Mechanical Engineering, Physics minor
In the weeks leading up to my 16-hour
flight across the South Pacific, I dreamt quite a lot about what it will be
like living in Australia, however I admit that at the time I knew the extent of
what most Americans would know: that it is a large island on the bottom of the
world, with a giant rock in the centre, and there is a heap of kangaroos and
other interesting marsupials roaming about. Australia is one of those countries
that seemed mostly off the radar.
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| View of Newcastle downtown, with Christ Church Cathedral positioned at the top of the hill |
I spent a total of 22 weeks in Oz. I lived in the city of Newcastle, located on the east coast, roughly 2.5 hours by train from Sydney. Newcastle has a modest central business district; and the main streets can become surprisingly quiet on certain nights. It has a very industrial feel, and there is evidence that it has been somewhat of a boom-and-bust city, due most likely to the large mining operations in the area. “Newi”, as the Aussies prefer to shorten it, is actually the world’s largest coal exporting port. I saw many ships destined for China and Korea lining up along the beautiful New South Wales (NSW) coastline.
I was fortunate enough to have my father
accompany me for the first 3 weeks. He helped me open a Commonwealth Bank
account and most importantly find accommodation in Newcastle. In those weeks I
also received my SCUBA open water certification, scuba dived the Great Barrier
Reef off the coast of Cairns, and drove across the Hann Tablelands of northern
Queensland. I would enjoy talking for hours on all of the details of these
adventures, but for the sake of time I will say that the dense rainforests,
deep gorges, and expansive coastline and reefs of Queensland were definitely
highlights of my Australian experience. The link below is a short video of some
of my dive footage in February. I still have much footage that has yet to be
sorted through and hope to make more short videos.
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| Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas, Queensland |
I lived in the suburb of Waratah West, only a small walk from the University of Newcastle. It was a modest house, with 8 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. I lived with a diverse group of 3 other men and 4 women: a few students, a couple workers, and a couple college dropouts trying to pursue the arts. We had a few issues with the house, including 6 weeks of waiting for Internet installation. But in that time period, we were forced to entertain each other, and become a funky, yet functional family of strangers. Since I did not live near any restaurants, and transportation by bicycle or bus could be time consuming, I was forced to learn how to cook. I became obsessed with eating healthy and even tried making some adventurous culinary dishes, including kangaroo stew, and classics like “prawns on the barbie”. I admit cooking is probably the greatest skill I improved while abroad.
The Uni itself was very different from UA.
The large campus was built on a swamp, on sacred Aboriginal lands. Whereas UA
is a very groomed campus, Newcastle Uni is left very natural. Footpaths wind
through thick forest and trees filled with cockatoos and kookaburras surround
the buildings. A neat feature of the campus is the two bars, including Bar on
the Hill, which is the venue for big on-campus parties and concerts. A popular
inexpensive place to get a bite on campus was the Bakery, where they had $2
meat pies. There is no big university sports team that brings students
together, however, which sometimes made it hard to feel really proud of or
involved with the school beyond the classroom. However, I did enjoy the freedom
of the university, including the ability to publically drink and smoke if one
desired, the massive cultural diversity, and overall casual, yet professional,
vibe from professors and staff.
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| My house at 10 Parkhill Parade, Waratah, NSW 2298, Australia |
Classes at Uni were challenging. I was enrolled in a philosophy, Aboriginal studies (online), engineering mechanics, and an optics course. Similar to UA, there is a lecture and tutorial section to each course. Although over time I eventually made a few mates in my classes, I mostly had to learn to study alone. Of all the courses I took, Modern Optics taught by Dr. Vicki Keast, was the most challenging and equally the most rewarding course. By the end of semester there were only 11 students remaining. Even though I just barely passed, due to the demanding nature of the course and group laboratory component, I was able to make some great friends. Vicki (professors in Australia prefer to be referred to by their first name, and are generally quite relaxed in conversation) was great about knowing everyone by name and took the time to get to know each student. One of the neatest labs performed in the class was the creation of a hologram using a HeNe laser.
For my weeklong
Easter holiday break (Easter is the second-biggest holiday in Australia after
Christmas), I spontaneously travelled to Fiji. I went with no plans and no
prior reservations. I ended up meeting a
group of Norwegians currently living and studying in Sydney and we travelled to
a small island called Mana (I later made a few trips to Sydney to stay with
Knut, Andy, Dovre, and Kristoffer, and their other housemates from Norway). It
was in Fiji that I learned to how to properly travel, and the difference
between being a traveller and being a tourist. I also learned from the Fijians
how to love life and true hospitality. If you ever get the chance, I recommend
finding a friendly Fijian drop you off at the uninhabited island of Monuriki,
also known as the Castaway film
island…just be sure that he’ll return.
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| Approaching Monuriki by Fijian “taxi” |
After my final examinations concluded in June, I set off on my final trip across Australia. This time I decided to travel to Tasmania. I had heard many positive things about Tassie from my Tasmanian housemate. I had a devil of a time in Tasmania: summiting Mt. Wellington, touring the ruins of Port Arthur, the former convict settlement, and hiking part of the Overland Track in the Cradle Mountain-Lake Saint Claire National Park. Tasmania was incredibly pristine, including Hobart, the capital city. Tasmanians brag that they have the cleanest air on earth, and many had rainwater collection systems that did not require filtration for drinking.
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| Summit of Mt. Welling overlooking Hobart, Tasmania |
After Tasmania I spent 4 days in Melbourne, the capital city of Victoria. I had heard much argument while in Australia about which is the better city: Melbourne or Sydney. What is interesting about Melbourne is how it felt more like the cultural capital of Australia, with people from all over the world. It is a very wealthy city due to the Victorian 1850s gold rush and has invested much of its wealth in architecture and the most extensive tram system of any city in the world. And where it seemed sometimes like Sydney was competing to be a big city on the global scale, a world-class economic centre, Melbourne was more focused on doing its own thing. And from this, Melbourne has been able to develop a really interesting city filled with unique cafés, graffiti-covered alleyways, wide variety of art and architecture, and a population of trendy and progressive Melbournians.
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| Looking north from Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, Victoria |
Living in Australia and my study abroad experience has made a large impact on my life. Beyond the classes and grades, I learned about how to live and how to travel the world. Upon arrival, Australia does not seem vastly different from the US. It was not until coming home that I began to see small variances. One of my favorite things about Australia was how most purchased items were on the dollar, or a very rounded amount. General sales tax was already included, making cash transactions easy, and budgeting oneself simple. And since workers are paid well, there is no “tipping-culture” as found in the US. In Australia there was much less advertising, less commercials, less chain-restaurants, and a government-funded ad-free radio station that actually promoted upcoming unsigned Australian artists (I still continue to live-stream Triple J). Aussies were on average quite health-conscious and physically “tough” individuals. Eggs were brown, spotted, and cage free. Australians were patient, embodying their own philosophy, “no worries, mate”. I learned so much from studying abroad and I believe it completes any student’s university experience. I hope to someday return to Australia, and even search for engineering internships there after graduation. I would like to thank the UA Honors College and UA Study Abroad office for the support and opportunity. Special thanks goes to Kelly Carter and Laura Moix.
Cheers,
Christopher
Schmitt
