Hi, my name’s Makenzie and I will be traveling to the land down under this month. I am so excited and blessed for this opportunity to study at the University of Newcastle! I chose Australia for the weather, the culture and the easy access to travel to other places in Asia and the south Pacific. Being a Marine Bio major and swimmer at Rollins, Australia seemed like the best option. One of the two selling points for me was the pre-trip orientation at the Great Barrier Reef- something that could be gone in our lifetime. I was on a field study in the Bahamas for my major this summer and the reefs there were so devastating. I am hoping the Great Barrier Reef is still diverse with more coral species by the time I get to see it. The other thing I am very excited for is that I am getting to train with the Australian swim team on campus as well. Being able to still keep up with my training will be nice, but I am excited to see how their sports and competition differs from America.
I’ll be flying from just outside of my hometown from the Dallas/Ft. Worth airport to Sydney, which is a 17.5-hour flight. It is the 3rd longest nonstop flight in the world! I will probably end up sleeping most of the time, as the flight will be overnight, as well as to account for the time difference. I have flown 14 hours before to Japan so an extra 3.5 hours shouldn’t be too bad. Once I land in Sydney I will hop on a plane to Cairns for pre-orientation, which is about a 3-hour flight.
Packing up my life for five months into two suitcases will definitely be one of the hardest things for me. The second hardest thing will be saying goodbye to friends and family. Most of my friends I didn’t see too much over the summer as many had jobs/internships, however saying goodbye to my family will be worse. I am used to being far from home for college, but I tend to go home for breaks. Maybe it will be their turn to visit me this time! I will definitely miss my three dogs just as much.
I can’t wait for this adventure! I just hope to make lots of Australian friends along the way, as well as explore places some only see in postcards.