Kangaroos Don’t Run Rampant Through Australia’s Streets

Study Abroad Expectations Vs. Reality

When I was accepted into Indiana University’s (IU) semester long Adelaide, Australia study abroad program, I immediately started to fantasize about my impending journey down under. I pictured meeting an entire Australian crew of friends who would teach me about the great “Red Continent”. We would journey around in a car that had its steering wheel on the right, careening through hordes of kangaroos, while listening to some exciting Australian music pumping through the radio. This image carried me forward while I conquered the mound of paperwork that IU required me to complete before taking off for Adelaide and beginning the program. “Only two more forms,” I would think to myself, “and then Adelaide shall be mine.”

However, these fantasies never happened.

Yes, I did live in Adelaide for a semester, that part is true, but I never journeyed amidst the outback’s harsh deserts. I never made it to Ayer’s Rock or even Sydney. The majority of my time was spent attending class and subsequently procrastinating on the classwork or figuring out how to put money on my public transportation card. Though I didn’t spend all my time petting kangaroos and being terrified of venomous spiders (I only saw two spiders during my Australia stay, by the way), I did learn the importance of being wary of high expectations. More importantly, I experienced the reality of what it is like to live in another country – and I loved it!

I also learned that it is important to always be wary of expectations, for as do the plans of mice and men, they often go astray…

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“Goodbye Problems”

For some reason, I thought that life’s banalities would vanish because I was residing in another country. I never pictured myself penny-pinching at Cole’s Grocery Store every few days. Though I wanted to try every flavor of TimTams at once, I made myself wait. Conversely, I never pictured myself discovering one of the world’s largest farmer’s markets set-up right next to that grocery store. It was filled with delicious fresh fruit, cheeses, exotic meats (kangaroo and emu!), cheap souvenirs, and a plethora of interesting people. Most Fridays there was a violinist and “didgeridooer” duo that created a unique and delightful sound. My favorite part of the market was the wine shop located just outside the entrance of Coles. The oenophiles inside the store were always kind to “the American girl” and gave me all sorts of wine advice. I chose to buy a good bottle of wine over a carton of eggs quite a few times and never regretted it.

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Making Friends and Cultural Immersion

An interesting fact about Adelaide: none of the native Adelaidians live in the “CBD” (downtown) area of the city; nearly all of the residents live in one of the sprawling suburbs that surround it. People would spend their lunch hours enjoying one of the numerous cafes downtown and then commute home for dinner. Subsequently, the downtown area had few choices for a great dinner. University of Adelaide students took trams, trains and buses to college. I, however, lived in a university-sponsored apartment complex and walked to campus. Because I accidentally removed myself from the majority of Adelaide’s population, it was quite difficult to make Australian friends. I got along with my classmates, sure, but due to distance we could never commit to hanging out in our free time.

I was initially extremely disappointed. I felt like I wasn’t making the most of my time abroad. After moping over it for a few weeks, I realized that I was forgetting that I lived in an apartment complex filled with other students. And a few were Australian! The Australian students tended to be from minute towns in the center of the continent that couldn’t commute to school. Many others were from different parts of Southeast Asia. Two of my roommates were from China and the other was from Malaysia. During our time together, they taught me a great deal about their cultures. My Chinese roommates invited me to have dinner with them a few times and made ridiculously good food. They took mealtime seriously! Though I didn’t get as immersed into Australian culture as I had expected before arriving, I gained an understanding of some of the world’s other cultures in the process.

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Money

IU endowed me with a scholarship to study abroad and I also took out extra loans to cover expenses. I was sure I was covered on the expenses. I started gleefully planning trips well before I even left home. I couldn’t wait to see Darwin, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. I wanted to travel to Bali and explore the lush, tropical vegetation there. However, out of the all of the places I listed, in the end I only made it to Melbourne. After arriving to Australia, I quickly realized that traveling is expensive and Australia is huge! While I did have some cash, it was not as much as I had expected.

I still took a few trips around the massive country and appreciated the amazing sites I did get to visit. My grandest vacation was from Brisbane to Cairns, on which I was lucky enough to scuba dive on the Great Barrier Reef! The morning we set up to scuba, we were greeted with a double-rainbow. I took it as a sign that I should appreciate the opportunity given to me and tried to retain as many mental images of all the coral and fish that I could.

Kangaroos

Finally, I was confused about the lack of kangaroos. When I landed in Adelaide, I started excitedly searching for the animals and was disappointed not to immediately see them. Why weren’t they hopping everywhere?! Two weeks would pass before I saw my first kangaroo. Two weeks! I had expected to see kangaroos everywhere -even though I was living in a city- because I simply wasn’t thinking clearly. All of the excitement had clouded my reality. I had such a fairytale image of what I thought Adelaide would be, that I didn’t see it for what it was – a foreign city that excited and delighted me throughout my stay.

Even though Adelaide didn’t exactly meet my massive expectations, the reality of the city was better than I could have ever anticipated.

Do you have any similar experiences where your expectations were not met, either for good or for bad, when traveling abroad?  Let us know in the comments below!

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Kelsey Tharp recently graduated from Indiana University and received a B.A. in English. During her last semester at IU, she studied abroad in Adelaide, Australia and desperately wants to return some day. She has a passion for travel and encourages everyone to take the opportunity to live in another country! She has been previously published in Inside Indiana University Bloomington, IU’s Physical Plant Perspective newsletter and the Wine, Spirits and Beer Advocate blog. Outside of writing, she is an avid reader and chef.[/accordion_tab]