Shanghai, is a multifaceted city; a mixture of traditional and modern, and a mixture of Asian and Western culture. The Shanghai University SILC program was the perfect introduction to this enchanting city. The business classes, culture classes, Mandarin classes, tours and free time were all excellent but my favourite part of the program was the company I had. Shanghai University is extremely accommodating, especially the staff members and student volunteers (mentors). Even before I landed in China, I felt welcomed by Shanghai University through our interactions via email and of course, Wechat. My fellow peers from UTS were of course the highlight of the program for me. All the UTS students on the program (all females coincidentally) quickly bonded and we had a great time exploring the city together.
On the weekdays, we would have Mandarin language classes with Fairy, business lectures with different lecturers on their specialised area of teaching, various cultural classes such as traditional Chinese music and tea ceremony, and tours around different areas of the city. The rest of the time after class and on weekends, we had to ourselves to do whatever we wished. We really enjoyed the nightlife over there although some nights we did stay in for “Chinese TV and chill” just to unwind, play games and get to know each other better.
The traditional Chinese gardens and architecture were amazing to look at. It was simultaneously relaxing and exciting to explore. I also enjoyed interacting with the locals. We all had a great time using the Mandarin we learnt but when all else fails, there is always body language and pointing.
The cool weather in Shanghai was a sweet relief in contrast to Sydney’s blazing heat. Although I did miss Sydney’s fresh air. Being over there made me grateful (not for the first time) for being able to live in a country where I have access to clean air and water. The differences in culture, language and lifestyles were interesting to observe and appreciate.
I was initially apprehensive that two weeks would be too short a time to explore such an exciting city but it was the perfect amount of time. It was sufficient enough for me to do the things I wanted to do but left me slightly wanting more. It was a good taster for the city. I will definitely visit again in the future where I will no doubt look back on this experience with amazing friends that I would never have met otherwise. I definitely recommend this program (or any other overseas opportunity) to fellow BUILD members.
They say it’s always better to go out with a bang, and why shouldn’t this apply to university degrees too? Although I was coming to the end of my degree, I was fortunate enough to be offered a position on a 4 week assessment of major issues and opportunities with Project Everest in Blantyre, Malawi. Project Everest is an organisation based in Sydney that is dedicated to developing sustainable solutions to complex issues by designing and developing lean social enterprises.
With our small, but driven team of 8 students and team leader, we set out to uncover the biggest issues facing local communities in the Blantyre region. We designed an interview process using human-centred design, which involved data gathering as well as observations and empathetic insights in order to develop a meaningful understanding of the local people and their lives. Then, across 3 villages, we conducted these interviews again and again as we sought to build our knowledge and data base. We didn’t get through it without some hiccups along the way though. Having designed the interview knowing very little about daily life in Malawi, we soon realised many of our questions were inadequate or even irrelevant.We redesigned the interview process, but it meant that over 30 of the initial interviews we conducted were almost useless. However, such is the way of learning by trial and error, and as a result both our translators and interview subjects congratulated us on starting to ‘get it’ in terms of understanding the local life.
Doing work in a developing country is extremely rewarding, but can also be very challenging. Listening to all of the problems that people face was at times overwhelming, especially when you want to try and fix everything. However, it was amazing and moving to see that despite these hardships, Malawians are some of the happiest and most generous people I have had the privilege of meeting. Even when they had limited resources, they would offer us fruit or nsima, a favourite local dish.
Beyond the work we were doing, spending 4 weeks in Malawi was also an incredibly rich cultural experience. We learnt the basics of the local tribal language, Chichewa, such as how to say ‘hello’ – “Moni!” and ‘thank you very much’ – “Zikomo kwambili!“. We also donned the ‘chitenje’, a piece of fabric wrapped around as a skirt, which is the customary form of dress for women in the village. And finally, we did of course enjoy some local tourism by going on a safari weekend, visiting a fair-trade tea plantation and hiking on the tallest mountain in Malawi, Mulanje.
