What I really want to say when they ask ‘How’s Australia?’

By Valentina Calcagni, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

When someone asks me ‘How’s Australia?’, I like to jump to one of my default responses:

Option a) ‘Amazing, so amazing. I am having so much fun.’

Option b) ‘Brilliant. You should visit one day.’

Option c) ‘I saw a family of kangaroos.’

A fine set of options if you ask me, which always get the response you are hoping for. But upon reflection, there is so much more to say when I am asked that question.

In reality, my response should be secret Option d): ‘I found it hard when I first moved here. I felt that I was falling behind. I’ve grown to love Australia, and the person it has pushed me to be.’

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not about to start tossing this response into casual conversation, but I do think it is something that should be talked about more.

The funniest part is, if I could go back to Valentina who had just moved to Australia, the one who felt like she was falling behind, had no energy, and couldn’t keep up with everyone else, I would tell her:

‘FOR GOODNESS SAKE, WOMAN, YOU JUST MOVED ABROAD. OF COURSE YOU’RE TIRED. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK.’

The next funniest part is that other people felt the exact same way. Of course, they were smiling, laughing, saying how much they loved Australia, switching to one of the default responses when people asked how their new life was going, etc., etc.

But in reality, and let me say this louder for the people at the back:

MOVING ABROAD IS NOT EASY. EVERYONE IS TIRED.

And let me say this even louder:

‘YOU WILL BE FINE. YOUR ENERGY WILL COME BACK. YOU WILL BE FINE.’

I was speaking to my sister the other day, who has recently moved to Argentina. I have always looked up to my sister—she’s a free spirit with a natural ability to roll with the punches, and sometimes even punch back just for the fun of it.

She was telling me how she was struggling to adjust, had no energy, and felt like she was not keeping up with everyone else.

How funny—turns out we’re all in the same silly little boat. But why is that so surprising? It’s like trying a new food and hurling your plate across the room in outrage because it doesn’t taste like the food you were eating before.

Of course life feels different—what else did we expect?

Let me tell you this, and I can say this for certain now as I approach the end of my first semester abroad: you will find good people, you will find your routine, you will feel good.