It almost feels as though my time in Sydney was a dream and I am finally waking up to reality. As I waited to board my plane to leave Australia, it wasn’t until I looked back on all my pictures to realize all the things I had done. I got to get up close and personal with wild animals (roos and koalas and dingos, oh my!), I explored stunning sights (Blue Mountains, Palm Beach, Taronga Zoo), traveled to a Bali, Indonesia, saw a ballet at the Sydney Opera House, relaxed on gorgeous beaches, and met so many interesting people. I would say that Australia exceeded my expectations in just how amazing of a place Sydney was to live. There were so many beautiful parks and playgrounds, talented street performers, and delicious restaurants; it only made sense why Sydney possessed such an outdoor culture.
Each day was drastically different from the next and that is what I enjoyed most about living in Sydney: there was always something to do. More and more I became familiar with getting around the city, which made it feel like home. Australia’s culture and way of life is very similar to that of the States. Although I experienced only a slight culture shock, I was able to observe what made Aussie’s different. Just from observing Aussie’s out and about, I learned of their humor and how they see the rest of the world.
Living in another country hundreds of miles away from home for three months, I learned and gained skills that enabled me to grow personally, academically, and professionally.
Personally:
Before coming to Australia, my personal goal was to put myself out of my comfort zone and experience as much as I could. It is fair to say that I have done and seen quite a lot in the 13 weeks of living in Sydney. Not only did I need to plan out my adventures throughout the week, I also needed to live independently and be responsible of the mundane tasks. Each Sunday I meal prepped so as to lower the time spent cooking throughout the week. I also needed to learn how to budget my spending on groceries and eating out. Prioritizing my time made me realize which parts of my life were truly important and what I wanted to focus on most. Consequently, I made a list of long-term goals using my prioritizing strategy that I hope to accomplish in the future.
Academically:
After completing International Marketing, Managing Global Supply Chains, and Analyzing and Exploring the Global City: Sydney, I gained more knowledge from a global perspective. I did not realize the extent it took in creating an international marketing plan to cater to the various cultures in the foreign markets. I also learned of how much influence the United States has on the rest of the world mainly in terms of economics and social issues. I would not have truly understood how globalized the world has become had I not seen the international impact and presence in Sydney.
Professionally:
Working at Espresso Communications has taught me a great deal about different work cultures and the factors that I would want when working in a company. The internship experience allowed me the inner workings of an Australian communications agency that dealt with international clients. Since the work structure was flat, I was able to learn and ask questions to all of Espresso’s employees from the CEO to account coordinators. I greatly appreciated learning more about the PR industry. I was given assignments that taught me the daily workings of a PR agency such as drafting cover notes. A lot of my tasks contained administrative work such as transcribing interviews, entering data, assisting with the daily digest, and creating coverage boards. I was also in charge of creating a six-month social media coverage presentation in collecting, analyzing, and inferencing data to make recommendations on how InnovationAus.com can increase its social media platforms. I hope to continue emerging myself in various work cultures so as to understand which environment I enjoy the most whether that be in corporate or working in a smaller agency. I am very appreciative of being apart of Espresso’s family and meeting such caring and talented people!
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I will be forever grateful to have lived in Sydney for three months. I always knew growing up that I wanted to study abroad in college and looking back now Sydney was everything and more than I could have ever dreamed. I have learned more about what makes me happy and where I might want to go in life, and I most likely would not have come to this epiphany as early as I did had I not studied abroad. Thank you to my family, friends, and Pitt for allowing me this opportunity that enriched my life!