I couldn’t imagine a better way to finish my degree and say “Tionana!” (‘goodbye’) to the amazing opportunities of the Build program than with such an exciting and challenging experience. Zikomo kwambili, Malawi!
Emma
Bachelor of Arts in Communication (MAP) and in International Studies (Germany)
Four weeks ago I left my family, chicken salt and Vegemite to live in Yogyakarta Indonesia with no friends, no Indonesian language skills, nor any idea of where I would reside for the next 6 months of my life. Today I realise that that leap of faith (AKA my yolo move) was the best decision I could have ever made. From the incredible food, friendly locals and loud sounds of the cities, Indonesia continues to amaze me every day.
In early November 2016 I had the opportunity to go on a three-week intensive language and cultural study program in New Caledonia. As a part of my trip I stayed at the Université de la Nouvelle Calédonie, whilst taking daily language and culture classes as well as regular trips to explore the unique island culture of New Caledonia.
Being my first visit to New Caledonia, I was unsure what to expect. I had previously visited France on an exchange during high school so I had gained some knowledge of European French culture, though this was very different to the nuanced island culture which I experienced. Upon arrival to the small island nation, the people were extremely welcoming and kind, noticing my apprehension they helped me in any way possible allowing me to speak as much French as I could.
After settling in and beginning classes I noticed that there was a much closer relationship between teachers and students than I had previously experienced. By having daily classes and lectures with these teachers we slowly came to know them as friends, which improved our language skills immensely. This trip also gave me an invaluable opportunity to experience university as a foreign student living on campus. Every week the group would do routine activities together like going to the supermarket, navigating the somewhat foreign foods, befriending the local delicatessen and bakery, and immersing ourselves in the local day to day culture.
Every week we would venture further out of Noumea visiting places such as the Parc de la Riviere Bleue, where we cycled through a rainstorm in a rain forest, then swimming in the freshwater river as the pouring rain fell. We also had the opportunity to reinvestigate our understanding of Eurocentric French culture, researching the impacts of colonialism on the indigenous culture of the island, seeing many similarities to Australian colonial history.
As a weekly part of our course we also participated in a “treasure hunt”, where we had to speak with local people and find culturally significant sites around Noumea in the various regions of the city. Running through the city and speaking to the locals as we tried to win the race was an amazing experience and allowed us to open up further to the New Caledonian culture and embrace our surroundings.
This was a truly once in a lifetime experience. The people I encountered and the friends that I made were some of the most genuinely kind and hospitable people I have ever met. This experience truly allowed me to reflect on my own university experience and on Australian culture, demonstrating the ever-changing nature of national culture and cultural identity.
My first day in Taiwan was dreadful, and yet it was one of the best days of my life. Hop off a 24 hour travel trip, totally dazed and confused with people pushing and running to immigration. People screaming in Mandarin and Indonesian, and cutting in line. Once through, I had to try and find transportation to my apartment which wasn’t easy considering a lot of things were in Mandarin; however I manage to get the task done. Many travelers will experience dehydration whilst on the plane and afterwards; which was what I was experiencing. As soon as I got to my shared apartment, I signed all the documents, met some of my flat mates and was just dying for a drink of water. But to my luck, in Taiwan you need to buy water- not drink from the tap. I asked my room mates if there was a 7-11 near by, but they said it was at least 15 minutes away by walking. Great. I also didn’t have google maps as I didn’t have a sim card yet- so how was I going to find one. One of my flatmates offered to walk me to get a sim card on her way to class. Once we arrived at the sim card place, she left and I was there; alone. Even though it was 6pm at night, the phone service place was packed with people- and everything was in Chinese. Do I simply go up to someone? Do I get a ticket? Should I just wait in the corner for someone to come to me? And all I wanted was water.
