CEA CAPA Education Abroad in Sydney, Australia

My time abroad in Sydney was beyond my wildest dreams. I have been back in the states for six months and Australia is still all I talk about-ask my parents or any of my family and friends! I think of Sydney as my home now, and I long for the day I can go back. I knew I would love studying abroad, but I had no idea how significant of an impact it would have on my life. I hope all students take advantage of this incredible opportunity to go abroad and challenge themselves.

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat! The CAPA Sydney program allowed me to gain professional experience, independence, cultural awareness and much more. I learned so much about myself and what I am capable of. After studying abroad and living independently in a foreign country for more than three months, I am confident that I can achieve anything I set my mind to. I cannot wait for my next Australian adventure and look forward to moving back and working and living there one day.

I loved my CAPA classes and my educational experience while I was abroad. I felt challenged by my courses but not overwhelmed, and I feel like I was able to learn a lot about the Oceania region through my classes. While I did had projects and papers to complete, I did not feel like my workload was too intense and I was confident in my ability to complete my work on time. The resources and support that CAPA offered me were a tremendous help as I learned to navigate the education system abroad. If I needed help with anything, from finding a fax machine or printer to navigating the online submission system, CAPA staff were always willing to help me and ensure that I had all the resources I needed to succeed. I felt like I had a really good balance of class assignments, internship duties and free time. I still had plenty of time to explore Australia and integrate myself into the culture, but my studies came first. I will always remember the help and support that my professors provided me with and the neat experiences I had within the classroom. My overall educational experience far exceeded my expectations and I would recommend CAPA to students who want to have an educational experience that enables them to interact with their host city and country.

I felt like I always had a safe place to go if I had questions or any concerns while in Australia. The CAPA support staff always encouraged students to stop by the office just to chat or try a yummy Australian snack. If I needed help finding a printer or fax machine, I could go there, and if I were to have had any issues, I am confident they would have helped me. It was so lovely to feel so welcome and at ease in a foreign country. The CAPA support staff planned many fun, optional activities for students as well-my favorite was the food crawl through Newtown! I have never ate in one evening ever, but it was so worth it and a wonderful bonding experience!

I really liked the Urbanest apartments we were assigned. They were much better than I expected, with many amenities I really appreciated it, including a fitness center, computers and laundry room. The apartments were really nice and very big-especially the kitchen and the living room. I was surprised by how big they were! I always felt very safe in my urbanest and I enjoyed my living experience and getting to know my roommates! I'm a country girl, born and raised, so living in the city was an incredible experience for me. I never felt homesick or culture shock, but rather Sydney felt like home, like somewhere I had belonged my entire life.

The food in Sydney was absolutely to-die for. I have never eaten such a variety of cuisine from around the world! On every street, there is a dazzling variety of food-from fast food staples to Thai, Mexican, Spanish, South American, Chinese, Italian and everything in between. One of the neatest things about Australia is that the country does not have a lot of chain restaurants. In America, we have Applebees, IHOP and a million other sit-down restaurants you can find across the country, but in Australia, almost every cafe and restaurant is independently-owned and operated, often times by families. I absolutely loved this, because I never knew what to expect and the menu was always different, featuring delicious food that I had not tried before. I must say Sydney's bacon&egg rolls easily became my favorite food of all time. I highly recommend stopping by a breakfast cafe (Newtown's Cafe in Newtown is my top choice) and trying a bacon & egg roll with barebeque sauce. I miss that meal everyday-it was my go-to while I was in Australia!

Australians are so friendly and welcoming in general, so I felt it was easy for me to integrate with the culture and meet Australian friends. I have some lifelong friends in Australia now, including some of my co-workers from my internship! I definitely did a lot of exploring in the small towns and suburbs in order to get a feel for everyday Australian life. There is always something going on, and it's easy to get involved and meet Australians, whether it be at the Manly Beach Surf Competition or the weekly markets in Glebe.

I think about going back and repeating this amazing experience all the time. It was absolutely incredible to go to school, work and live in Australia, and it has completely changed my future. I want to move back one day. Studying abroad in Australia was always a dream of mine, and accomplishing it was absolutely incredible. Going abroad and traveling and experiencing another culture inspired me to always shoot for the stars and achieve my dreams-I want to continue living an extraordinary life and I look forward to the future. CAPA Sydney was the perfect mix of support and independence-I truly felt like I was a professional adult, working in Sydney and taking classes. I felt so independent, with my own apartment, grocery shopping, money management and much more. I feel like, now that I lived across the world successfully and independently, I can do anything! I would love the chance to do it all over again, but I know I will be going back one day because Sydney is now home for me.

