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Charlotte Reader / Her Campus
Life

10 Things to Expect When You Study Abroad in Australia

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Scranton chapter.
Everyone is SUPER chill 

Didn’t finish your work by the end of the workday? Not a problem. Really good surf day? Leave work early to catch some waves. Running 10 minutes late? That’s okay too!

People will be barefoot. 

Whether it be going to the grocery store, going to class or just walking around. No shoes. No problem. 

You probably won’t be able to understand everyone with their accents. 

It is common for Aussies to not really pronounce an R if its in the middle of the word, so it will be confusing at first. Also, they shorten and add “ey” to a lot of things. Breakfast = “brekky”, cookie = biscuit = “biccy,” barbeque = “barby”

Seeing a wallaby on the way to class is a thing!

If you walked down early to campus, you could see a few of them hanging along the pathway down!

S’mores DON’T EXIST

Graham crackers do not exist in Australia and neither do the same type of marshmallows that are in the US. So, good luck trying to make a yummy s’more!

TIM TAM SLAMS are the bomb.com. 

Tim tams are amazing alone, but a slam is so much better. It’s a wafer cookie coated with chocolate and has chocolate in the middle. To make it a slam, bite off the ends, dip it in your coffee/hot chocolate/ tea and use it as a straw and as soon as it is completely soaked! Finally, shove it in your mouth and enjoy the delicious snack!

Coffee is great everywhere. 

No joke. There are Starbucks only in major cities and if you do go to one people:  

a. know you’re a tourist

b. think you like “bad” coffee

 Go to any of the coffee shops and you will not be disappointed!

Most people are super environmentally friendly!

Everyone is all about the reusing bags, earth friendly cleaning supplies, biodegradable kitchen ware, composting, and so much more. We need to be more like the aussies and love our earth!

Traveling city to city? Make sure you only have 7kgs of stuff on you! 

Many of the airlines are strict on how much your carry-on weighs and will make you pay extra if it exceeds that weight. Learn to pack light!

You will miss it so much. 

I loved Australia and miss it more and more every day. The people, places, animals- everything was awesome. It was one of the best times of my life and cannot wait to go back. Catch me moving there one day. 

Sarah Coulson

Scranton '21

Exercise science major on track to be a PT!
Carly Long

Scranton '22

Carly is a senior studying Strategic Communications with a concentration in Legal Studies at The University of Scranton. This is her third year as CC at HC Scranton, which she hopes to continue to elevate. In her free time Carly can be found writing, working out, or buying new products to feed her skincare addiction.