Ryleigh Taylor '24

Ryleigh Taylor '24 studies International Studies and Political Science at Virginia Wesleyan. She studied in Parramatta, NSW Australia in the fall of 2023.

What made you choose the location you studied at? How did you pick your program?
I have always been interested in Australia due to many public figures that I followed when I was younger, hailing from there, so the country was on my radar. I wanted to choose a country in which I would be in a major city, not just a medium-sized city or a village, I could gain real experience for my majors by being in a cultural hub, and I wanted to live somewhere that had good public transport. Sydney fit those requirements completely. I didn’t necessarily seek out an English-speaking country, but I did end up in one which is also a plus.

How were the classes there different from the classes here?
University classes in Australia are much more independent overall. There is less
time in class than in the United States, which means that students have to put in
more individual work, rather than relying on class time to get assignments and
other things done.I found classes in Australia to be much harder than in the United States because of this. I had to have self-motivation in order to get things done and to go to
class. A fun fact is that Australia has made it illegal to penalize students for not
showing up to class as in 2011, the government outlawed taking attendance in
classes because of this.

What was your favorite place you visited during your time abroad? [Please provide us with a picture of this place, if you can]
My favorite place that I visited while abroad was Kiama, NSW. Kiama is a tiny town on the South Pacific Ocean which is famous for the natural beauty throughout the town. There are rock formations that you can climb on to get close to the high-rising waves, and there is a beautiful blowhole which is a popular tourist spot. The town itself was beautiful and quaint and when visiting, my friends and I would frequent the town’s farmers market, the town’s library, and a Vietnamese food shop, Roll Bowl which had the best Pho and Bahn Mi I have ever had.

What is your favorite word or phrase that you picked up in the language of your study abroad location?
A type of slang that I have picked up, I would say, is that I shorten words much more than I did prior to going to Australia. Over there, if a word can be shortened, they will shorten it, and that is something that I think I have picked up. They say the word “brekkie” instead of “breakfast” and I generally use that. In Australia, they say “how ya going” which is basically just “hello, how are you,” and I feel like I say that a decent amount.

Did you cross off anything from your bucket list?
Going to Sydney in the first place was on my bucket list, so living there for 4.5 months exceeded that. Another bucket list item that I was able to cross off from my bucket list was climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge which is 440 ft (134 m) from water level. It was less scary than I thought it would be and if it wasn’t so expensive I would have done it multiple times.

What is the most interesting thing you learned about the culture you were part of?
In Australia, voting is mandatory and you get fined if you do not vote in an election, local or federal, and the attitude that people have towards voting is so dissimilar to that of the United States. My friends over there described voting as “being like a party.” In Australia, voting days fall on Saturdays always, so that people do not have to take off work in order to vote, and people have guaranteed paid time off on voting days if they do have a job which normally runs on the weekend. It is common for some sort of barbecue or cookout to ensue in the general area of polling places as the idea of “democracy sausages” exist. Outside of polling places, particularly outside of Bunnings Hardware stores on polling Saturdays, vendors will sell “democracy sausages” which are hot dogs wrapped in a piece of white bread, with either tomato sauce (ketchup) or BBQ sauce, and sometimes onions.

What is the most interesting thing you learned about yourself?
I have learned that I am much more independent than I give myself credit for. I always fall back on having social anxiety as a reason for not doing things. I don’t want to mess something up or get lost, but living by myself 9,000 miles away from home made me realize that I am very resourceful and I am very good at problem-solving, even when in distress. I learned that I do not need to rely on others to get answers as I can do things on my own. I’m very grateful that I was able to learn this about myself.

What was the most common thing people there asked you about?
As my major is political science, I did get a lot of questions about American politics, particularly Donald Trump, and I welcomed all of these questions as these conversations were always an exchange. I would tell them what they would want to know about certain American politicians and I would ask them the same questions regarding certain Australian politicians.

Did you face any reverse culture shock after returning home?
One hundred percent. I had to reteach myself to drive and walk; in the United States, we walk and drive on the right and in Australia they do everything on the left, so when I first got back home, I felt like I was in a foreign country. Additionally, Australians are much more open to topics than Americans are there are so many less taboo topics in Australia than America, so I had a few moments when I would be in conversation with someone else and I would get a wide-eyed look from the person I was speaking to because I was casually speaking about an American taboo, and I didn’t realize that it is not a topic that one should freely speak about in our culture.

What advice would you give to anyone studying abroad? Studying at the location you chose?
Do not be afraid to go somewhere alone. To explore a new place or go to a restaurant alone. Studying abroad is a chance to learn more about yourself by being independent.What advice would I give to someone studying at the location where I was? Your school days will not be long. They will be comparable to what your days at Virginia Wesleyan look like, maybe even shorter. In saying that, take a bus or the train and go explore. Whether it be a different suburb of Sydney or a different city entirely. The city is large enough that if you ride the bus for ten minutes or sixty, you will be in a new cultural area. Explore. The city has so much to offer and from my experience, I do not regret staying in Sydney the majority of my semester are exploring all of the suburbs rather than going to new countries like my friends. Sydney has so much to offer and it is one of the most magical places in the world.