Even though for most of my fellow UCG classmates the semester has only just begun, mine, here in Australia, is already halfway over. I cannot believe how quick this time has flown by, and how little time I actually have left in this beautiful country!

Because I feel like I have had my fair share of experiences while being here already, I would like to share with you 5 things that I have learned from being an exchange student in Australia.

1. It’s not the snakes, spiders, cockroaches, or crocodiles that you should be afraid of… It’s magpies.We are all familiar with the stories and pictures of giant huntsman spiders and cockroaches, venomous snakes, huge crocodiles, and many other scary animals that belong to Australia’s diverse wildlife. Since being here, though, I have only encountered one (dead!) cockroach in my room, and a few crocodiles – which we deliberately sought out to see on a wildlife river cruise. As of yet, I have not come across any scary spiders or snakes (knock on wood). One unlikely scary animal that I have, unfortunately, come across, are magpies. And they are definitely a force to be reckoned with. During the month of September, these birds will get very protective over their territory and, if you’re unlucky, swoop you if you appear to pose a threat to that territory. This means that they will drop down and attack you when you are passing by. And that can get ugly. Luckily, there are street signs that will warn you if there are protective magpies in the area. Whenever encountering such a sign, make sure to stay far, FAR away from these animals.
   
2. Australia’s nature definitely lives up to expectation.Other than wildlife, Australia is known for its diverse and magnificent nature and landscape, including a range of tropical beaches, a beautiful coastline, and the inland bush and deserts. A few weeks ago, I went on holiday to the east coast, where I visited Cairns, Gold Coast, and Byron Bay. I snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef (quite possibly the most beautiful thing I have ever seen), went whale watching, and took surfing lessons. I can honestly say that all of these things were exactly as amazing as I thought they would be! There is just so much to see and do, whether it’s in the mountains, ocean, beach or desert!
4. Living in the moment is extremely important, because time is temporary and flies by fast.Being on exchange is almost like living some sort of mini-life within your life, wherein you are extremely aware of the temporariness of your stay and the way in which you allocate your time. And this, I have experienced, has a lot of influence on the decisions you make, the things you do, and the people you meet. I have found that living in a place for a particularly short amount of time shapes the way in which you perceive time, because you are aware of the fact that there are not always going to be more opportunities to do certain things or seize certain chances. This makes it perhaps easier to be spontaneous, go out and meet new people, or do things you might otherwise not have done. For me personally, it has changed my perception on how I interact with my surroundings back at home. There are places in the Netherlands that I have never visited, things I have not done, and people I have not met because it is so easy to tell yourself you will “just do it later”. Actually not having an opportunity to not do things later has made me realize that time is temporary, and I think it will inspire me to go out and do more things when I get back home!
5. Not everyday is an adventure… you’re on exchange to study, after all!Even though being on exchange has meant going on a lot of trips, doing new things, and getting out of your comfort zone – it is easy to get so focused on these kinds of things that you almost forget that you are on exchange to study. For the first couple of weeks I did not have any assignments, and I was very much in a ‘holiday mood’, exacerbated by the fact that it was actually summer holiday in the Netherlands. Then, when my first deadline came around, it was so hard to make myself sit down and actually study! I feel like I am now at a point where I have found a good balance between going on adventures and studying. But sometimes it is still easy to forget that your studies are the reason you are abroad!
6. Studying at a different university broadens your horizon in many ways – and learning does not only happen between the four walls of a classroom.Something that has really stood out to me during my time here is the fact that, even though you might be studying the same subjects as at home, doing so at a different university really makes you learn so much more and so much deeper. Every university has their own way of teaching, their own case studies or examples that they tend to use (at home, for example, we often use the European Union as a case study, whereas here it is often Asia), and their own ways of assessing and grading. At your home university, it might be easy to get used to specific way of doing things and you might find yourself going about assessments in particular ways. Being in a different environment that might expect different things, you are forced to think, study, and go about things in a different way than you are used to. I personally feel like I have learned a lot from this, and it has specifically broadened my horizon in how I do assignments. Moreover, because of the different country and thus culture you will study in, and the variety of people that you will meet, a lot of learning happens outside of the classroom as well. Day-to-day conversations, posters, meetings, and articles all may contribute to this experience, and help you not only learn more about the world around you, but also your own position within this world.

Even though I definitely feel like time has gone by way too fast, I am looking forward to the next couple of weeks I still get to spend in this country, and hopefully to the many more things I will learn from this crazy adventure!

Anna-Lotte Reitsma – Third-year UCG student