WorldStrides Reviews

My semester in Sydney was, simply put, amazing. Going to an Australian school allowed me to really immerse myself in the culture and make friends with the locals. Some of my closest friends are the people I met there as well as the other study abroad students who lived with me. My living situation was absolutely perfect. I lived across the street from a Westfield shopping center, plenty of restaurants, grocery stores, and the beach and city were a 10 minute bus or train ride away. The staff and resident directors of TEAN made easing into my new lifestyle very comfortable. Orientation week we did so many activities that I would have not been able to plan out and afford on my own. Academically, the program helped me to have all of my classes set up, and the staff at my university were very helpful and welcoming to all abroad students. Overall, I feel that my abroad experience was culturally enriching and I got to see and experience things that I never thought I could.

Studying abroad in Sydney is everything I dreamed it would be. I loved the laidback attitude of the Aussies. I still hope to move back someday.

I recommend taking advantage of everything there is to do. Get involved, just like when you were a freshmen at your home Uni. Join a few clubs at the involvement fair. Go to trivia night at Sydney University Village (student housing). Go on one of the abundance of harbour cruises offered at the beginning of the semester. Go to the free concerts offered by University of Sydney.

Before your trip, get an idea of where you want to travel when you are there. Once you arrive, time flies and it can be hard to leave your home base city. I knew I wanted to do a trip to New Zealand and when my friends bailed on the idea I went by myself. I met people from all over the world and still had an amazing time.

If your into being active/outdoorsy I recommend going to a weekend long surf camp. There's also camping and hiking in the Blue Mountains. I joined the Sydney Uni Waterski/Wakeboard Club and got to go on weekend trips with them to wakeboard on the Hawkesbury River. Some cool hikes in the city are the Manly Scenic hike and the oceanside hike from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. The Sydney Bridge Climb is a must-do as well.

If your more of a city dweller, explore the neighborhoods of Sydney like Newtown and Surry Hills. Walk down George Street. Visit the malls at Darling Harbour and Bondi. Check out the nightlife at King's Cross.

Overall, just make sure your making the most of your experience. There are endless things to do and see and you won't regret draining your bank account as you watch the sunrise over Uluru in the Outback. Cheers.

Fall 2012 was the best semester of my entire life. Why? The people, the culture, the activities, the adventures, The Education Abroad Network. Shanghai, China will never be looked at in the same way. TEAN offered wonderful excursions and awesome bonding opportunities which brought every closer together. They prepped us with what to expect to help students be at ease. The housing was in a prime location and was very close to campus. Because we were fully integrated into the fudan system, we were able to choose among the whole class list which I really appreciated. If it weren't for TEAN, I would have been disappointed with my class options. THANK YOU!

I am not often one to complain about things, and I really do try to take out the best aspects of programs, but I was honestly quite disappointed with my experience at MUIC through Globalinks.

I'll break it up into sections...

Academics: The school is, as almost all the people in my program (50+) said, "a joke." It hardly feel like university at all. From my experience and from what I heard, people either had NO homework the whole time (which means your grade weighs entirely on a midterm, final project, and final exam), or were completely overloaded and way too harshly graded. The teachers are not keen on giving exam guidelines, and a few of them (Americans & Europeans) were brutally racist against Thais and openly talked negatively of Thai students, saying how they were less intelligent than International students right in front of them. Ick. One of my teachers admitted that he gave a class average of 60% on our midterm exam to SCARE us into paying attention for the rest of the term & studying harder for the final. Really sketchy.

Also, the International Relations Office people at MUIC who are there to guide and aid intnl. students were very kind and often helpful, but had serious communications issues. The guidelines for payments we had to make at the beginning of the trimester were very unclear and many people lost money over it. Also, required forms were emailed to us to be filled out for the school and there were many glitches on the form sites, re-dos, and re-sends. Quite frustrating.

Living Situation: The Green Park Homes Village is not apartments, but dorm rooms in a shared building with one common space where (when I was there) exceedingly LOUD, painfully immature American gals congregated to drink, shout, and talk shit about everyone & everything. I was miserable and there were about 6 girls out of 30 or so who very obviously kept to themselves in their rooms because being in the common space was so unbearable. The space is kept clean, however, by an absolutely charming maid, and all the basic necessities of living are provided. No printers, though, so you have to do that at school. Oh, and the internet was slower than 1990's dial-up. I kid you not. heh...

