University Life Down Under

After leaving home in the United States for the first time and travelling half way around the world to Australia, the past three weeks have been overwhelming. I started my journey in Sydney where I climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, visited the Opera House, visited Featherdale Wildlife Sanctuary, and learnt how to surf. There was never a dull moment in the four days I spent in Sydney. The change in setting from Sydney to Townsville was refreshing. I was excited to experience Northern Queensland, but the reality of starting University life was daunting. 

There are numerous differences between James Cook University and the University I attend at home, Quinnipiac University. James Cook University has double the amount of students and the campus is at least three times bigger than my university at home. Assimilating to all aspects of being an exchange student including: University life, housing, courses, and cultural differences has been challenging, yet incredibly rewarding. Australia is an amazing country and I intend to learn inside as well as outside the classroom. 

Last week I started classes and the structure of the classes vary greatly from Quinnipiac University. At James Cook University, I have a two hour lecture and a one hour tutorial for each class. Tutorials are for class discussions and interactive learning, at Quinnipiac University all the classes are discussion based and I have class for a total of two and a half hours a week. The class structure at James Cook University has been the hardest adjustment.

 From the four classes I am enrolled in, JN1001: The Journalist and Society is the most structurally similar to my classes at home. The first lecture was interactive, we interviewed a fellow classmate and wrote a short story about them. Journalism in the United States and in Australia have some similarities and differences. In the United States I was taught to use the Associated Press Stylebook while writing journalism pieces, but in Australia the MLA format is used. There are a few words spelt differently in Australia than in the United States. In Australia there is social media, such as twitter and blogger involved in my journalism class and in the United States I only wrote journalism stories. The interviewing techniques and the goals of journalists are similar in Australia and the United States. 

I am excited to compare and contrast the journalism class I’m taking in Australia and the journalism class I took in the United States. I look forward to writing journalism stories, interviewing people, and learning about Australia media.