Allow me to introduce myself…

… because evidently I forgot to in my introductory post. I’m Courtney Chin and normally I’m a proud student of Columbia College (class of 2010), but for this Fall 2008 semester I’m studying abroad at the University of Melbourne in Australia. The university is absolutely huge: it has nearly 35,000 students, and like Columbia, has several different schools within it: the school of design, of the arts, of engineering, of law, etc. Unlike Columbia, however, students could actually study law or medicine as undergraduates up until this past year, when they switched to the “Melbourne Model,” which is basically modeled after the American system of a more liberal arts undergraduate focus and then professional focus in graduate years. Established in 1853, the campus is absolutely enormous compared to our dear little one (walking to class might actually take more than five minutes), but the buildings are just as beautiful.

the quad within the Old Arts building

The university is based on the British system, meaning that it also has eleven affiliated colleges within it. Whereas in the States, a college is just an undergraduate school, it means something quite different here. A college is actually a residential community– sizes vary, some have only 60 members whereas the largest have about 350– where students not only live but also have a dining hall, library, rec center, etc., and also have their own sports teams and other such clubs. Think Harry Potter. My college is called Queen’s College, home to about 200 students, most of whom are all Australian– I believe there are 8 exchange students.

the view from my window

Living in college is truly unlike anything I’ve ever imagined– it’s almost like the sorority experience I never thought I wanted, but it is all kinds of lovely. The community is so tight-knit; everybody knows each other’s names and says hello when they see you on campus, everybody hangs out in the quad together and takes all their meals together, and everybody parties together. The college actually sponsors things called “turns,” which are basically themed drunken fiascos (like bling or childhood fears) where at the end of the night each year’s song (there are only first, second, and third year residents) gets played and then we all recite the Queen’s College chants. We also have a GC, or General Committee, which is like a student governing board that hosts a general meeting open to the entire college once a semester, where freshers aren’t allowed to speak– and if they do, they get thrown in the shower with their clothes. Whenever a sports team wins a grand final match, we spoon bang, which isn’t nearly as dirty as it sounds… it really is just banging our spoons on the table in the dining hall for an obscenely long time until our hands hurt, the spoons are bent, and the tables are missing significant chunks. Although Columbia is over a century older than Queen’s, the traditions that Queen’s has give the college such a unique character in comparison.

Hello from Australia!

Americans have quite the conception of Australia, this lonely land mass quite literally on the opposite side of the Earth. For one, we call it the land “down under,” which you’ll only hear from tour operators here. Australia also probably conjures images of the outback, kangaroo-riding cowboys, blonde surfers, and constant sunshine. Well, I can assure you, that is not the case– at least in Melbourne.

In fact, Melbourne is a lot like New York in certain ways. Although greater Australia is pretty warm most of the time, Melbourne is the southernmost city and does in fact have a winter. Upon arriving in July (the dead of their winter), I was unpleasantly surprised by rather cold temperatures and the most erratic weather I’ve ever experienced– they call it “four seasons in one day.” It of course doesn’t compare to a New York winter, but I arrived to 40 degree weather with a suitcase full of summer clothes. My mistake.

And though Melbourne’s central business district is just a speck on the map in comparison to New York, you really couldn’t tell the difference if you took a walk around. Starbucks, McDonald’s (which they comically call Macka’s… they shorten everything), KFC, and even Subway are all over the city, as are Target and K-Mart. There is the tram system, a very obtrusive metal monster interrupting traffic and pedestrians every which way (never have I appreciated the merits of an underground subway so much), but other than that, Melbourne looks like any other city.

Yet there are hints that you are, indeed, on the opposite side of the Earth. Melbourne is incredibly international; there’s more than one China Town, an Italian district, a Greek precinct, and pretty much every ethnic food you can think of… but everybody is either Caucasian or Asian. Black people are extremely rare, and Hispanic people simply do not exist here. It’s bizarre. And though they obviously speak English here, it might as well be another language. The accent is so thick and the phrasology so unique that for the first few weeks I just smiled and nodded at people. Instead of saying “how are you,” they ask “how are you going,” or more commonly, “how ya going.” I had absolutely no idea how to answer this when I first got here, and constantly told people where I was going or the mode of transport I was taking, only to get weird looks. It was awkward. But I’m learning…

(By the way, I’m Courtney Chin, a member of the Columbia College class of 2010 studying abroad at the University of Melbourne for the Fall 2009 semester. I promise I’ll introduce myself properly in the next post!)