Student Journals: AIFS in Sydney, Australia

Allison Quick
Drake University
Macquarie University, Australia

Taken from the Macquarie Globe

I will always remember my last few weeks before travelling to Australia for the semester.

There was a mix of excitement and anticipation. But also a rush of stress as I said goodbye to my friends and family for the next five months, and gather everything I needed to bring.

I remember wondering, despite what everyone else who had studied abroad had told me, if it would be worth it. If I would miss out on things happening at home, or get too homesick to enjoy my time here.

It didn’t take more than the first week to realise that it was going to be a great experience.

Through my abroad program with the American Institute for Foreign Study I spent the first 10 days with host families in Fiji. It started to sink in how far away from home I really was, and I began to realise that this is going to be a once in a lifetime experience.

While the culture shock in Sydney was much less intense, living here was also an exciting adjustment. Coming from a Midwest city in the United States, the main reasons I had chosen to come to Sydney was to be in an English speaking country, in a major city, but also a laid back environment with nice weather and close to the coast.

All of these reasons proved to make Sydney a great choice. I enjoy living on campus at the Macquarie University Village, but also getting the chance to experience the city life on the weekends.

Macquarie is very accommodating to international students. I have enjoyed the classroom environment, especially the small class sizes of tutorials.

Besides the obvious things that a semester abroad here gives you - the chances to be integrated in a different culture, travel, and meet people from Australia and from around the world. And something I didn’t necessarily expect, gaining a stronger sense of independence.

Being on your own and completely away from people and places you are familiar with forces you to be self sufficient in a new way than university at home.