So I left the shop and promised tomorrow morning I would go get a sim card. Except one thing occurred to me as I was leaving the store, how do I get home? I was starving, thirsty and so tired- so I popped into a convenience store and bought some baked goods and water. As I was paying at the counter- the lady just handed me my food but no plastic bag. I hadn’t brought a bag with me- so I had to carry 6 items in my arms as I tried to find my way home (It wasn’t till later that I found out that if you want a bag- you need to ask for one cause they charge for it). So as I’m walking lost in the city, with cars blaring past (no road safety) and people pushing their way on the curb- I was just this lost foreigner holding her water and food walking around; I walked around for 2.5 hours, even though the store was only 15 minutes away. I was lost. I suddenly made my way onto a bridge that was completely empty, beautiful lights sparking in the night, and little bits of art all over. I found my way to a bench staring off the bridge, sat down, and ate.
Even though I was totally lost, even though I was so hungry, and even though I hadn’t slept for 24 hours; that view from on top of that bridge was breath taking- and so worth it. As I was finishing up, I made my way down the bridge, and just by some miracle- bumped into one of my flat mates who I was so grateful to see. She told me how to get home (I was only 5 minutes away at this point), and she rode off to her class. As I was walking home- finally recognizing some of the area; there was a man- and he was walking a pig. It was man walking a pig… ON A LEASH! I stopped in a amazement as the man just smiled as we crossed paths. I had never seen a pig on a leash before. Ever. When I finally got home, I met the rest of my room mates whom I told about the rest of my day, and even they couldn’t believe I had seen a man walking a pig. This was just my first day in Taiwan and I already had an amazing adventure leading me to a beautiful bridge crossing the city and one of the most bizarre pigs sightings I’ve ever had. And this was all just day one- the next 4 weeks in Taiwan only got better and better.
I wish I could write a whole novel of my adventures. The biggest highlights of my trip would have to be the time I found a Sydney Bar called “Woolloomooloo” in the Ximen district and celebrate my new years there. After the bar I headed towards a very famous temple called the Long Shun Temple, in which I prayed for my family and as I was making my way home in the MRT station, I found a fortune teller who told my fortune as well as did this bird fortune telling; where the birds would pick cards to depict my future. When I finally got home at 11:45pm I dressed in my pajamas and got into the top bunk of my room (all my roomies were out) and as I was about to go to sleep; people from across the park from me started fireworks at midnight. It was amazing. As I lay in my bed watching the fireworks- it was a good day. And to tell you the truth- this was all by chance. I hadn’t researched on google about what to do- or where to go. I merely got dressed for the day, got on the subway and got off at a random stop. That’s just how Taiwan was, no matter where you went or where you were there was always something to do, there was always a new district to explore and there was always something delicious to eat. I’d pick foods on a menu that were only written in chinese and be totally dazed and shocked when I was served. To this day I still don’t know some of the things I ate or what they were made of- but it was delicious.
More highlights to include would be:
Going to the biggest night market in Taiwan “Shilin Night market”- where they had the most amazing and cheapest food ever.
Visiting the 2nd tallest tower in the world “Taipei 101”.
Some room mates and me visiting their University NTU at night for a tour, and making up rediculous stories about each building and sharing ghost stories.
Visiting my room mates dance concert at her University, and cheering so loud; I lost my voice.
Going to a all you can eat HotPot resturants and just stuffing our faces silly, with delicious spicy food.
Visiting a palace at night with a bunch of my friends and playing games in the court yard.
Going to the near by night market where we played street games to win prizes.
Discovering the one food I can’t live without; which was a white bun with a cookie baked on top, and a HUGE slice of butter slab stuck in the middle; heaven.
Going to the toilet café; but being so completely turned off by the scenery that in the end we couldn’t eat our food.
In all honesty the list goes on- Taiwan was a place that was never boring; there was never a day I stayed home to watch TV. Everyday there was always something to be done, always some place to eat at and some places to always view. I could honestly go on forever about my trip to Taiwan.
National Taiwan Normal University also did their best in keeping their students entertained with the culture trips. I was lucky enough to go to three amazing places. The first was a “love” station in which had the theme of love and romance, we got to send post cards out from that station and ride a mini train. They had a wall in which people with their loved ones would write their name on a lock and place it on the wall. After the station we headed to a night market within the mountains with the most delicious and cheapest food ever. I had the pleasure of meeting my fellow class mate Wawa and Ming Chi (we got Chinese names) whom I got to know more during every trip.
