Hello Everyone,

My name is Logan Ryan, and I’m currently a Junior at Pitt studying Finance, Economics, and International Business. On campus I’m one of your International Student Ambassadors, and I am beyond excited to share my global experiences with you from nearly halfway across the world in Sydney, Australia! This semester, I’m participating in our Global Business Institute program in partnership with CAPA, and it’s been just over two weeks since my arrival “Down Under”. Despite only being here for such a short amount of time, I’m already making progress on my goal of cultural immersion into my new home for the next few months. I’ve been exploring various neighborhoods, trying new food, talking to locals, and taking advantage of opportunities in which I get to network with professionals around the city. 

Although this may be too soon to say, Sydney has to be one of my favorite cities I’ve been to thus far in my life. The accommodation we were placed into is located right in the heart of Chinatown in Haymarket, and I don’t think we could have gotten any more lucky in terms of a location to live. We are within not only a 5 minute walk of our classes at the university UTS, but also surrounded by a surplus of food options as well as only a short distance away from Darling Harbour, my favorite spot to go on runs. The apartment I live in consists of 4 doubles, so we have 8 people total along with 4 bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. The two friends from Pitt I traveled here with and I got very lucky with the rest of our roommates, all of whom are from Minnesota and we get along great!

This semester, I am taking three business classes in addition to the part time internship offered through the Global Business Institute program. All of the classes I am currently taking are assisting with the completion of my certificate in International Business, which should be finished at the end of this semester. The internship I was placed into is with a real estate firm called Banna Property Group that owns, develops, and leases up retail property throughout Metropolitan Sydney. This has been a great experience so far, and I have already learned so much from my coworkers as I don’t have any experience working with the retail property type, only office space.

Upon reflecting on my time here so far, spending time at Manly Beach, a cruise around Darling Harbour, going on runs to the Sydney Opera House, and trying a new cafe nearly every morning, there is still so much I am yet to see. It truly is hard to compare Sydney to any place I’ve been to before, as it is so different in many aspects. The cultural differences are intriguing in comparison to what I’m used to and what is considered “normal” back in New Hampshire and Pittsburgh. Whether this be the way individuals act in public, how they communicate with each other, or simply the workplace culture and how business is conducted. Every day I continue to learn something new, and I think it would be impossible to be looking forward to the next three months anymore than I already am.

Till next time!

Logan Ryan