TEAN: Study Abroad in Sydney, Australia

I absolutely loved going abroad with TEAN. They were available every step of the way to make sure I got all the information I needed and more! They helped me choose a program, pick housing, enroll in classes, and helped with any documentation I needed for the country and school. TEAN allowed me to make friends before starting class, making the transition easier. I could see some of these friends becoming life long friends. With TEAN I was also able to make Australian friends that I still stay in touch with, which was an amazing gift studying aborad. My favorite part of the experience was I was a minute from the beach. I could go to the beach every day without any effort. I was truly living the dream. I am so happy with my experience with TEAN and anyone thinking about going abroad should choose TEAN.

My study abroad experience is something that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am a firm believer that if anyone has the chance to study abroad while in college, you need to. The memories, lessons, and experiences throughout the 5 months that I was there were some that I will value forever, and I will never be same because of them. I was taught independence like I never experienced before and freedom on a whole new level. Studying abroad was an extremely significant part of my life when I think I needed it the most. I experienced things that some may never get to experience, like skydiving in Wollongong, visiting the Sydney Opera House weekly, and spending my StuVac week with people who are now some of my closest friends in New Zealand! Thank you, Australia for the experience of a lifetime.

My study abroad experience is a memory I will reflect upon for the rest of my life.I feel so lucky and grateful to have lived in such an amazing environment surrounded by amazing friends. I honestly could not have imagined studying abroad to any other program but TEAN, they made it so easy to connect with other students, travel to different counties during your semester, and engage in activities in your city that you actually want to do. The resident directors and staff truly care about your experience and will do anything they can to help improve it in any way possible. They take you step by step through the whole studying abroad process so you never feel confused or alone. Studying abroad has fueled my passion for traveling and helped me make self realizations along the way!

TEAN is definitely the program you should go abroad with! Sydney was by far one of the coolest places I have ever been, but a new place can be overwhelming. Not with TEAN. TEAN staff members make the transition to your new country SO easy! Experienced and knowledgeable staff made the process of getting there a breeze. TEAN helped me to set up me housing, my visa, and my classes with ease. When I arrived, there was just as much help. TEAN staff members greeted me and picked me up from the airport and helped me to move into my new apartment. I was introduced to other students and taken on a walking tour of Syndey! The first weekend we went surfing at the iconic Bondi Beach! Without TEAN I would have felt lost, but I felt like a local in days!

My name is Victoria Guasco and I studied abroad in Sydney, Australia last semester. My experience with TEAN was amazing and whoever is looking to go abroad I would recommend going with TEAN for many reasons. First, they made the transition into Australia very smooth and they also made the transition back home smooth too. Second, they were there if anything went wrong and I could always count on them to help me get adjusted. Third, they held events for TEAN students to get acclimated and make friends. They never left us empty handed and they did everything they could to make us feel safe and at home. Everything was very organized with the program and if you needed something you could get ahold of them within minutes.
My experience with TEAN and studying abroad in general was amazing! Those four and a half months I was there is a time I will never forget and always cherish. I traveled around Australia and New Zealand, made friends i'll have forever, furthered my education, learned many things about myself and grew in every aspect of my life. Leaving your home and started completely new is very hard, but with TEANs help you will not regret your decision to go.

My experience in Sydney, Australia with TEAN Abroad was the trip of a lifetime. TEAN made it easy to not feel overwhelmed when transitioning to a new place. They were extremely informational and provided detailed information of what to expect when I get there. Once I did get there, I was extremely overwhelmed but the housing that TEAN put me into made it easy to meet friends and new people. It was also centrally located to the main part of Sydney which made it easy to travel and explore. Sydney was also centrally located to other parts of that side of the world. Because of that I was able to explore Thailand, Taiwan, Fiji, and New Zealand. I cannot wait to be able to go back there someday. Thanks to TEAN, Sydney slowly became my home away from home.

I had the best experience with TEAN studying at UNSW for a term! Before I even chose to study abroad with TEAN, a TEAN staff member answered all of my many questions promptly and in detail. When my flight was delayed causing me to miss orientation in Cairns, I was in constant contact with TEAN staff members. After I arrived in Sydney, they worked with UNSW's housing to get me into my room a few days before I was supposed to arrive along with my kitchen utensils and bedding. A staff member even met me at my housing location to help me settle in. I am so thankful them! They definitely go above and beyond! Additionally, they plan so many different excursions and longer trips that you can choose to take part in. These range from a tour of the Sydney Opera House, surfing lessons at Bondi Beach, a longer trip to New Zealand's South Island, a weekend trip to Melbourne, and more! I had an amazing time, fell in love with Sydney, and made so many friends that I still keep in touch with even though they're still on the other side of the world! It truly was the best semester of my life and I would absolutely recommend this program to anyone and everyone!!

After weeks, maybe even months of looking into different study abroad programs, I finally found the Education Abroad Network (TEAN) and that was when my dream started becoming a reality. Throughout the entire process of filling out papers and getting my classes together, TEAN was very supportive and open to helping me. Even while abroad, the support didn’t stop. The occasional check-ins and activities were great additions to my study abroad experience.
I came for new experiences and to meet new people; I came to make memories. Sometimes it’s easy to forget this goal, especially on weeks when I feel like I have so much to do and so little time.
But some of the best experiences I’ve had while here are the moments I’ve spent with friends, even if we weren’t doing anything “significant” or adventurous. Walks along the coast, movie nights with lots of junk food, learning a new position on the aerial hoop, brekky after circus training, all of these little moments, although they may seem insignificant at the time, are some of the best experiences I’ve had. Not everything has to be a grand adventure or getting work done.

They say that studying abroad is a great way to find yourself and figure out what you want to do in life. But what I learned is that I don’t. I don’t want to be on this journey to find myself or figure out what to do with my life; I just want to live it. Since grade school, I’ve been conditioned to think about my future and make decisions based on how it’ll help me in the future. Will I still think in this way? Yeah, of course, it’s kind of ingrained in me. But now I have the choice to try to unlearn this mindset and really start winging it and seeing where life takes me. Australia is a country where the day to day pace is much slower and people are truly just taking it one day at a time, which is much different to the general mindset back home especially in college where everything is about your future. I’m definitely going to have moments where I freak out about future and if what I’m doing now will be worth it, but I just have to keep reminding myself, whatever happens, happens and that it’ll be okay eventually.
Australia will always have a special place in my heart and I’m so glad that I got multiple opportunities to travel around the country and even outside it. I can’t wait to be back one day and see how much it has changed while I was away.