Let me just begin by saying I am so happy that I ended up going to a country where English is the primary language. Every country has a different educational system. To learn a new educational system on top of learning a new language would be horrible. The Australian and American educational system has differences. The first being time. This might be a weird thing to note but Australia is definitely on island time. No one is in a rush to be on time. In America, so many people are time oriented. This is not the case in Australia. In fact, the teacher usually shows up late. Another notable difference is the amount of work given between American Universities and Australian Universities. In America, things seem to be in bulk. The food, the drinks and especially the homework. Every week at my American University, I have a least 2 papers, 2 quizzes, multiple projects, tests and discussion questions. In Australia, every class has about four assignments THE WHOLE SEMESTER. These assignments include, participation, one paper, and one test. These papers are only 1500 words which is an EXTREMELY short paper. This is such a major difference between schools, I don't even know what to do with my free time. I tried hiking but not only was I viciously attacked by the incredibly large ant population but I got lost, was sunburnt and stupidly decided to hike in the middle and hottest part of the day. Another noticeable difference between American and Australian Universities is the teachers. The professors in Australia seem much more laid back than the American professors. One teacher in Australia recommend looking at Wikipedia to get ideas. If this comment was made in America, I;m quite certain the teacher would be tarred and feathered. So far, I am enjoying Australian University life. Another pretty cool difference is the grading scale. An A is 100%-85% and 50% is passing. Winna winna chicken dinna. Hopefully, I end up liking the rest of the 13 week semester.
Below is a funny picture I found in the dorm bathroom.
What happens in Australia stays in Australia :)