Last semester, I heard about one program conducted by CK-1(Creative Korea-1). It was a learning program in which students went to Australia, which is a donor country for learning International Development and Cooperation (IDC). I thought it was a good chance to learn the IDC of Australia, experience Australian culture by living with a home-stay family, and develop my English ability. So, I applied for it!
As for lectures, three professors who had a lot of field experience gave lectures to us. They applied their experiences to the lectures so that students could understand the content of classes and even some difficult theories more easily. Most of the classes were based on discussions, and that made students participate. In order to help the students to understand the classes well, we had a chance to attend a special lecture which was delivered by the former Minister of National Defense of The Republic of South Sudan. We could learn about the current situation of South Sudan and how IDC works to help and solve South Sudan’s problems. We also attended another special lecture about the life of aborigines who were suffering from some policies. As both of these lectures were given by the parties related to the cases of IDC, I could listen to vivid stories, empathize with them, and furthermore think about these issues from their side. Australia stepped into the field of IDC earlier than South Korea, so there I could learn IDC in more detail and hear a variety of examples coming from a vast extent of land and diverse ethnicities.
Apart from academic areas, Australia was a glamorous country. Since I moved from South Korea to Australia, it was midwinter weather just a few hours before I arrived in Australia. But as soon as I arrived there, I could feel the wonderful summer weather. The brilliant sunlight, clear blue sky, and cool breeze were in perfect harmony. Also, Australia is close friends with nature. Birds were walking and flying around the tables, but people did not care about them and had their meals. I was surprised it looked familiar to them.
Australia’s loving-nature attitude can also be seen in water usage. Australia is a country that faces water shortage. Almost all of the people I met were carrying a water-bottle and even timed with a stopwatch while taking a shower to save water! I thought I should follow their example, so I tried to take a short shower and use a cup when I brushed my teeth.
At first, Australia was full of unfamiliar things to me: its weather is the opposite of South Korea’s weather, the foods are as diverse as its cultures, most of the shops are closed early, and people go to bed early and get up early. However, in only three weeks, I was completely fascinated by Australia. And now, I miss it there so much.