- Overseas Experiences
- Jenna Varley - The Netherlands
- Calum Kippin - America
- Kavita Peterson - Japan
- Hayden Long - China
- Joanna Rosenweig - Spain
- Michelle Peters - China
- Amanda Mulcahy - India
- Ryan Maslem - United Kingdom
- Ranu Obaha - London
- Dr Kate O'Shaughnessy
- Luke Arnold
- Sophie Elizabeth Crouch
- A parent's perspective
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Joanna Rosenweig - Spain
Joanna Rosenweig from NSW talks about some of the great experiences she had studying in Spain and about the challenges she got through to make it a life changing experience.
Studying overseas can be daunting to consider – to be far away from home without the familiar comforts and friendships can seem very challenging. However, the personal rewards of an international study experience make it well worth while stepping outside your comfort zone.
In December 2005 I left to study in Leon, Spain for a year and returned home in February 2007. For the first half of the year I took an intensive Spanish course at the university language school and then for the second session of 2006 I took actual classes, in Spanish, at the Universidad de Leon. In Spain I took an anthropology class, a European history class and a teaching class. They were interesting classes that weren’t offered at my home university.
One of the highlights for me was taking the opportunity to travel as much as I could. I spent a week in Italy, a week in Greece, spent two Christmases in Germany and over the summer I took a train from Spain to Norway, stopping in France, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden on the way.
Aside from the travel, meeting so many other exchange students from various countries was a huge highlight for me. I formed some very special friendships, based on the shared unique experience of being on exchange together and now have friends (and free accommodation!) in the USA, France, Mexico, Italy and Spain.
Living in a country for an extensive period of time gives you the opportunity to really get a feel for the way life unfolds in that country. Living in Spain for more than a year gave me great insight into the Spanish way of life, and the differences between Spain and Australia. Some differences were great – the fact that the shops open until at least 9pm and the fact that our teachers at uni gave us the chance to re-do assignments and exams if we weren’t successful the first time (I thought it was too good to be true!).
And some took a lot of getting used to, for example the fact that the entire town shut down on a Sunday. It took me a solid few months to remember to do my grocery shopping before Saturday afternoon! Many a Sunday lunchtime was spent miserably eating plain pasta or whatever else I could scrounge from the cupboard!
I think the best part of going on exchange was the independence and confidence it gave me. If I can go to a foreign country where I don’t know anyone and barely speak the language, and successfully master the language, pass my university classes, do my grocery shopping, rent an apartment, make friends and create a life, I can do anything!
The biggest challenge was the language. I had learned Spanish for two years at uni before I left, but it felt like as soon as I landed on Spanish soil, every word I had ever learned left me when I most needed them! When I met some English speakers in my language class I jumped at the chance to befriend them. They are still great friends of mine.
I got homesick and lonely occasionally, but this passed. Email and phone calls helped hugely, and I tried to get as involved with uni life as possible, going on trips with the travel group, playing sport each week with some girls from class and generally trying to get out of the house. It usually worked. If it didn’t, watching movies in English usually did. Cheating, I know, but it made me feel like I was home.
Skills that I learned while on exchange will definitely help me in my career. One of my most embarrassing, yet satisfying experiences was having to do a presentation, alone, in front of my anthropology class. I had to read and analyse a text (in Spanish of course) and present my analysis to the class. I struggled with understanding the text, and writing a meaningful report. It was hard, but I did it and it was a great boost to my confidence.
Going on exchange was the best thing I have done yet. My experience taught me a lot about myself and other people, and like I said, if I successfully set myself up in another country, created a comfortable life there and dealt with the obstacles that I faced, I feel I am capable of handling any situation I may be faced with in the future.
This testimonial submitted by AIM Overseas and AXAN.