Lambda Pi Eta - Phi Alpha Chapter

The system of education is very different from the one at home. Keep in mind, going from a small university with a student body of only 5,500 to a large university nearly 30,000 students is one change. The more difficult change is going from an American private university to a public foreign university. The grading system is not A,B,C,D, and F. Australians grading system is “HD” (high distinction) and “DN” (distinction), which is equivalent to an “A” in the American education system. Only 3% of students get “HD” here at Macquarie. “DN” is for students who do exceptional well in their courses. Most students get what is known as “CR” (credit), which is really good and perfectly acceptable. The equivalent to a “C” is a “B” in America. “. Next is “P” for Pass. The equivalent is a low “B” or high “C.” “PC” (Conceded Pass) is a “D” in America. “F” (Fail) is the equivalent to our “F.”

A full boat load is 12 credit hours here at Macquarie, which is something I am really not use to ,and believe me, it is a full boat load. I have always taken 18 credit hours, so this is another change. Most classes base your grade on two essays and a final test. Some classes have a couple more papers or tests. Kinda scary not knowing how well you are doing in a class until you are half way done with it. It’s also scary not knowing how credits will transfer back. Is a “Pass” a B or C back home? After talking to some students, most Australian students seem very happy and pleased to get CR. However, in America that’s only a “B.” I find this very discouraging that if I do quite well in a class I am bound to get “B,” rather than an “A” that I may feel I deserve. This especially concerns me when is comes to GPA. It is possible that my GPA is bound to lower too, which is not good when some students may have scholarships or jobs that require a certain level of GPA. However, this is a difference in our culture. I hope that future employers who look at my transcript take note that a “C” is actually pretty good in Australia.

Australia is so many things to so many people. One Aussie local (John Organ, my program mentor) told me, out of his entire experiences traveling around the world, that Sydney is the best place to live in the world. Another French friend, Charles, told me that Sydney is freedom and independence compared to his home-life in Paris. My New Yorker roommate says it reminds him exactly like home without the attitude. Other Americans compared it to Florida and California.

My thoughts are Australia is like an urban paradise. Despite living a tropical suburb region of Sydney (know as North Ryde), it’s just so much different than the states. The fresh air and constant aroma of flowers ever turn you make, the cool breezes, the intense, all make this a very different environment compared to Chicago. There are random species of birds roaming around. Just yesterday I seen a flock of Cockatoos taking off from the tree in my front yard of my apartment. I thought to myself, “Gosh. I only see you guys in Pet’s Mart!” Australia is a huge Multi-cultural society.

The point I am making is that there really is no place quite like Sydney, because of all the little differences. Here is a list of differences I discovered thus far in culture and language.

 Trolley = A shopping cart
 Uni = University (people constantly say “uni”)
 Fact: all Australian kids wear safari looking hats to protect their skin. Even in school if they go outside for recess and do not have a hat, the child is not allowed recess
 Schools here are typically K-12
 Sausage Sandwich = Snag
 Capsicum = Peppers (the veggi)
 Upright cookers = stove top
 Cheers mate = “the common” goodbye or talk to you later
 Grid Iron = American Football
 No worries is commonly said instead of no problem
 A building is referred to as a “block.” For example, “my friend is in the next building over” would be said, “my friend is in the next block over.”
 Flatmate used instead of suitemate (commonly used by more than just Australian, I noticed. My European friends say it as well.)
 Volvo drivers = Sunday drivers
 Prawns = shrimp
 Ring me = Call me
 Fact: its illegal is get paid “under the counter” for jobs.
 Fact: $15.00 is the average minimum wage for any job in Oz
 Fairy Floss = Cotton Candy
 Advertisements is pronounced differently
 Learned is spelled learnt
 Enrollment is spelled Enrolment

The second night here, I met Amanda Engle’s roommate from Norway. His name is Vegard Hansen from Norway. He is super nice, and a fun guy. He is living in the “block” (remember that means building) next to me with Amanda Engle and Liliana Acosta. Its very common in the Parklands to have co-ed apartments.
Later that night, we ended up at exploring the area. We found that the only thing cheap in Australia is wine and fruit. Everything else is about three times as expensive in Australia compared to the United States. I ended up back the apartment and some guys on the first floor had their door open and invited us in. The room was occupied be Italians. Andrea (On-dray-a), Luca (Lu-ca), and Jacobo (Yak-o-bo) are all graduate students working for their degree here at Macquarie. They only recently got their four roommate, Ozzie, from Finland. Later, Vinnie a French man joined us. We all sat around having a couple of drinks and really good conversation. Vinnie is hilarious. We literally discussed the our countries perspectives of one another. Vinnie stated in his French accent, “ not all French hate Americans, only the ignorant ones.” We talked about sports, family, and our majors. Every so often myself, Liliana, or Amanda (the Americans) had to fill in a word they did not know how to say in English, but we understood.

This fun night really made me think about how sheltered the average American is when it comes to language. All these Europeans speak multiply language, and quite well too. Nearly all of them were raised to learn English in school. Going back to my conversation with Vinnie, I stated the when I visited France and tried to speak French the French person said, “you are murdering our language, lets just talk English.” However when I was in Italy and tried to speak Italian, they stated “thanks for trying, we can speak English.” Vinnie laughed and just stated how growing up French people learn to speak English, and the French are just proud people.