Experiences
Case study blues
Jennie
The manager was locked in with a lack of satisfactory methods to deal with issues caused by the changing business environment.
This was our final case study and our task was to provide strategies to assist the manager in solving the existing and underlying problems. I had been studying business methods for the entire semester and was convinced I could manage the topic. Yet this piece of work was to lead to some soul searching on a far more personal level.
I completed the study but felt confused. How could I, as a professional, seek to provide solutions to business, when I was having difficulties solving similar problems in my own life?
I recalled a lecture where the lecturer seemed eager to hear what the real differences were between overseas students and local ones. She asked us “what are the difficulties for international students? What is different in terms of culture?”
One girl, in her first semester, was very uncomfortable with life here and answered “I miss the food in my hometown. I refused to eat anything in my first few days in Australia. I fainted in the library”. The class found this amusing and laughed. “C’mon, how could you do that?” they asked. ‘What’s the matter with you?”
Yet, rather than laughing at the girl and her child-like reply, I felt I would rather jeer at myself. I have been here nearly one and a half years and still find it too troublesome to go to the supermarket. I call myself a ‘nuisance’ as sometimes I try and look for ingredients with the same taste, the same style, yet I end up leaving without buying anything at all and feel deeply depressed.
Eating with friends
I also miss the food of my homeland. It’s true that Australian chefs in Chinese restaurants can make delicious food, but what I miss are the meals prepared by my parents, my friends, people I am familiar with. The food at home is different as I can feel the sense that it was made with love. There are words like ‘homesick’ and ‘culture shock’ but I would call it the ‘lack of a sense of belonging’. In Australia I am dealing with things myself, totally alone.
Time passes quickly. I do enjoy myself here, the ‘melting pot’ that is Australia. However I also experience times when I have to keep persuading myself to adjust to the environment, to eat the western food and get pleasure from talking to students, both local and those from other countries, using the universal language – English. I chat with people of various nationalities and admit, yes, as a master degree student, I am qualified enough to adjust to a different environment. But it does take time.
The success cases gave me the encouragement I needed. Many overseas students have overcome similar life difficulties and gone on to be lecturers, professors and university administrators. They now take responsibility in educating those newcomers and share their experiences. While at times I felt low, and even considered quitting, my choice to stick to my goal was the right choice.
I still remember one of my lecturer’s words in my first semester.. She said to me “Being an international student it is hard to get involved with the local culture. I would like to see the changes in your life and how you manage the difficulties between the different cultures and how you get through them.” I could clearly see a tear in the corner of her eye and I knew then that, she too, used to be an international student.
