one down, three to go.

studying at the Docklands library

My first semester of grad school has been over for a little while (and I passed all my classes - what a relief!), but I thought it would be fun to share some of my general back-to-school experiences, as both an international student, and someone who's been out of the academic world for a while.

Semester Structure

I was a mid-year entry student, so I started in Semester Two, which is from late July to early November-ish. We have class for three months, with a one-week break in the middle - pretty short, which I don't mind at all! But per usual, I've grown accustomed to my environment, and by the beginning of month #2 I was already experiencing end-of-semester-itis.

I'm still not used to thinking of March-June as "Autumn semester" and July-November as "Winter/Spring semester." During one of my first classes, the professor asked each student to introduce themselves and tell everyone about something fun they did over the winter break. I was the first to go, so I naturally started blabbering all about what I had been doing since winter. American winter, that is - November, December... It totally went over my head that the professor was simply asking us about our "winter break," aka the single month of June. I was mortified.

there may not be a Starbucks on campus, but there's a bubble tea place! 

Academics (and Grading)

During international student orientation, the instructor briefly touched on the topic of grading. "Grades are a lot different here - it's best to discard any expectations you have from previous grading scales, and just ask an Australian classmate if your grade is good. Most of you will be aiming for an H2A, which is about 75-79%... Students from the US will be disappointed, students from the UK will be ecstatic."

Here's the Melbourne University grading scale:

H1 = 80%-100%
H2A = 75%-79%
H2B = 70%-74%
H3 = 65%-69%

Of course, grades mean different things to different people (one's B+ is like another person's D- etc. etc.) But generally speaking, in the US, grades in the 70's are not really considered great. Especially if you're Asian, in which case you may have just disgraced generations of ancestors. But here in Australia, 70's are actually pretty good. "I've never been this excited about an 80% on a paper!" I exclaimed to my family over video chat one day, as they tried their best to hide their horror.

I worked hard, but kept personal expectations low, especially since I'd been out of academics for a while. My grades weren't terrible, and for my first semester average I managed to hover around a low H1. Yay!

crunch time.

Going Back to School as an "Older" Student

I graduated from college in 2007. That's over seven years ago, and while it seems like just yesterday, it really isn't. Going back to school as an "older" student was challenging, and there were many skills I had to learn, as well as re-learn.

I had a chronic headache for the first week or so, just trying to wrap my mind around big words and readjusting to concise academic-speak. Also, I had forgotten how hard writing is. I had to use a different type of writing style for each of my four classes - complex academic writing (citations, yay!), opinionated editorial, dry investigative reporting, and conversational blogging (really not familiar with that one at all. haha). And even though I've grown accustomed to the Australian way of spelling (colour, manoeuvre etc.), there were some phrases and unique spelling that I had to consult my iPhone Dictionary about, especially while editing other classmates' papers.

For the entire first month of the semester, Ben was still working on the road, so I was very much alone. And then when he finally came home, I stressed out about having a husband around - I didn't have a husband during my undergrad years, so would I be more or less distracted having one around? But to be honest, school is so much nicer without having to worry about dating, or even looking nice for class. After the first week I realised that it was perfectly fine to sit in large lecture halls without wearing anything girly, or looking remotely awake. School is wonderful like this.

And finally, I know I sound like an old fogey here, but: I really miss the days when getting a paper back was a simple thing (i.e. you get your physical paper handed back to you, physically), not a chain of e-mails between tech support and various instructors about why I can't see my comments or grades in the supposed Learning Management System. Almost everything at school is done digitally now, from accessing the readings online, to handing in final papers. There are obviously many pros and cons to technological change in any area of life. But, as always, I find myself getting very accustomed to the benefits, and wanting to rip my hair out over the pitfalls.

how I construct philosophical essays, no joke.

The Social Network

Of course, one of the best things about university life is the chance to meet people from all different walks of life. Grad school is especially diverse, because unlike an undergrad program, more students have come from different life situations (backpacking across Europe, taking multiple "gap years" after college, pursuing a drastic change of career, etc.) and there's more age variety. I'm definitely not one of the younger students in my classes (and I actually may have had at least one younger instructor, ahhhh), but I'm not the oldest, either. I've met plenty of fellow classmates my age, give or take a year, and I've had no problem connecting with my classmates who are up to a decade younger or older. It's amazing how often age really doesn't matter, once you hit your mid-twenties. Especially if you look and act like an awkward teenager, like yours truly...

Anyway, when I started school last year, it had been months since I'd interacted with people in-person, so it was nice to finally be able to practice my "social skills" again. It was great to finally meet some local Australians, and have real conversations with them. It was also fun to share my experiences as an American traveling throughout their homeland. Some of my classmates hadn't even heard of many of the towns that Ben and I got to explore last year. And sometimes they had heard of these places, although not positively. Me: "We spent a few weeks in Shepparton, it was super fun!" Classmate: "Shepparton? That place is terrible!" <-- I imagine it would be like an Australian visiting Indiana and spending a three-week adventure in a charming, quaint town called, say, "Gary." (No offence if you're from Gary, IN.)

An American in Melbourne

I love how being an American makes me "unique" around here. All semester long I took every opportunity I could to make terrible, self-deprecating American-jokes. And whenever I'd do something completely awkward like trip over my words (or feet) or bungle a well-known expression, I'd just chalk it up to my American roots, as if no one was at all familiar with the United States. Losing my balance and falling over in my chair? Totally an American tradition. Dropping my water bottle and accidentally dumping water into my lap? Just another cultural quirk from the US of A!

I tried to play it cool as much as I could with Australian words and phrases (out with "whatup, guys?" and in with "g'day mates!"), but every now and then I'd learn (the hard way) about certain unexpected Americanisms. For example, there's a non-teaching week during the month of September. I asked some classmates if it was "like, Spring Break?" and everyone began laughing and shouting things like "SPRAAAANG BREEEAK!! WOOOO!! Let's all go to Cancun, duuuudes!"

Apparently the notion of "Spring Break" is a VERY American thing. And a terrible stereotypical one, at that.

Also, studying journalism as an American in Australia has had some strange challenges. For example, when discussing politics (which I am terrible at, by the way, but unfortunately it's a staple of journalism), I was dismayed to find out that in Australia, the "Labour Party" is liberal, while the "Liberal Party" is conservative. So whenever someone is identified as a liberal, I have to figure out if they're liberal, or Liberal. Or maybe a liberal Liberal? Good grief.

And speaking of America... it's been fascinating to see just how much of an impact American culture has on Australians, especially through the media. Most movies, popular songs and television shows come from the States. In fact, a friend of ours told us that to him, our American accents sound out of place in person - but that when he watches American movies/TV he's so accustomed to hearing American accents on screen, that it doesn't sound American to him - it just sounds normal.

One classmate of mine admitted that he had memorised all the American States and their Capitals for fun, when he was in grade school. Another classmate happily talked my ear off about the NFL, which he preferred over Australian Footy. And quite a few of my classmates aspire to one day move overseas for a bit. "I'd love to get an apartment in New York for a few years... I mean, to live anywhere in the States, that's the dream, you know?" Which is funny and kind of ironic, because many of our friends and family feel the same way - about Australia.

What's the thing they always say about the grass?

It's always greener on the other side. (Of the world.)

CK