Going on exchange while at Uni is a big decision - but it also could be the best one you ever make!
We spoke with UTS student Holly Johnston about her experience going on exchange in Spain, to help you weigh up whether it’s the right choice for you. Check out the Q&A below.
What motivated you to study International Studies?
I didn’t know what I wanted to study when I was in high school, but I knew I was interested in the world and learning about global issues. I had the opportunity to travel to countries in Asia with my family as a kid and that sparked my passion for learning about different cultures. I was a little concerned about learning a language as I had not enjoyed language classes in high school, but I decided to give it a try because I was very motivated to spend a year studying abroad. I also thought the non-language subjects in the degree aligned well with some of my favourite subjects in high school (Geography, History and Society and Culture).
What were your expectations about the experience?
When I first signed up for the degree, I knew very little about Spain so my expectations were full of stereotypes like flamenco and tapas. However, over the first three years of my degree, before I studied abroad, I learnt a lot about Spanish culture including its complex modern history, its contemporary political issues and aspects of the culture I never knew about from my Spanish-born lecturers and tutors who spoke with great fondness for their country. This, combined with an eagerness to put two years of Spanish language classes to practise and improve my conversational language skills with Spanish people in authentic scenarios, made the prospect of moving to Spain quite exciting. I was still quite nervous, moving to another country was a daunting prospect, but I did feel UTS had prepared me with the cultural and language knowledge I needed to make the most out of it.
Did anything surprise you once your experience started?
A lot of things took me by surprise once I arrived in Granada, like the food, the different opening hours of stores (this took me a long time to adapt to) and public holidays when all of a sudden, shops were closed and the streets were filled with people celebrating a holiday I’d not known was coming. One of the best surprises was probably that I made many friends from all over Europe, as many students studying in Granada were participating in a European exchange program called Erasmus. I made many friends from Italy, France, Germany, Sweden, Belgium, Poland, Netherlands and more. These friendships were strengthened by a shared experience of studying abroad and as many did not speak English, it was a shared experience of learning to speak Spanish together.
In what ways do you think the experience helped you grow as a person?
Living in a new country and culture was both rewarding and challenging. The experience overall made me more aware of how I present myself and communicate with others, both verbally and through body language, as I was put in many new situations where I had to make new connections using a different language and exercising cultural awareness. These situations included interactions with university tutors, group assignments with local students, interviewing people for my research project, roommates and meeting other students at parties. These interactions made me more resilient and equipped me to handle new connections and misunderstandings better.
If you’re interested in experiencing everything exchange has to offer, find out more and check out the incredible 40 countries you could live in with our Global Exchange Program. UTS has over 240 partners you can study with in countries including Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Morocco, Italy, Korea, Japan, Peru, Spain and too many others to name.
You can choose between a one or two session exchange program depending on how long you want to live abroad. Or, if going for a whole semester is too long or expensive, you can choose a short-term exchange program and pick up extra credits during your uni break!
On top of the Global Exchange Program, other opportunities to travel while you study include the BUILD Global Builders if global leadership is your thing, or the Colombo Plan Scholarship offering life-changing financial assistance in the Indo-Pacific region. If you want to go the extra mile and centre your whole degree around worldliness, looking into a Bachelor of International Studies is a really good idea.
Odds are you’ll only be at uni once, so why not have the adventure of a lifetime while you study!