Next week we headed to the Taiwanese puppet show where we learnt how to perform with Taiwanese styled puppets- after we headed to Fort San Domingo where a famous movie was filmed as well as we got to ride a ferry across the water to a small night market for dinner and back to the buses to go home.
My last trip was the best of all and I highly recommended anyone that wants to go on this trip to choose this one as well. We went to Hsinchu and Jiufun. In Hsinchu the classmates and I got to write our wishes and dreams on this gigantic lantern, and release them into the sky and into the universe. We then went to Jiufun where the film “the city of sadness” was filmed as well was the inspiration for the animated Japanese film “Spirited Away” location. It was up a tall mountain with hundreds of people pushing and squeezing passed down a narrow way. There we got to eat Shou Long Bow dumplings along with marinated pork and fried rice with a stunning view. We were all asked to make our way back to the buses at the bottom of the mountain, but of course what would happen to me and my buddy? We scurried off into the sides where we went through a tunnel/ cave and found ourselves on the side of the mountain which was lit with red lanterns and the most picture perfect scene of the country I had ever seen. Even though it was pouring rain, I was soaking wet, and would definetly catch a cold; it was nothing I would trade.
This trip to Taiwan was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If you’re debating about whether going on this trip, I full heartedly say DO IT!
This week marked my last week of my exchange semester at the University of Leeds.
First of all, if you are thinking about going on exchange, I know it’s clichéd but DO IT! It honestly seems like a really scary thing to consider going to another country to live for 6 months or a year, but if there’s anything that I want it’s to extend to a year. This has been my first experience living away from home, and while I’m on the other side of the world, it’s not as scary as the concept. I love it! (more…)
During my week in Jogja I was lucky enough to be accompanied by two students from the University Islamic Institute. The other intern students including myself referred to them as our ‘buddies’. They were there to accompany us during travel, help us with the language, and to show us parts of their city and culture most tourists probably wouldn’t get to see. During this week, I got to know each of my buddies as we became friends, and not just friendly faces touring us around.
Apart from the initial interrogating questions about each other’s uni life, family, and hobbies, we spent an entire week hanging out and getting to know one another. I was lucky enough to have two buddies, Yoga and Danti. We visited two temples (Borobudur and Prambanan), sang karaoke one night, went paint-balling, ate plenty of local food together, went shopping on Malioboro St., took a jeep tour up Mt. Merapi (an active volcano), and spent our final night together in a beautiful, village style accommodation where we exchanged gifts and said our final good-byes. My favorite memory of all, was riding on the back of Yoga’s motor bike one night on our way to dinner. It was my first time riding a bike on the hectic streets of Indonesia. The streets are so different than anything I’ve seen in both Australia and America. The roads are more narrow, and there are hundreds of motor bikes weaving in and out traffic. It was quite exhilarating and I quickly got over the fear of being hit or ran into by a car or ‘taski’ driver. After eating dinner with some of the other students and buddies, we walked down to a local street fair where we rented a buggy car (push-pedal). We crammed six people into a four-seater bike as the boys pedaled around the block. It was a great night, full of laughter and new memories. I loved it and couldn’t be more thankful for having buddies so willing to make sure I enjoyed every part of my stay.
Spending a week in Jogja before heading off to my internship in Jakarta was something I’ll never forget. I had the opportunity to not only make new friends, but the chance to study bahasa (language of) Indonesia and travel to some historical landmarks. It’s hard to find words to describe our buddies, as they all had such warm and open hearts. I have never met a group of people so polite and caring, and where our happiness brings them smiles and joy. I hope to meet them again someday along our travels and to keep their friendships cherished.
Hey there. My name is Amy and I’m on a semester-long exchange at the City University, Hong Kong (CityU). If you’re interested in exchange in Hong Kong, check out my previous blog post here. In this post, I’ll be expanding more in depth about the subjects I wrote in my previous blog. Hopefully this is useful to any students considering CityU at Hong Kong.
