Jonathan Chua
Bachelor of Psychological Science
My name is Jonathan and I am 21 years old. I am a second year Bachelor of Psychological Science student at the University of South Australia (UniSA). I’ve been living in Adelaide for 8 months now and it has been an amazing journey so far, full of wonderful and eye opening experiences. All these would not be possible without the support of my parents as well as the Study Abroad Unit (SAU) at TARUC. Right from the start, The SAU laid down all my options and explained the pros and cons of each one of them. They were friendly and patient, even when my questions seem stupid. Besides that, they also greatly helped me with the process of studying abroad, providing me with sufficient information and organizing the necessary documents. Their involvement did not just stop there, even 5717km (I googled it) apart, they constantly checked up on us, making sure we were coping well, in our health and our studies. For all these, I am very grateful to have their constant support and guidance. Studying Psychological Science at UniSA has been a whole new wonderful experience. I am currently based at the Magill campus and it is a beautiful one. Greenery everywhere, a river flowing through right at the heart of the campus, sufficient and well-kept facilities, what more could you ask for. The subjects I have done so far has also been interesting and provided me with plenty of knowledge that I could use in the future as a psychologist or even in life. One of the most interesting subjects I have done so far was Biological and Learning Psychology. We had field trips to the zoo and studied the similarity between humans and apes. It would be hard to explain why it is relevant to psychology, you would have to learn and experience it first-hand. The lecturers here has also been friendly and helpful, the classes very engaging and interactive. You would be surprised on how much more you could learn from effective group discussions, sometimes even more than what the lecturer is teaching in the front. One advice I would give to my juniors is to always keep an open mind. Getting exposed to a whole new culture can be terrifying at times, but if you are willing to experience and understand the new culture, you’ll enjoy and learn so much more from studying abroad and even travelling.