“So, what’s Australia like?” An international student’s perspective
- Mariana Rodriguez Castaneda
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July 2025 marked a year since I moved to Sydney. Almost as if to commemorate my anniversary, I bought a plane ticket to visit home. The fourteen-hour-plus flight to San Francisco, followed by a four-hour trip to Mexico City, and a three-hour bus ride to my city, Querétaro, reminded me of the reason why, when I first arrived in Sydney, people would ask, “What are you doing here, so far away?” Yes, it takes more than a day to travel from one place to the other, crossing sixteen time zones. I had spent a year “living in the future”, always a day ahead of my family and friends.
My welcome back was filled with Mexican food and warmth, both literal and figurative.
How many spiders have you seen?
One, sorry to disappoint. It was just a huntsman, wanna see? Everybody freaked out.
Is it true that kangaroos roam free everywhere?
Well, not in Sydney’s Business District if that tells you anything. But drive a couple of hours away from the city and voilà.
Are koalas really freaking cute?
Yes. I did, however, have to explain to my 85-year-old grandma what a koala was. And let me tell you about the birds. Listen to the kookaburra! This is an Ibis, people call them bin-chickens. There are rainbow lorikeets, rose-breasted and sulphur-crested cockatoos, almost as common as there are pigeons! Did I tell you I was swooped?. Thankfully not by a magpie!
What’s the food like over there?
I told them about Lamington, how I have successfully avoided Vegemite, that fish and chips are also a thing down under, and how Costco has meat pies. However, the highlight of my culinary experience has been the diversity of international food that I have been able to try, including Thai, Korean, Middle Eastern, and Chinese cuisine (I had hot pot for the first time!).
See the two videos below about Mexican food.
What are Australians like?
Friendly! Always ready to help their mates. And I have also met people from so many different backgrounds, including China, New Zealand, Indonesia, Thailand, Korea, India, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, and more. All contributing to making Australia one of the most diverse countries I have ever visited. I also told everyone that Australia Always was, always will be Aboriginal land. That there is an acknowledgement of country for over 400 distinct Australian Aboriginal peoples. I showed everyone the black, yellow, and red flag, which proudly stands in resistance all over the city.
How’s the beach?
Well, I can catch a bus on any given day to take me there, instead of driving seven hours to the nearest coast. Every once in a while, I have to remind myself that I am living in an island continent. That the rigs and cliffs on the edge point me to the immensity of the Pacific, the same ocean I have swam in in Mexico before.
And how have you been?
I could automatically say good. But although I have enjoyed my time in this country, I have also missed speaking Spanish. Although I am fluent in a language that I learned from the age of six, my brain makes an extra effort whenever I need to articulate my ideas in English. I have learned to be more patient with myself, to accept that it is okay to not know certain words, to get tongue-tied, to confuse prepositions, to have to repeat what I said, and to have an accent. In Australia, most people are like me. And if the way I speak makes someone wonder where is she from? I will take it as an opportunity to talk about Mexico and to learn about their origins. It is a chance to share our stories.
I also had to confront the differences and contrasts that made me wish for a better Mexico. For instance, as a woman, I told my friends that I don’t have to be as wary of my everyday movements in Australia, such as taking public transport or walking alone at night in my neighborhood. This isn’t to say that Australia is free of violence, or that Mexico is defined only by a lack of safety. But living in another country makes you realise how there are significant lacks and issues to work on for everyone’s sake.
I missed saying ‘provecho’ (have a good meal) every time I saw my roommates eating dinner. I had to hold myself back when greeting someone to avoid a hug or a cheek-to-cheek kiss. They do not think it is rude, but why do I feel like I am being impolite?
Two iconic structures: Aqueduct of Querétaro in Mexico, and Sydney Opera House in Australia
After all, you went there to study. How is school?
I have read and learned about Cultural Studies to a greater extent than I expected. But I have also learned that the pressures of being a migrant are heavy on one’s shoulders. I know the effort my family has put into my journey, and so every day I put in the work to make it worth it. And I know that, like me, many other immigrants and first or second-generation Australians are also looking out for themselves and others.
