Blog Post 1: Pre-Departure 07/01
With just one week to go until I leave to Australia for a semester, I feel such a strong mix of emotions. Two years into college, I can’t help but feeling sad to be leaving Rollins for a semester as I have had such a phenomenal experience thus far, however, I know that this is the most ideal time to embark on an international experience. I will be studying at the University of Newcastle in Australia, which has a student population of about 17,000 (definitely a little bigger than the small Rollins culture I am used to).
I have always wanted to go abroad as my mother’s abroad experience while she was in college is what lead me to growing up in America. Our entire family is from Ireland and my mother did her degree at Greenwich University in London, leaving for her last year to study at Boston College. Her study-abroad experience in America changed her perspective on life and is why she lives in America to this day.
I am fascinated with Australian culture and cannot wait to emerge myself in it. I am looking forward to living in Newcastle as it is described as a “beachy city” which will be a different environment than the central florida area I have grown so accustomed to. While I am abroad I intend to see as much of Australia as I can, embrace the beaches, the people, the food and the school in general. Most importantly, however, I plan to figure out my own identity as I fully let myself partake in a foreign culture. It is my goal to become more empathetic to people as a whole as I take on a new way of life for five months.
I have decided to live on-campus at the University of Newcastle as I feel that this will be the best way to meet people. It’s almost as though I will be a freshman again and have to figure out where exactly I fit in at a new place, but this excites me as I met so many wonderful people from living in Ward freshman year at Rollins. Our first week in Australia will be in Cairns (which is in Northern Australia). It is my goal to do as many adventurous activities as possible while there, as Cairnes is renowned for its outdoor adventures. The more I think about the adventure ahead the more excited I am getting. Stay tuned!