After an overnight flight and six hours in the Kuala Lumpar airport with no sleep, I was happy to arrive to my hotel in Yogyakarta. Later to have learned that the taxi service charged me about five times the going rate, paying more than my uber ride to Sydney airport. After a delicious lunch of traditional style Indonesian street food, only costing me 20,000 rupiah ($2 AUD), nothing sounded better than a nice nap as I waited for the other students to arrive. I was asleep nearly thirty minutes before waking up to a evident voice, projecting through the streets. I went to my balcony to see what was going on, but only saw the roofs and motor bikes from across the street. The reciting voice continued, and I stood for a moment before realizing it must be the city praying. In Indonesian, they call it ‘ada adzan’ which means, there is calling for prayer. Talk about experiencing culture shock all within one day. It’s still alarming to be woken up at 4am and 7am to the prayers, but pleasurable to be able to experience the real Indonesian lifestyle.
The weather, is a universal topic and something that is always discussed when traveling to new places. In Jogja, as you may know, the weather is very tropical. But, you don’t feel the shock until you spend some time in the humid, sticky, wet streets. In the three days I’ve been here, I have experienced constant heat, with spurts of drizzle or even down pour, accompanied by the occasional thunder and lightning storms. Although we experience warm weather and rainfall in Australia, the humidity is ten times worse. In Australia, it might be the norm to throw on a singlet and some shorts, but modesty is key in this country.
Indonesia is roughly 90% or more Muslim, so it is very uncommon for them to see people exposing their shoulders and legs, especially for women. Since we are partnering with the Islamic University and spending time with students from the uni, dressing standards are encouraged as a sign of respect. Dressing appropriately and to the standards, also means less attention drawn to yourself. As a white female, who is obviously a foreigner, I don’t want to be worried about offending the culture or religion. I know I’m not the only student here who is suffocating in long pants and semi-formal tops, wishing I could be lounging around in my beach dress and thongs.
Indonesia has 17,508 islands, with many cultures and over 300 native languages. Language can create barriers when trying to interact and communicate with people in a foreign country. I believe communication is imperative, as it helps you to understand the culture and history and allows you to connect with people from different backgrounds. As I prepare myself for a four-week long journey to Indonesia, I think about my goals and what kind of relationships I hope to make with the people I will soon be working with.
Personal Goals
As my departure is approaching, I take a step back to acknowledge myself and my goals. I believe time is a valuable thing, and although four weeks may sound like a decent amount of time to be in one country, it will be ending before I know. So, cherishing every moment I get from the time I step off the plane, to my first conversations, and figuring my own way around, is something I am prepared to endeavor. I plan to spend my personal time getting acquainted with the locals and experiencing a new culture. I’m always intrigued with learning about traditions, religions, and language because it allows me to make deeper and more meaningful connections with the people that I meet. From studying the language to working in the office, I hope that I establish lasting friendships that will be meaningful even after I leave.
After researching and applying to the international internship program, I knew this was an opportunity I needed to take for myself. It is a chance for me to improve my soft skills, for lasting memories, and for knowledge and experience, which will make me a stronger and more relatable person.
Professional Goals
The next four weeks will be filled with linguistic studies, cultural practices, and work related experiences. I expect there to be a handful of new information streaming in as I hurry to digest it. I strive to walk away from each experience learning something that will be purposeful and valuable for my future. The company I will be working with will be my first step into the career field of my choice. I hope to gain a better scope and insight into Human Resources. The tools I will be learning will benefit me in future work opportunities as I prepare myself to step out into the workforce. Although it seems a bit intimidating to be surrounded in such a new and unknown environment, I plan to walk in ready to learn and work hard with my teammates.
“What is the recipe for successful achievement? To my mind there are just four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love, give it the best there is in you, seize your opportunities, and be a member of the team.”
Benjamin Franklin Fairless
With my bags packed full of souvenirs and Tim Tams, I am ready to embrace the journey ahead!
