Upon applying to study abroad in Australia, I was looking forward to not having to do much adapting once I landed in the country. I thought that because they speak English and I fit into the stereotype of what a typical Australian looks like, I will be fine! As soon as I was walking through the airport to retrieve my bags, I knew that I had been mistaken. People from so many different cultural backgrounds were walking around the airport. At first I thought, “maybe they are just here on vacation.” I grabbed my bags and went outside to find my Uber. After talking to the driver, I learned that he was from China and had moved to Sydney about 15 years ago. I arrived at my housing where I met up with the rest of my roommates and classmates. Following my arrival, we went on a walk around the neighborhood and to the school. I was very surprised by the extensive Asian population in the area. Granted, I am living in Chinatown. However, after asking professors and Google, I learned that Sydney is an incredibly diverse city, especially with people from Asian backgrounds. This is due to the proximity of Australia to Asia but also the middle class economic boom in Asia. This caused me to take a step back and realize that I have stereotyped Australia to blonde hair, tan, surfers. I hasn’t even considered that Sydney was such a diverse city. This has caused me to become much more aware of the cultural differences around me. I have talked to many different people from many different backgrounds, unlike anything I have done before due to the lack of diversity at home. Due to these huge differences in culture, I have found it difficult to find my community outside of my classmates. I don’t know much about Australia or the people living here. I have found it quite difficult to find people who I can bond with and share a common interest with. Along with this, as silly as it may sound, I am having a difficult time adapting to my living situation. I am living with 7 other girls in double roomed apartments. I haven’t had to share a room since freshman year, so I am finding ways to be a good roommate while attempting to find alone time at the same time. At first, I was having a very hard time with finding time for myself and things that I enjoy doing. I didn’t want to go anywhere without one of my roommates or do something unless someone else enjoyed doing it too. As I have been here for many weeks now, I have been able to get myself out there a bit more, whether it is going to a coffee shop to do homework or going on a walk next to the harbor. While there are difficulties to living abroad alone, there are also some great lessons and skills to be learned from it as well.
Adapting to Aussie
