Peter Busch, Global Business Institute: Sydney Spring 2024
A significant challenge I faced while abroad was adjustment to life on the program. I faced a combination of culture shock and homesickness while abroad in Sydney, and it took me almost a month and a half to get through it. Adjustment wasn’t something I had anticipated as a challenge prior to the program either; I’d been abroad before my time in Sydney and faced similar challenges in the past. I felt that adjustment would be easy this time around, but I misjudged my abilities and struggled for a while. Ultimately, I adjusted with the help of my roommates and some self-reflection.
To better understand the challenges I faced with cultural adjustment, it’s useful to understand where I was mentally as a student during the transition period to life in Australia. I studied abroad during the second semester of my junior year, and the semester prior to going abroad was intense. As a business student, the first semester of junior year is filled with internship interviews and some of the most difficult classes the business school has to offer. Working from 8 AM to 10 PM wasn’t unusual for some of my weekdays during the semester. This being said, the shift in workload from the beginning of junior year to my time in Australia was significant. While I did have significant academic work to complete during my time abroad, the work was more sporadic than consistently intense. I also had more time to explore the world around me, leaving me with less structure in my days. The extreme drop in intensity left me lost during some days of the program, and without work to occupy me I started to feel the effects of homesickness. Luckily, I had seven amazing roommates to help me adjust to life abroad.
The advice I would give to students facing similar challenges is to relax. Most of the problems I faced with adjustment were the result of me thinking too far into things. It’s important to embrace the moment and build relationships with those around you while abroad. My one regret from the program is not taking the time to get to know each of the people on the program sooner. The last few weeks of my time in Australia were the best of the entire program because I was able to enjoy them with my colleagues. If you take the time to build relationships with your peers early, adjustment will be easy.
[Pictured above is me (on the far right) with my seven awesome roommates!]
Leave a Reply