What Moving From India To Australia Taught Me About Education And Independence
My transition journey from India to Australia has been a mix of excitement, growth and learning. Initially, there was a bit of culture shock, especially with how independent and self-managed everything is here, from using the public transport to doing all the household chores on your own. Ever since I was a kid, I have visited Australia for my summer vacations multiple times, and I really enjoyed the city life here. I have a deep respect for cultural diversity, which is one of the reasons I chose Australia for my higher education. I chose Deakin University because it was the only university that offered an IT management course.
The Education System
The university conducted various welcoming events for the new students, and even the classmates who were from the previous terms helped me with the different assignments. Deakin University Student Association (DUSA) organised various events and programs to help international students so that it would be easy for new students to settle down at the university. While I talk about how the Australian education system is very hands-on, it’s based on a lot of practical learning. Which actually worked in my favour because I do struggle with understanding theory. Getting hands-on experience was really new and exciting for me since I could learn the theory and then work on those same things in real life.
Struggle
Like every international student, I also felt homesick, especially because I’m very family-orientated. To cope, I used to talk to my mom, my sister, my dad and my grandparents every single day whenever I got time. There were the days I didn’t have the bandwidth to get on a call, so I made it a point to message them and their updates. Living in a new country is exciting, but it comes with its challenges.
The major hiccup for me was getting used to the food here and the difference in flavours from the Indian flavours. The food does taste a lot bland compared to the Indian food. So to overcome this, I learnt cooking on my own, and being able to cook by myself does give me a sense of being independent.
Apart from food, accommodation is another major concern for most of the students coming to Australia from various countries, and it was similar for me. However, my family being here made it pretty much easier for me because I was able to come to their place prior to my orientation, and within that time frame, I joined various Facebook groups to find suitable accommodation in my budget.
Finance
Australia is quite expensive, especially since I come from India. I do find everything here to be a lot more expensive compared to my home country. However, I am still navigating my financial aspects of things; I am not very good at budgeting. I apparently downloaded a lot of applications and watched online videos on how to budget as an international student, so that is something that I’m still trying to work out. Apart from that, my university also gives out free groceries twice a month, so that is very helpful.
The author is pursuing a master’s in information technology management from Deakin University, Australia
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