Kotis was impressed by the academics at Washington College, particularly the sciences. She intends to become a veterinarian and plans to major in biology. The one drawback of pursuing a veterinary degree in the States is that it will take her at least eight years to complete, compared to six years in Australia. The path is shorter in Australia because students specialize earlier in their academic careers.

For Kotis, the chance to “experience the real America” is worth the additional couple of years studying. “Going to college here was a great excuse to travel abroad instead of doing it later in life when you haven’t really got the resources,” she said.

Chestertown’s size and beauty were a bonus. Instead of going to a college in a large metropolis—she grew up in a large city after all—she wanted to see what America outside of the places depicted in Hollywood movies was like.

“I find Chestertown quite lovely,” she said.

There are, of course, cultural differences she has had to get used to. At first, she struggled with people’s accents, noting that Americans don’t think they have strong accents, but to her ear, they do. And there are the spelling differences—she thought people were misspelling simple words until she learned there was a difference between American and British English. Then there was tipping. Coming from a country where tipping is not the norm, she has been admonished by her friends for leaving a dollar or two. Luckily, as a student on a limited budget, she doesn’t frequent restaurants often enough to cause consternation and is now careful to ask her friends what the appropriate tip is.

Another cultural difference was how formal Americans can sound. She was surprised that people addressed her as “ma’am” and men her age as “sir.” And she quickly learned that Australia is much more laid back when it comes to making fun of politics and religion.

Of course, cultural differences go both ways. Shortly after arriving in the country, one of her peers asked if Australians had instant messaging and phone alerts—at least he knew they had phones. And she’s regularly asked about kangaroos as if they hop around the streets of Sydney. When she drove in Chestertown for the first time and was a bit nervous, her friends were surprised to learn that Australians drive on the other side of the road.

“Someone asked me if we had Ariel, the Disney princess,” she said. “I was like, yes, we have Disney princesses!”

The most common questions she’s asked are about spiders. “It’s crazy, everyone thinks Australia is really dangerous. They go on and on about the spiders and how big they are.”

Naturally, she’s played along with and even embellished upon these assumptions. She exaggerates how often she has encountered huge spiders and snakes, has told people she rides kangaroos to school, and has perpetuated the “drop bear” myth, which Australians enjoy telling tourists to watch out for. These are rabid koalas that drop from the trees and attack unsuspecting tourists. There’s no truth to it, but Kotis enjoys the shocked responses she gets.

She finds the camaraderie of the soccer team greater than on any team she has played on before. At first, she found the walkout of the team and the chanting and cheering funny. Now she appreciates how they bond the players and makes playing “just so much more fun.”

She does miss home, especially comfort foods like meat pies and sausage rolls that you can’t get here easily, and with the time difference, she doesn’t get to talk to her family as frequently as she would like. It is also a lot colder, even in fall, than she is used to. Luckily, just when she was feeling a bit homesick, her family made a surprise visit to Chestertown, bringing with them care packages of foods, including the Australian favorite, Vegemite. It’s a yeast-based spread loved down under but almost universally reviled elsewhere.

Kotis is glad she chose Washington, and her family is proud of her independence and ambition. She admits that there are times when she feels low and misses home, but as she puts it, “The highs are so high, that I would go through the lows just for the experiences that I am having. America is just so much fun.”

—Darrach Dolan