As I’m officially done with my first two weeks at the University
of Sydney, I figured it would be a good time to delve into the details about my
actual school experience, because that’s 100% what I’m here for right?
Sydney Uni's Great Hall
The Campus
The university is located right on Victoria Park; a quaint,
scenic area where you can find both students and locals laying in the shade,
reading, and hanging out. My apartment is about 20 minutes away from the
beginning of campus, which is not so fun in the chilly Australian winter mornings,
but isn’t too bad, and there’s a bus I can take if I am running
particularly late or feeling lazy… The uni’s hallmark building is the Great
Hall—dubbed Hogwarts by many students—and is one of the most beautiful
buildings I have seen in the whole city. As Australia’s oldest college, Sydney
Uni is full of historic classroom buildings, as well as newer, more modern
restaurants, libraries, and student centers.
Coming from College of Charleston, which spans about 5 blocks, it has been quite the adjustment getting used to the sprawling campus. To walk from one end to another would take me well over half an hour, and given my stellar luck and apparent lack of coordination, I not-so-convieniently scheduled several of my classes back to back at buildings located absolutely nowhere near each other. Needless to say, I don’t feel as bad about my terrible eating habits and lack of exercise the past few weeks since I basically sprint between classes (and am usually still late). Although I have managed to find all the Uni bars, so if I miss class I can just hang out there (kidding…. kinda)?!
The Classes
Most people who study abroad in Australia quickly tell you
how much more difficult the coursework is over here than in America. Knowing I
would be attending one of the top universities in the country, I was definitely
nervous about the academic side of studying abroad here. I’m taking four
classes: The History of Sydney, Americanism and Anti-Americanism, Politics and
Social Change, and Learning in Outdoor Education.
The first thing I noticed about uni courses was how large
and formal the lectures were. Held in a large, 200-person auditorium, the
professors (usually called “lecturers”) do not take questions and basically
just ramble on lecture for two hours straight. Now if you know me,
you’re probably aware that my attention span is not my greatest strength, so
the idea of listening to a professor lecture without pause for two hours is obviously
pretty close to my personal hell. Luckily, all my lectures are recorded, so I
can just listen to them in 30 minute increments at home—a system that is
actually probably totally wrong and backwards but works for me so I’m sticking
to it.
Overall, I’m actually enjoying the courses here a lot, and
while they’re different from home, it’s a welcome change. There’s a lot more
emphasis on larger, more research-intensive assignments, which is quite the
academic culture shock from the liberal arts education that I get at home.
While there’s definitely perks: no attendance policy for lectures, virtually no
busy work, and no textbooks (all of my readings are available in the
University’s database), I have yet to receive a grade on any of my work, so
it’s totally unclear whether I will actually be able to pass these courses and
graduate on time (#victorylap2016)? Regardless, I’m sure the semester will be a
huge learning experience academically, and I’m definitely interested to see
what’s in store!
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