Life In Adelaide

Last Updated on Tuesday, 16 March 2010 01:17 Written by Andrew Lai Friday, 11 December 2009 03:07

Attention: open in a new window.

I also went to a footy game! Australian rules football is a great game, so different from anything in the States. They even play it on an oval field, not a rectangle.

By Kara Perez

Hello from Adelaide, South Australia! I've been here since July 15th and I love it! I'm Kara Perez and I'm from outside of Boston, MA. I go to Wesleyan University in the states and will be studying at the University of Adelaide for this semester. Adelaide is a small city compared to just about any other city here in Australia, but it’s so beautiful and well planned. The parks are my favorite part. They're amazing and something I have to walk through to get to uni. There's so much space here it's hard to believe it's a city.

The differences between Australia and the states have been hitting me continuously. I'd say the biggest thing I'm noticing here is just the fact that things are different. I expected Australia to be very similar to alt the States but it definitely has its own culture, vibe and style. The slang is very different (but amazing!) Things like TV shows or foods I thought were worldwide either are different here or don't really exist. For example, no sour patch kids here! The Australians just made their own version of Top Chef, (called Master Chef) this year, and they get American episodes of things weeks or even months later.

I have been loving it here and really exploring the city. I've been to the Adelaide Botanical Gardens, which are extensive and beautiful. Definitely someplace I'll be returning to a couple of times. I also went to a footy game! Australian rules football is a great game, so different from anything in the States. They even play it on an oval field, not a rectangle. Also, being from a suburb where cars dominate traveling, WALKING everywhere in the city is a totally new experience. Rather than drive 10 minutes to Target you walk 10 minutes.

Classes are run differently as well. You generally have many different professors for one subject. A professor who specializes on the topic to be discussed on a given day is the one who gives the lecture. You can have 7 different professors for one class throughout alt the course of a term. At my home university, we generally don't have huge lecture classes. Here at Adelaide they're a regular thing. You have a lecture once a week and a tutorial (a smaller discussion section) or a "prac" (a lab) once a week for class.

Aussie slang has got to be the best part of my new life. I love it. I find the differences between my speech habits and theirs hilarious and fascinating. I say " you're welcome" and they say "that's a-right". I say, "candy" and they say "lollies" (for everything except chocolate.) I think it’s so great. It's an easy but major cultural difference that keeps coming up.

So those are my first couple of weeks in Adelaide! It's really been wonderful and adjusting has not been a problem. The Aussies deserve their reputation for friendliness. I can’t wait to start traveling around and seeing more of this country!