One of the best parts of my degree
As cliché as it sounds, studying abroad has been one of the best things I have ever experienced. Moving to the other side of the world enables you to gain so much more independence and allows you to interact with many people from different cultures. I had only ever experienced living and socialising with people from different places in the UK, so studying and living abroad enabled me to interact and get to know different types of people. Even though I moved away from home to go to university in Reading, studying abroad has made me realise that I am capable of moving wherever I need to be for a job, which has opened up so many more possibilities for life after graduation.
My classes in Australia were a lot more interactive than in Reading with them having a smaller number of students, which allowed me to develop a different learning style. More group work was involved than in Reading which helped to develop my team-working skills and especially helped with working with others from different cultures. Having more interactive classes has definitely developed my confidence to the extent that I no longer feel shy about contributing ideas to the class, and enjoy getting more involved in discussions held. The classes that I took at Curtin, were similar to those of Reading, focusing on Child and Adult development. Taking these classes in Australia allowed me to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, something that I had very little knowledge on beforehand. Adapting this into my current knowledge of the developmental topics enabled me to develop a greater understanding of how our surroundings can shape our development.
Whilst studying in Australia, I got the chance to visit so many amazing places that I probably would not have had the chance to visit had I not been studying in Australia. This included Bali, Sydney, Pinnacles, Jurien Bay and many other places. Doing this alongside my studies made it even more enjoyable as it added to the motivation to power through the final assignments knowing fun trips were planned.
For anyone contemplating studying abroad, I cannot recommend it enough! It has definitely been one of the best parts of my degree and something that I will never forget.
