Shaeden's Exchange to University of Wisconsin, Whitewater | USA
My name is Shaeden and I studied abroad at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, USA in Semester 2, 2018. At Murdoch, I am studying a Bachelor of Arts, Double Major in History and English/Creative Writing.
The key factors for myself choosing to study at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater were:
I wanted to visit the US and I wanted a university that was in a smaller town. This was because my friend had gone on exchange in California and she had said that while the experience was great, it was easy to feel lost in such a big university and such a big place. I wanted a more intimate experience, where it wouldn’t feel quite as overwhelming, especially coming as an online student who would be actually attending classes for the first time! The area of Wisconsin came from the testimony of one of the students who had done the exchange prior (at Eu Clair) who seemed delighted with Wisconsin. The idea of a place that would see real snow in the winter also helped to cinch the idea!
A little about the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater, classes, the teaching system and contact hours...
I took four classes: History of Sexuality, Culture, Myth and Legend, US Latino Literature and Literature on Film. I absolutely loved all of these classes and what I found particularly enjoyable was simply choosing the classes; the US, I found, has so many diverse and interesting subjects available. It was hard to narrow it down to four! There were two classes per week for each subject and they took the form of an hour and fifteen minute tutorial-like classes. What first surprised me is that there were no lectures like we have in Australia – the set up is very different. In Australia we have one lecture and one tutorial per week. The US is very much more about class engagement and discussion rather than sitting and listening to a person talk at the front of the class. I found this to be thoroughly enjoyable as it really allowed for free-flowing discussion regarding each topic and the conversations we had were all very engaging and helped give different spins on each topic. The teachers were very friendly and they related to us very personably, which I also liked, as it didn’t feel that they were talking down to us or anything. I’m not sure whether I say I prefer one system over the other – the downside to the US was that there was a lot of reading and preparation before every class, so it could get a little overwhelming – as both have their perks.
Whitewater
Wisconsin was very small! This had both benefits and downsides; there wasn’t
any public transport really, because everything was within walking distance
(Walmart, the chemist, the bars and restaurants etc) but it also meant that
there was little to no option to leave Whitewater and journey into outer
Wisconsin (i.e Madison, Janesville, Milwaukee) or even Chicago, because the
only real option was to drive out and, unsurprisingly, I didn’t have a car.
However, after befriending a few fellow students with access to a car, we were
able to venture out a few times and the Exchange Program itself was really good
at organizing trips that allowed us to explore the rest of Wisconsin. The local
were mostly students, as I got the impression that Whitewater is predominantly
a college town, which made for a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Really, because I
had an apartment, my favorite place to eat was at home with my roommates, who
were all American students that quickly became my friends.
The best parts of my exchange were
definitely the classes, because they were so interesting and fascinating and
different to anything else that I’ve studied before. My fellow classmates were
all passionate about the subjects and it made for a lively and engaging and
often times funny lesson. Which leads me to my other favorite part of the
exchange, which was the friends I made. As well as my roommates, I made friends
in each of my classes and also joined the English Club and the LGBTQIA+ club on
campus, both of which held meetings each week for us all to catch up and engage
in fun activities. The LGBTQIA+ at Whitewater I would like to give a special
shout-out to because they were all extremely friendly and welcoming and formed
the basis for the first group of friends I had there.
Whilst I didn’t experience culture shock (mostly because I feel the culture in Australia is quite similar to that in the US), towards the end of the trip I did experience a little homesickness, predominantly because at this point, the last two weeks of semester, people were already leaving the campus as their classes ended and a lot of my friends were leaving, which saw me feeling a little lonely. The fact that it was nearing Christmas, which is a big family deal for, probably didn’t help! I mostly combatted this by reaching out to my friends and family in Australia and making sure to touch base more often with them and also reminding myself that I was only there for a brief time and I should therefore make the most of it.
I lived in Starin Hall, which was more
apartment like dormitories. There were four bedrooms, so we each had out own
privacy, and then a small lounge room/common area, a kitchen and a bathroom. It
was absolutely perfect for someone like me who is a little older than most
students and has therefore lived the last nine years or so independently in my
own space back in Australia. I’m not sure I would have been able to adjust
quite so well if I was sharing a single room with one other person! I loved
Starin Hall because we had our own kitchen, which meant we could cook and buy
food and therefore didn’t have to eat at campus dining, which allowed a little
more freedom (and a little more healthy options!). The accommodation was
offered through the university; it is part of the application process and I
think it was only because of my age that I was able to get into the apartment
style dorms. I would recommend staying on campus as I know some other
international students had difficulties obtaining apartments off-campus for
only six months. Plus, it makes things
very easy for in between classes.
I had a
combination of personal savings, a $2000 scholarship and $6000 of OS Help Loan.
Some places I visited included...
I visited Seattle first, then Chicago before I went to Whitewater – I absolutely adored Chicago, which is a bustling hub of culture, interesting sights and some pretty good shopping! I was fortunate enough to be there when the weather was sunny and bright as well, so it made walking around Chicago a delight. I visited the Free Zoo, a few museums and went on a Ghost and Gangsters tour that walked us through Al Capone’s hotspots! Whilst in Whitewater, we had a trip to a dairy farm organized (which was hilarious and a lot of fun!), a trip to a corn-maze and a “haunted forest” for Halloween (both of which I highly recommend if they offer them when you are over there) and a few trips to Madison and Milwaukee. After Whitewater, I spent two weeks in New York for Christmas and New Years, which was a nice way to end the trip.
My advice to you would be...
- Make sure you have enough money! There’s nothing worse than running out and/or having to watch every single penny you spend! You want to have fun there, not worry about finances!
- If you have a roommate, break the ice early! You don’t want to suddenly start talking two weeks before the end of Semester and find you guys could actually be best friends and could have been hanging out the entire time!!
- Actually attend classes – this might sound silly but I know some people might go over there with a partying mindset, but you might actually miss out on some cool classes with really interesting topics!
- Don’t just make friends with other international students, make some local friends too! It can be easy to fall into this, because you’re all there together as sort of “outsiders” and often have things organized as a group, but remember you’re there to experience the culture of the place you’re visiting – for that you need local friends too!
- Shaeden studied abroad at the University of Wisconsin- Whitewater in the USA
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