During our orientation at Kaplan Business School, I was asked to share my tips, then I realised it has been 7 years since I graduated! So I think it's time for me to reflect on my journey and share some of my learnings as a previous international student and current immigrant in Australia :)
About Study
Learning English is like training your muscles. Feeling embarrassed and not practising will bring you nowhere. Plus now you have the best immersive English learning environment, so use it! It would be a waste if you don't. There are many free (or nearly free) English classes around Australia, at community centres. Here is the list in Adelaide. Read here to learn how I improved my English. Also, remember the main purpose of a language is to communicate. People don’t care too much about your grammar. One fun fact is do you know many Australians can only speak one language? So please be proud of yourself, you are bilingual!
There are no silly questions here. If you don't understand, just ask. Unlike China, we care so much about losing 'face'. We worry if we get it wrong, others would laugh at us. People here are generally very friendly and they welcome your questions, because they see it as a form of engagement, which will be good for your final marks 😉 So be FREE.
It's ok to interrupt others during your class discussions. The culture here is very different. They welcome your input because your opinions do matter. That’s why people may not take the initiative to ask for your insights, so you need to speak up proactively. Don’t let your English stop you from being a contributor.
Have a critical mind, because everyone is not perfect. So even if your teachers tell you something, take the time to think about it and have the courage to challenge or question them.
About Skills
Learn to drive and buy a car earlier if you can. Otherwise, you will be so limited to where you go. Yes, it’s scary at the beginning, but isn’t it the same for many things in life? If others can do it, so can you (thanks to Alex).
Learn to swim as early as you can. Australia is a water paradise. You will be missing out if you don’t. You will be amazed by how diverse their water sports are here.
About Life
Making mistakes is the best way to learn and grow. When people tell you what to do and not to do, you tend to forget. But only when you do it yourself, you will remember. So have the courage to try out.
You can make the best decision on your own because you are the only one that knows yourself the most. A lot of times you like to give this special right to others because you either hope to take a shortcut or you don’t trust yourself. But normally you will get so exhausted because you end up having too many different answers. Also, a lot of times things that work for them might not work for you, because every individual is unique and different in their own ways. Ask your heart.
Share your Chinese music and culture. Sing, write and perform. Use your talents. You will find out people love it because this is your unique cultural identity. So share and celebrate it. People will appreciate your sharing in this multicultural country.
Take one step at a time. You might not be able to get what you want straight away. So if you don’t know what your future direction is, that’s ok. Just do what you like, and the rest will follow eventually. Have some patience and belief in yourself.
In the end. I want to share a song (thanks to Josh) with you to give you the extra beats and power to move forward. Hope you like it and enjoy this ride! :)