The Education Abroad Network (TEAN)

I studied abroad in Seoul, South Korea with TEAN and wish I could do it all over again. The TEAN staff made the process of obtaining my required documents and entry into the country much easier than I had anticipated, and when I had difficulty with course registration at the beginning of my semester, the TEAN staff was able to help me by speaking to the university, and the university made exceptions for me which was almost unheard of. TEAN also included activities and excursions, and gave students plenty of opportunities to meet other students and make friends. I loved being in South Korea. The food was delicious and affordable, the public transportation was very clean and convenient, the people were very polite and welcoming, and the city overall was beautiful and fun to explore. I would highly recommend visiting Seoul, and I would recommend doing so with TEAN.

I studied abroad in Perth Australia during my spring semester junior year, and I can confidently say that it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. Before I left I was beyond excited, but I was also extremely nervous because I wasn’t going with anyone I knew, and I had some fears about not being able to make new friends. I shouldn’t have spent a second worrying, however, because TEAN set up our program in a way where there were multiple opportunities to meet people. All the TEAN students studying abroad in Australia for our semester had orientation in Cairns together. So as soon as I stepped off the plane I was greeted by our advisors and introduced to the other students who had been on my flight. I ended up chatting with a girl on the bus on the way to the hotel and we became good friends during our orientation. Everyone in our program was welcoming and kind, and we all kinda became a big family for a week. I remember being in a bit of disbelief that we’d all clicked so fast, and it made me realize that a lot of students had come alone, and I certainly wasn’t the only one nervous about meeting new people.

Orientation in Cairns was fantastic. There were included excursions as well as extra excursions, which I took advantage of because who knows if I’ll ever get back to Australia again in my lifetime. Within a few days I had scuba dived in the Great Barrier Reef, skydived, saw a crocodile farm, met with Aboriginal leaders, and swam beneath natural waterfalls. And I had it all with the amazing people I’d only just met. It was a bit hard to say goodbye, but I was able to see some of them again on the additional TEAN trips, like the one I took to New Zealand.

During orientation I hadn’t spent much time with the students who were also studying in Perth with me, but again, that wasn’t a problem because as soon as we landed in Perth TEAN provided so many activities to help us get to know each other. There were 12 total students studying in Perth, but 6 went to University of Western Australia and the other 6 (including me) went to Murdoch University. The two universities were only a quick train ride away, so we were able to all see each other quite frequently during the semester. In the apartments at Murdoch, TEAN split us up so that there were two TEAN students in each apartment. At first I was a little bummed because I had wanted all 6 of us to live together but splitting us up was actually a good thing because we were able to get close to the other Australian and Japanese students that were living with us in our apartments. I became best friends with my Australian roommate, who I likely wouldn’t have met if we hadn’t lived together, and we still talk everyday despite being on opposite sides of the world. TEAN also made arrival easy because they gave us transportation from the airport, arranged our apartments, including apartment necessities such as kitchenware and bedding, and helped us move in. Not to mention they provided endless support for us after our arrival.

We arrived in Perth two weeks before our classes started, so we were all able to explore the city and the little beach town close to us (Fremantle), and just get adjusted to Australia. During that time our TEAN advisor took us to see the Fremantle prison, the Fremantle markets, downtown Perth, King’s Park, and we even took surf lessons. Thanks to TEAN I felt like I had a built-in friend group despite only having been in Perth a few weeks. And once classes started it turned out that we were in a lot of them together, so I always had someone to walk to class with and work on assignments with. There were 4 of us in Marine Biology and we ended up making a documentary together, and we had a lot of fun filming that. The structure of classes were a bit different in Australia compared to the US. In Australia there is more of an expectation that you are responsible for mastering the material on your own, so there are only a few assignments for each course that you’re actually graded on. At first I was a bit intimidated by this because one assignment could be 25% of your grade, but I found that I actually preferred it this way because I wasn’t tied down with busy work and had more freetime. Because work outside of class was less demanding my friends and I went out to dinner exploring different restaurants a few times a week. We also went to trivia every wednesday at a bar in Fremantle, which became one of our favorite things to do. Also because the class load was later, I was able to travel and easily make up the work I’d missed. While I was there I went to Bali, Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand, and even did an outback camping trip up North.

I could go on and on about how amazing my TEAN study abroad experience was in Australia, but I’d have to write a novel to include everything. All in all, I made life-long friends while studying abroad, both from the US and from Australia, continued my education at an incredible university, and was able to see parts of the world that I’d never thought I’d see. I would do this program again in a heartbeat, and I hope everyone gets to have an opportunity like this. I miss it everyday.

I had a wonderful time studying abroad in Singapore. It was my first time out of the country and I knew I would be doing it alone so I wanted to go somewhere for a short amount of time and was safe for travellers. Luckily Summer in Singapore 2024 was available and I would love to go back one day. It's a diverse country with many foreigners coming and going. There were many cultures to be immersed in beyond Singaporean culture. I met some amazing people and I am very grateful for this opportunity.

My semester in Gold Coast, Australia was about one of the coolest things I have ever done! I got to travel all throughout Australia and to parts of Asia and New Zealand. I saw so many iconic sites, animals, and pretty places while I was there. The scenery is genuinely so breathtaking. I met so many amazing people from all different backgrounds, and made life long friendships while I was there. If you are looking to go abroad, definitely consider going with TEAN as they are a great program to go through! They are so supportive, and help you every step of the way. Overall, I cannot recommend going abroad enough!

Honestly an amazing experience that I can probably say was one of the best eras of my life so far. I got to go to a country I was interested in, meet incredible people that I will probably keep in touch with for a long time, do countless activities all of that while I took classes that were key to my college graduation. I was a little worried about having to figure it all out myself, but I was honestly incredibly thankful to the staff on and off site who were all so nice and helpful. The activities offered are also really great, it really helped to be guided for the first couple of days in a country so far from home where it is easy to get overwhelmed by all there is to do and explore.
Korea was very welcoming, even when people do not speak English, and if you don't speak Korea, most of the time they try to help as best as they can.
There is also so much to do that is easily accessible; pop up stores in Seongsu, idol birthday cafes in Hongdae, hiking up countless mountains, exploring palaces and older traditional neighborhoods... I feel like there are options for a wide range of people and interests.