At the start of this experience I decided three goals, these were to have a wider understanding of how business may operate different in different countries and how working for these businesses may differ, gain a better understanding of the challenges of traveling solo and how to overcome some of them so I may be more willing to travel solo in the future and plan trips that may also help with various jobs in the future if I work in a career where travel is expected, and lastly I wish to be able to understand how universities in other countries may work differently than those in the United States especially over what will be their winter. I believe that I managed to obtain all of these goals and each in various ways. My first goal of understanding how businesses differ in countries such as Australia compared to the US, I learned that not only do business laws differ from country to country making businesses look and function differently, but Australia also has a very laid back culture where there is not much of a hierarchy in businesses. My second goal of overcoming challenges of traveling solo and being in another country for a long time, I managed to achieve by all of the experiences that I have managed to gain during this experience both with groups of people and also by myself. While by myself I’ve went to a lot of museums and interesting trips such as fishing. I have learned that it can be difficult and feel lonely when traveling solo or even with a group, especially at the current age where many people want to go out to clubs and loud venues. My last goal was to develop an understanding of international universities. I have learned about UNSW, University of Sydney, and UTS. Unlike the US, University in Australia is paid in one price for a degree, not per semester and these prices are a lot cheaper than US universities. They also have a four quarter system instead of semesters.
Some transferable skills I have managed to gain is more experience in Microsoft and Google software as well as Jira and Slack. Some soft skills that I have developed are project management, stress management, and organizational skills. These skills will hopefully allow me to complete future projects and be able to put myself above my competition when looking for a job in the future. Overall, I have learned a lot in my time in Sydney, I do wish I was able to do more during this experience the main struggle I faced though was that unlike the US, Australia is very much not 24 hours. Most places usually close by 5pm unless it’s a restaurant or bar.
