berkley Center

Prior to embarking on my Australian journey, I had many assumptions about what my experience was going to be like. I anticipated a society strikingly similar to the United States, sharing the same language and laws. It took me less than an hour upon my arrival to realize that this wasn’t the case.

After arriving in Australian after the torturous 24-hour journey, exhausted from jet lag and a lack of sleep on the plane, I nearly ended up as roadkill. As I was about to board a bus at the airport that would drive us to our apartments, I took a quick glance to the left before crossing the street, unaware of the vehicle that was driving directly at me from the right side. That was the first of many honks I would be receiving for the same mistake.

Nearly a month into my study abroad experience in Australia, driving on the opposite side of the road still poses a challenge for me, and I question whether I will ever be able to overcome this obstacle. For precautionary measures, I often look left, right, left, right, left, cross my fingers, and finally cross the street, still nervous that I might get hit. Although simply looking to the right before crossing would be sufficient, I do not trust myself and instead continue to practice my long ritual.

Aside from this predicament, I also struggle with what I would consider a significant language barrier between the United States and Australia, a challenge I was not anticipating. During the first few days here, while at the “uni” (what the Australians call the university), my friends and I got invited to a “barbie” through our program. We played it off like we knew what a “barbie” is, but it wasn’t until we arrived back home and Googled this word that we deciphered its true meaning: barbeque.

A similar encounter with Australian slang occurred when I received an email from a member of the international team at the university, who requested that I “stop by this arvo.” Yet again, this caused me to scratch my head. However, Google came in handy this time as well, and I soon discovered that “arvo” meant “afternoon.”

Apart from the difference in lingo, the Australian accent also presents a substantial challenge. Although the strength of the Australian accent varies among different people, I’ve found that Australians generally talk incredibly fast, and I often find myself asking people to repeat themselves. Unfortunately, this is rude to do in a class setting in which the professor is in the midst of a lecture. Luckily, a majority of the lectures at the University of New South Wales are posted online for further review.

I had, however, correctly anticipated Australians’ laid-back attitude, which appears notably in the university setting. For example, I have observed that many students arrive to classes late here, or even excused themselves from a class mid-lecture, and the professor doesn’t even acknowledge their tardiness or early departure.

Additionally, there are an astonishingly large number of people on the beaches each day of the week, and I have been told that Australians often skip work for a nice beach day or good surfing waves. I think this relaxed lifestyle greatly contributes to the overall friendliness of the Australian people, who are often sporting a smile and always willing to offer directions: two things that are sometimes hard to come by in America.

Despite the cultural barriers I’ve experienced, I was surprised to find that Australia’s pop culture is very similar to that of the United States. I first noticed this in the ride from the airport, as the radio blasted Rihanna’s hit single “We Found Love.” I had expected Australian pop culture to be drastically different from America’s, but this is very clearly not the case.

When my friends and I go out to bars and pubs at night, the music is entirely American. Additionally, with the exception of the national news, a majority of the television channels are American; even the national news channels often feature American stories. This lets me keep up with American headlines while I’m abroad; that is, as long as I can understand the strong accents of the news anchors.