Feeding a mob of kangaroos at the Koala Park Sanctuary.
Author: Anya Ratycz | Major: Biomedical Engineering | Semester: Spring 2025
When I left for Sydney, Australia on January 22, 2025, I expected that I would end the semester abroad with an Australian accent and a nice beach tan. Little did I know that the beautiful city of Sydney would be an international, multicultural wonder filled with much more than kangaroos and boomerangs. Besides opera house visits and walks along the Pacific, I found myself most comfortable visiting the nearby Chinatown and shopping at the underground Paddy’s Markets. I never thought that visiting Australia would give me access to some of the best Asian cuisine of my life. However, the true focus during my time abroad was on my coursework at the University of Technology Sydney.
The University of Technology Sydney is a beautiful campus comprised of numerous buildings found throughout the city. From the moment that I stepped into the lime green lecture hall of my fluid mechanics class, I knew that this would be a very different experience than back home. One of the most surprising differences was the UTS Super Lab, where they would have four or more classes going on at once due to the sheer size of the space. We each had headsets that plugged into a station at our tables so that we could listen to the teaching assistants’ instructions without disrupting other classes. In my time at UTS I also joined the Biomedical Engineering Student Association, and through them I was able to tour the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and learn more about their Biomedical Engineers on staff. Considering that I am a Biomedical Engineering major myself, it was extremely beneficial and educational to have the opportunity to see my major in practice. Another aspect of UTS and Sydney as a whole that I respected was their reverence towards the Aboriginal Australian people. Every speech and lecture began with an Acknowledgement of Country, during which they took a moment to recognize the Aboriginal Australians as the original owners of the land that the University was built on. All throughout Sydney there were signs and memorials to recognize this as well. This was a profound experience because even though Arkansas is originally Native American land, I have never come across this in any of my schooling.
I had always wanted to study abroad, but knew very little about my opportunities as a biomedical engineering major. Fortunately, one of my friends on the frisbee team at the University of Arkansas that shares my major told me about her experience abroad at UTS. That conversation piqued my interest and inspired me to learn more about what that program had to offer. My connection to her also granted me access to the Ultimate Frisbee team at UTS. They welcomed me with open arms as I joined their team for the semester. After weeks of acclimating to the team, we loaded up for the four-hour drive inland to a tournament in Bathurst. Not only did I get to enjoy a weekend of great ultimate, but I also got to experience rolling hills filled with mobs of kangaroos (yes, that’s really what a group of kangaroos is called). If I squinted hard enough, they almost reminded me of the deer on the side of the road back home.
Besides making friends on the frisbee team, I found a community with the other exchange students that lived in university housing. There I met a small group of friends that I spent most of my time with while in Australia. A couple of us were lucky enough to attend a weekend surf camp together at Seven Mile Beach National Park. We spent two days split off into groups learning the basics of board mechanics, and through much trial and error practiced standing up in the white waters. By the end of the weekend, I was riding the waves like a true Aussie surfer.
Even though I was able to find a community in Australia, I still spent majority of my time alone, but that did not stop me from having the experience of a lifetime. I found that I was holding myself back from adventures because I did not think they could be done alone. Australia taught me otherwise. Once I let go of this silly rule I had placed on myself, I flourished. There is a certain peace that comes with a solo beach trip or a fancy night in the Opera House. Being alone in a new place so far from home truly promoted an amount of self-growth that I never thought possible. I will forever cherish my time in Sydney, Australia.