Hi! My name is Miya Bound and I am currently studying abroad in Sydney, Australia. I am a senior majoring in marketing and supply chain management and I chose the GBI Sydney program because I felt that it would be a unique and exciting place to finish up my last few credits before I graduate. During my time at Pitt, I also participated in the Haller Global Honors Fellowship and the GBI London program and while I loved both of those experiences and would highly recommend them, I am excited to be living and studying in a country with a very different culture and climate. I started this program with little knowledge of Australia or its history, so one of my main goals for the semester is to learn as much as I can about the country through my Australian History and Analyzing and Exploring Sydney courses. Another goal I want to achieve in my free time is learning how to surf!
I am taking four classes in Sydney including Australian History, Analyzing and Exploring Sydney, International Economics, and Intercultural Communication. The CAPA center in Sydney is a 5-minute walk from where we are living, which is really convenient! There are about 60 people in the program, so we are all living in the same apartment building and the class sizes are relatively small which I have really enjoyed because it allows for more discussion and interaction during the lectures.
I live in an apartment with 7 other girls and it has been a lot of fun! Our building is located in Haymarket, right next to Chinatown and Darling Harbor, so there are always fun activities and events happening. The biggest cultural differences I have noticed between Australia and the U.S. include a greater focus on environmental sustainability and a more relaxed lifestyle. The streets of Sydney are remarkably clean, and everyone does their part by picking up litter whenever they see it. In addition, using reusable products such as bags, water bottles, and coffee cups is common practice here as well as using hand dryers instead of paper towels. There is also an emphasis on energy conservation, so you always have to turn on an outlet before you plug in a device and in our apartment building, you have to insert your building access card into a slot to turn on the lights and air conditioning, which prevents them from being left on while you are gone. When it comes to the more relaxed lifestyle, Australians tend to go about their daily routine at a slower pace and are less formal than in the U.S. For example, when eating at a restaurant, you will not get the check until you specifically ask for it because dining out is typically a longer experience here. In terms of formality, some of my classes start out with a more casual conversation with the professor before getting into the actual lecture for the day, which is nice because it builds more of a relationship between the professor and their students.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to study in Sydney and I am excited to see what the rest of the semester has in store.
Thanks for reading!
Miya