Cultural Immersion & Program Admin: Aaron Clark was amazing. He was our Globalinks Residence Coordinator and he gave the company a great name & face. He took us on a 3-day tour of Northern Thailand and was funny, kind, caring, straightforward, and informative. He left us his contact info and was available the rest of the quarter, but we only really saw him again once or twice, which was fine.

Thailand: The country itself is beautiful and variegated. Much to see and do for very little money. Awesome food and extremely kind, accommodative people. Bangkok, however (or rather, the outskirts of Bangkok, which is where the school and dorms are), was not ideal. The smog is so thick, you can see it dissipate at a certain height and turn into sky. Acid rain. The city felt very overpacked, but if you like a lot of activity, this wouldn't be a problem. At a moment of clear traffic, it should only take 20 mins. to get into the city center from the dorms, but more often than not, there is infamous traffic and you can count on 1.5 - 2 hour journeys into the heart of Bangkok MOST of the time -- really.

If you head out of the city, though, it is glorious. The Real Thailand. The northern countryside is lush and spectacular, the southern beaches and islands are tropical and post-card perfect. Chiang Mai is a much clearer, humbler, and more relaxed city surrounded by mountains. A great place to visit on a weekend if you can endure 9-14 hour bus/train rides. The island of Koh Phangan (off southern coast) offers many yoga & meditation retreats for the spiritually-minded. Neighboring islands have full moon parties if you want to get rowdy and experience Thailand's tourist party scene. It is WILD.

Overall, I disliked the school experience intensely. But I enjoyed the country very much, though it requires much patience, as it is still developing, and things like traffic, transportation, dining, etc. are not always perfectly smooth experiences. But that is much of the charm! If you are patient and kind, Thailand's beauty will unfold before you.

The school, however, was naught but a drag, and I would never recommend it to anyone.

Also, Globalinks kind of ropes you into paying over twice as much for housing as you would pay if you simply went and arranged your own housing through MUIC beforehand. If you go the convenient route and have Globalinks set up housing for you, expect to be bummed out when you go to school and find that the cost of living is so low that you could have saved about $500 finding boarding with your own efforts.

Townsville is sunny almost everyday. The walk to class is beautiful, but long from GR. The people are incredibly friendly and the staff of JCU is somewhat helpful. To be completely honest the social scene was amazing. I loved living on college. Town is about 20 min away and the bus systems are pretty good, but dirty. It takes about 45 min on a bus to get anywhere. On campus their was a club, which was a lot of fun to go to. Overall, I had the best time of my life and would suggest studying abroad here. If you do, put yourself out there and make friends with the Aussies. They appreciate that because so many other people that come through seem to group with the other internationals.

This experience was absolutely fabulous for me and all of the other American friends that I met in Wollongong! I stayed in a housing unit called "Keiraview". At first I didn't know if I would like where I was living because it wasn't as nice as some of the other places to live, but it turns out that it was the best place I could have asked for! Each individual has their own room and bathroom in Keiraview and you share a kitchen with 7 others on your floor. It was great having my own room and bathroom because all I had to worry about was my own mess and I didn't have to wait to use the bathroom! I met so many wonderful people living in Keiraview because they make sure that many activities are planned for meeting and visiting with other individuals! A few other nice things about living in Keiraview were that it was located within walking distance from all of the shopping, dance clubs and beaches! It also has a uni bus that stops directly outside of Keiraview, which is not true for most of the other living units. I loved every aspect of my stay in Wollongong! Definitely a fantastic choice!

I had an amazing time studying at MUIC through global links. Like someone else said the tuition for MUIC itself is roughly $2,200 and global links charges you around $7,500. It seemed a bit steep, but after talking to people going with other programs it was on the cheaper side. Aaron, the director, was very helpful and would be quick to respond to any questions you had. He also gave us all a fair amount of insight on the differences between Thai and Western culture. The only problem I encountered in Thailand was with the medical care; I came down with viral meningitis and my doctor at the Phaya Thai II hospital told me it was most likely food poisoning, despite the fact I had no symptoms of food poisoning and he had run no tests. Fortunately for me, I convinced him to do a blood test and we found out I had viral meningitis. Despite the healthcare Thailand is an amazing and beautiful country, I can't wait to go back.

Easily the best school to attend in New Zealand. It is a great college environment:
1) Housing is right next to campus
2) Bars, pubs, malls, parks, clubs, grocery stores, gardens, museums, train station, farmers markets, the gym, rugby matches, buses, etc. are all a short walk away located in beautiful Dunedin.
3) There is so much nature in this little college city. I'd be on a jog through town and end up running by the coast then through the botanical gardens then through a foresty trail.
4) Hyde Street Keg Party... look it up
5) The professors are great and very understanding to international students.
6) Not very much homework during the semester, so you have heaps of time to travel elsewhere.

