Saying G’day has a whole new meaning to some New Jersey college students.

At least seventeen of them traveled halfway around the world this semester to experience life in Australia by studying at the University of Melbourne (www.unimelb.edu.au) in Victoria, Australia’s own “Garden State.”

Melbourne prides itself on being diverse, just like New Jersey. In Melbourne the mix is mostly immigrants from almost every country in Europe and Asia, says Joyce Lee, a Rutgers University junior majoring in East Asian Studies. Many come from Indonesia, Malaysia, or Singapore, which are close to Australia.

No matter where people come from, the Aussie ideal of having “no worries” soon becomes second nature. “The lifestyle of people in Australia is much more relaxed than in New Jersey,” says Kruti Patel, a Rutgers junior. “They work hard but they also know how to kick back and enjoy the day.”

The way students act toward popular culture is generally the same in both places; they go to the movies, clubs, shops, study and work, says Hannah Perlis of Rowan University.

A major difference in Australia is that university sports are not known, so there is a lack of school spirit, says Rutgers student Cindy Cheung. Nothing like Rutgers football or Seton Hall basketball at the U. of M. down under.

This means most students do not wear college apparel, like the sweatshirts so often seen around New Jersey. Students in Australia follow the latest fashions more closely, too. “In New Jersey people wear sweatpants and flip flops to class. Here they wear more fashionable clothing,” says Perlis.

Australian students are also generally more careful than people from New Jersey about preserving the beautiful and respecting the environment. “It’s a lot less polluted than home,” says Lee. Students in Melbourne are conscious of taking four minute showers and using environmentally friendly, reusable bags instead of plastic.

The folks who work in study abroad offices on New Jersey campuses urge students to try the lifestyle and culture of a university overseas. Those who did that in Victoria say they will return home to the other Garden State with tons of new mates and memories.

Jacklyn Adames, a Rutgers University sophomore says, “I’m going back a different person; I’m going to miss it here.”

by NJ My Way contributor Beth Eisen, one of the Rutgers students at the University of Melbourne