Lessons From Study Away

After almost four months in Australia, I have had the opportunity to get to know some great people and share some great experiences. It was interesting for me to interview people about myself and to hear what they think defines me.

The first person I interviewed brought up a story about when we were driving to the movies. I was the person driving, and it was the first time I was driving in Australia so I had to adjust to different traffic laws, different steering wheel placement, and driving on the opposite side of the road. My friend told me that I seemed very calm for driving in such a foreign place and unusual circumstances. One thing he noticed was I was very cautious and aware the whole time. Overall, he said that he noticed I was a cautious person and there are other stories he could think of where this was case as well. Many of the readings we read for this course reflect what it's like to be a study abroad student in a completely different environment, how that can be uncomfortable, and how that stems a lot from differences in culture. In my opinion, being cautious is definitely a product of being in a new, unfamiliar environment. Being aware of my soundings and trying to pick up on social and cultural clues in a country I'm not familiar with, requires awareness and caution to some extent. It would be interesting for me to ask the same question to some of my friends in the U.S. to see if they say the same thing, or if the trait my friend observed was mainly a product of culture shock.

The other person I interviewed grew up in Townsville, the city the JCU is in. When I asked him about a specific story about me that shows some of who I am as a person, he brought up a story about when we went hiking. We tried to find a place in the hills and woods surrounding Townsville to hike, but ended up not finding any trails. I suggested we just pull off to the side of the road and bush-walk to the top and around the a hill which looked particularly appealing. There was a large rock-face that looked out onto the city and from the top you could see the ocean. He mentioned that it seemed I wanted to get the most out of the experience even if there was no designated trail. By rock-climbing without a trail, I was still trying to experience hiking in an environment I'm not familiar with at all. Looking back on the experience, I'm glad we went for the hike anyway because if I didn't I would have regretted not taking the opportunity. Most of the readings for this course have included some kind of expectations study abroad students have. Before I left for the trip I expected to hike but I didn't think I would just decide to bush-walk through Australian forest to get to a beautiful view. However, one of the reasons why I decided to do it is probably because as my time here is slowing slipping away, I feel like there are so many things I have yet to experience. Since I haven't been bush-walking before, I figured why not try something that might be slightly out of my comfort zone. 

Overall, it was interesting to hear what the friends I have made here have to say about who I am as a person based on things I've done here. It would be very interesting to ask the same questions to my friends at Allegheny to see if they match up, or if there are certain traits that emerge or become amplified from being in an unfamiliar place.