Arcadia Abroad in Australia

I had a fantastic time studying abroad with Arcadia at the University of Wollongong. After a very fun, educational, and supportive orientation in Melbourne, Arcadia staff members helped me settle into my dorm in Wollongong where I lived amongst primarily Australian students. I spent time at the beach, explored the blue mountains, and traveled to Sydney a few times to explore a bigger city. This experience gave me the opportunity to become an advocate for myself and try new things! 10/10 recommend!!!!!!

When a snowstorm pushed my departure date back I was nervous that I was going to miss out on meeting everyone at orientation and be lost the whole program. This was not the case at all, as soon as I arrived everyone (the advisors and other students) were super helpful and welcoming. I never had an out of place or homesick moment being surrounded by everyone. We all quickly became a little family through sharing meals, going on little trips, surfing and living it up at the beach.

My tips:: don't be afraid. There are so many opportunities for insane and memorable things to do in Australia. Come in with a positive mindset and don't be afraid to branch out or do things out of your comfort zone. Skydiving, surfing, even traveling to South East Asia were huge milestones for me but I wouldn't trade them anyday.
:: Try to go to Whitsundays. A somewhat expensive trip but completely worth it. Located between Cairns and Brisbane, this place has the most amazing beaches and sea life. One of my favorite and most memorable places of this whole semester abroad.
:: Don't sleep in. Most days I tried my best to wake up early and do something with my day. 4 months went by really fast, so it's really worth trying to spend every day outside or going to the beach (which is only 7 minutes away). The more time I spent away from technology or outside, I had a better outlook on everything.

We were able to have two orientations, one in Melbourne and another in Byron Bay and throughout the semester little trips within our program were available. I lived in the Blocks, which were single dorms but still communal. Even though I was living on my own I was still able to be friends with all the other girls on my floor. This whole semester was unforgettable, everyone was so nice and helpful. While we all live in different places across the United States, we still keep in contact every day and are planning trips around the world for the future. This was the best four months of my life, you become so close with the people and the memories will last a lifetime.

Bond was one of the best experiences of my life. I made life long friends, had the time of my life. I was give opportunities that I could not have anywhere else, like skydiving 14000 ft. in the air over the ocean, bungee jumping, and cave diving with sharks. Australia made me grow as a person and made me realize that I can do anything. Arcadia's support system was amazing and the way they ran there program is amazing. Going to school at Arcadia state side really prepared me for my trip abroad.

This program did a great job incorporating both tourist and local experiences. Everyone was extremely friendly and created a really great comfortable environment to explore and learn about Australia. I enjoyed this program and country so much that I tried to stay for the entire year!

7 months later, and I still get incredibly emotional thinking about never being in the same time and place with the same people at Bond Uni. Within my first week of being on campus, I realized when you read "Will respond in 24 hours" at the end of the email, it really means "maybe you'll hear back in 2 weeks". I needed to relax and bond taught me to do this. It taught me to look around at my settings and take every moment in. For the first time, I was encouraged to do what makes me truly happy. Not do what will make me happy in 10 years. Bond is a small community that provides everything you need right on campus: housing (rooms get cleaned every week plus your sheets changed), lounges, cafeteria ("the bra"), gym with free classes, swimming pool and hot tub, great study spaces, and beautiful outdoor space. I literally had "no worries". During club sign-on day, I seriously thought I was in the movie "Pitch Perfect". Everyone was so happy, and it was cool to be there (this is not normally at my school). I had classes 4 days a week: 1 long lecture per class per week and 1 small discussion ("tut") per class per week. Rarely had homework. Instead each class normally had a paper, midterm, and final. While you had to be more independent and manage your time well, I was significantly less stressed about school work. Australian Popular Culture is a great and fun way to learn about the country (mostly an American student class). Every week we watched a movie including "Crocodile Dundee". However, it was my classes with more Australian students (like Sport Development and Food, Nutrition, and Health) that I really got a great sense of Australian culture and perspective. But class was not my main focus and also did not take up the majority of my time. I spent most days catching the bus to Broadbeach or Burleigh Heads Beach, exploring different farmers markets, or just going to the pool to relax and play beach volleyball. I could spend every moment outside in the sun and heat, so this was a perfect place for me. Weekends were for traveling. No Friday class made this incredibly easy, and Bond's location (central on the east coast) made most places very accessible. I made it to Byron Bay (twice!), Morten Island (my favorite), North Stradbroke Island (free with Arcadia!), Brisbane, Mount Tamborine, Melbourne, and Cairns. The majority of these trips were either through Arcadia or the travel agent on campus (Student Flights). They provide great weekend trips that are mostly all-inclusive (HUGE bang for your buck and makes life easier). Australian GroupOn also had great trips. All were super easy and filled with adventures like hiking, surfing, kayaking, learning about Aboriginal culture, and more. Overall, Australia is a place were you learn to have the mentality "work to live" (not "live to work"). It has this beautiful appreciation for life and your surroundings. If you like outdoor adventures and don't want an intense cultural shock (although sometimes you will think they're speaking a different language), this is a great option. The best part? I still talk to my abroad friends (there were only 15 people on my program) almost everyday. They are my family, and I wasn't expecting to gain that.

One of the major highlights of my experience and something I still cherish nearly a year removed from the program are the personal connections I made. I was extremely fortunate to get placed with such amazing Australian roommates and those are friendships I have maintained.