CAPA, Legitimately the best experience I have ever had. CAPA was so helpful and planned so many AMAZING fun events for us to do ranging from FOOD CRAWLS for FREE (who doesn't love that) to up close and personal in the Opera House, to PRIVATE Screenings of movies, to hiking trips and getting up close and person with a KOALA! :) How many of you can actually say you have done that in your life :) CAPA Staff is absolutely incredible people and will forever stay in your heart for days, months and years to come. CAPA is interested in not only making sure you have the best experience abroad, but also ensuring your safety and security while you are away from home. They are concerned about that lovely stuff. The people you will also meet are incredible. The internship/classes are amazing and awesome of learning aspects and help you open your horizons to how many amazing things are out in this world. The accommodations are like living on a college campus and make you feel so at home seeing so many other college students around! I would recommend everyone to go take a trip with CAPA! If you want to make the best of your trip, the only people who can do that is CAPA International Study Abroad Program! :)

I spent three months living, studying, and interning in Sydney. The academic side of the program was not rigorous, as we were only completing a writing minor for our home institution. Two days of the week were spent in "class." Wednesdays' were spent in the classroom and Fridays classes were spread out throughout Sydney; a walking tour of Circular Key, a hike at the Q Station, and tours of museums. The rest of the week was spent interning at our respective internship site. I spent my three months interning at Cancer Council NSW, and it was the best experience. I was able to help the Events Department planning Seven Bridges Walk. I wish I had been able to spend more time in Sydney, because it truly felt like home!

I did the CAPA program Fall 2015. The program was well put together and organized, and really nothing went wrong. Everyone was professional and helpful both in the US and abroad, which put me at ease being abroad and being in the program. I went with CAPA because of the opportunity to intern abroad in my major. I had a great placement at a physiotherapy office where I learned a lot. The included excursions we had were hiking in the Blue Mountains, a wildlife walkabout park, and going to a Rugby game! All were really fun and there were no hidden fees in them. I hear there's a new excursion with an overnight experience at Taronga Zoo- that sounds so awesome! I also really appreciated the included transportation pass. For anyone interested in interning abroad I strongly recommend CAPA Sydney as they matched everyone in relevant internships and check in to make sure everything is going well, and in the end you could get a great recommendation for jobs/grad school.

My overall experience in the city of Sydney through the CAPA program was amazing. While abroad I had an internship that CAPA found. This internship was picture perfect for my major. I learned so much and made so many friends that I never thought I would have because of CAPA. The only thing I wish this program did a little better was their touring of the city. While on the trip there were CAPA sponsored trips to the Blue Mountains, a Wildlife park, and even a food crawl around Newtown. Although these were fun, I do wish there were more trips. I found that as the weeks went on I became more and more overwhelmed with what I wanted to do/see. The trip as a whole was incredible and I highly recommend anyone who is looking to study abroad to look at CAPA first.

I quite literally had the best time of my life down in Australia. The best time ever was celebrating my birthday. Many people gathered, from within the program, to help me celebrate. The people I also worked with in my internship also brought cake and wished me a happy birthday. It was honestly the sweetest thing anyone has done for me, especially since the majority of the people that helped plan my birthday party I literally had only met a few weeks prior. Another thing to top off that weekend, was the fact that I was also able to go to a nature preserve in which I saw a several different kinds of animals including kangaroos, dingoes, bats, etc. Which has been a huge dream of mine ever since I was a kid.

I abosutely loved studying abroad through the CAPA program. I spent 7.5 weeks in Sydney, Australia, and I learned so much. CAPA helped me prepare for the trip, helped me find an amazing internship, and the staff was always there in Sydney if we needed anything. As a group, CAPA took us on a trip to the Blue Mountains and a wildlife park where we got to pet and feed so many kangaroos. Interning abroad really introduced me to the Australian culture. I got to apply the skills I have learned in the classroom to real life situations for a company that was really happy I was there.

The internship aspect was the best part about this program. I made so many new friends and learned a lot about what I wanted to do for a career after graduation. Who else can say that they had an internship abroad?!