Have you told your Australian friends about us?
Of course! I have shared with them our jokes, our trips, our best moments together, and how much I miss you, my friends. And let me tell you about the wonderful people in Sydney. Part of the international student experience is those fleeting connections, the people you share a moment with and then never see again. However, I have been fortunate to find beautiful, meaningful connections. If someone had told me when I was nine years old that twenty years later, two of my closest friends would be Malaysian women, I probably would have had to pull out a map just to locate Malaysia. Even as I have struggled to connect deeply with people from Latin America or Mexico, being outside of my home country has made me more aware of how important it is to have a shared spoken and bodily language, cultural perspective, culinary tastes, and even celebrating holidays together (like Día de Muertos).
And do you have a scholarship? Where do you live? What about a car?
Of course, not everything is rosy-colored. There are challenges to being an international student in Australia. The stress of trying to find accessible accommodation in a city with a housing crisis. Budgeting for fruit and vegetables that cost twice as much as in Mexico, accounting for not being eligible for a public transportation concession card. Balancing study and fun, whilst not being familiar with a strict marking criteria where an 85 is ‘exceptional’.
Going back to Mexico on holiday made me realise that living in Australia has reinforced my sense of identity. As a joke, I started ‘collecting nationalities’. People would assume I am Filipino, Indian, Nepali, Malaysian, Brazilian, or Colombian. I realized that there are not as many people (as there are from other countries) who look like me. That I am, for once, a person whose origins are not widely known. “Oh, Mexico! I have been to Cancún.” Which is a beautiful place, but it is also a tourist experience. It is only a portion of the diversity and challenges that make up my country. “Oh, I have had Guzmán & Gomez!” Well, even though burritos are a thing back home, they do not really look like this. I am, in part, shaped by the ideas and assumptions Australians have about Mexico. But I am, and we are, much more than that.
It is the little things that catch my attention, reminding me that I am creating a home outside of home. For instance, after spending 28 years of my life living in the northern hemisphere, I now have a winter birthday in August. I have learned to walk, stand, and even swim on the left. Jacarandas bloom in October, not April. And the toilet does indeed flush “the other way around”. As my last semester in my postgraduate studies comes along, I am lucky enough to feel that I now belong to two places at once.
Additional Resources
Teaching & Parent Resources
- Explore how you can foster belonging for your students, particularly those from EAL/D backgrounds, in our free online interactive modules for teachers:
- Students can also explore concepts related to home and cultural special days in our free online interactive modules:
- Once Upon a Time… en Español: Storytelling sessions in Spanish held in Melbourne, a great way for children to experience bilingual narratives.
- Read-Aloud Books (themes of identity, family, and migration).
- Holidays and Food: Read about Mexican celebrations such as Día de Muertos and December festivities, with a focus on food traditions.
- All Around the World Music: A collection of Latin American songs for children, featuring merengue, huapango, and cumbia to bring global rhythms into the classroom or home.
Further Exploration
- LLAMA: A not-for-profit charity supporting the Latin American community in Australia by enhancing the migrant experience and fostering cultural connections.
- Latin Stories: A resource hub featuring narratives and experiences of Latin Americans in Australia.
- Like Australian Aboriginal peoples, Mexico’s Native Tongues Struggle to Stay Alive.
- Instituto Cervantes (Sydney & Melbourne): Offers a cultural schedule including film screenings, talks, and Latin American events across the month. A hub for exploring language, arts, and culture in both cities.
About the Author
Mariana (she/her) is a 29-year-old Master’s student who grew up in Querétaro, México. She found her passion for education after being a high-school teacher for five years, and she took on the challenge of doing postgraduate studies in her second language (and very very far away from home!). She hopes to continue sharing her Mexican culture and the richness of Latin America with the people in Sydney.
Copyright
Metadata © Together for Humanity (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Together for Humanity (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Together for Humanity (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Together for Humanity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Copyright
Metadata © Together for Humanity (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Together for Humanity (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Together for Humanity (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Together for Humanity is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Stage: All
- Curriculum: English; HASS
- Topics: Cultural differences; Identity