Dunedin is also an amazing place to travel from because it is located near so many weekend destinations. You can go camping in the Catlins, go skiing in Queenstown, take a bus up to Christchurch etc.
Last but not least, the people in New Zealand are great. SO much hospitality, trust, and friendly vibes.

It's usually around one's birthday or the holidays when they decide to inform their loved ones that they're going to study abroad. We're asked what we want for our birthday, and we respond--almost automatically-- MONEY! "I'm studying abroad!" Now everyone is in an ecstatic state of excitement, firing off one hundred and one questions: where are you going?; how long?; are you going with anyone?; where else are you visiting?; how excited are you? Needless to say, this initial moment and the moment you return to share all your stories are the two times people will be the most interested. But the thing about studying abroad is, when it comes time to share your experiences, it's almost frustrating because you simply cannot find words powerful enough to describe how much fun you really had, and the pictures all of a sudden don't showcase how beautiful the beach was. But that doesn't matter. When you study abroad, you have the experiences, you preserve the memories, you make the friends, and you will treasure that morsel of absolute satisfaction for the rest of your life.

I boarded my plane February 11, 2012, and while saying goodbye to family and friends was the hardest thing I've had to do, knowing what the next four months would bring, it was invigorating! Some people will study abroad and have fun, enjoy a new culture and take pictures but others like myself will come back a changed person. I stepped out of my small, farm town comfort zone and met the most incredible friends of a lifetime and exposed myself to a completely new culture and environment; and for those opportunities I am forever grateful. Living abroad in a beautiful country alongside people who are nothing but fun, thoughtful, loving, and encouraging, brought out a new confidence I didn't even know I had. Not to sound cheesy but I really did find a new Aussie Ashley deep inside. Australia certainly was a whole new book to my life, but I'd rather think of it as a spruced up second edition, but this copy won't be on shelves for a limited time only!

The most memorable of my experiences wasn't the opportunity to scuba dive in the Great Barrier Reef, or the chance to snuggle a koala bear--although they were both amazing chances-- but it was the chance to live, day in and day out, with a group of Australians. We were housed in the dormitory together and were each others' neighbors. They showed me how a normal Australian my age lives. I made friends with my corridor mates who took me to the beach on a Tuesday afternoon, took me shopping on Saturday, made me Vegemite on crackers, introduced me to the Tim Tam Slam and most importantly, they were genuinely interested in my lifestyle and culture! These moments with my new mates are the intimate, treasured times I reminisce on a daily basis.

And these friends were the ones who made my hardships more bearable. When you travel to the other side of the world, getting homesick, sad or emotional is inevitable. Your life at home continues despite your adventures abroad. I had to deal with family issues, missing family functions, and pure moments when I just needed a hug from my mom. I am eternally grateful for my corridor mates who stopped by my room with chocolate when I was missing my family, or joined me in Skyping home for my sister's first prom that I had to miss out on. And these same friends were there for other issues, too. You develop another family when you study abroad; the only bad thing is, you have to eventually give that dreaded goodbye hug.

But despite all the fun I was having, I knew June 9 was approaching, and my time would come to an end; and in a way, I was ready to go home. I don't know how to describe it, but those who have studied abroad know exactly what I'm talking about. I wasn't ready to leave Australia, but I was so ready to see my family, friends, house, and get back to my regular lifestyle. I just wish I could pick all those things up and take them back to Australia with me!

February 11, 2012 and June 9, 2012 are both two significant days I will never, ever forget, and each and every one of those 120 days in between are just as memorable. Those four months will be forever in my heart. Studying abroad is a journey everyone should take. Sure it's a resume builder, employers like to see it, and it may get you a better job one day, but most importantly, it brings you confidence, experience, fun, true friends, and memories that will last forever. So Australia, it's not goodbye but see ya later, mate! I will be back with HEAPS of places I want to see, friends I want to visit, and more memories to be made.

Cheers!

Studying abroad at Lancaster University was phenomenal. Not a day goes by where I do not think back on my time there. The area is beautiful and conveniently located for travel throughout the UK. I was able to hop on a train and be in Scotland in about 2 hours or London in 3. The classes were really fascinating. A lot of the classes are centered around independent learning, so you need to be motivated and diligent.