Traveled 10,000 Miles to Australia & Immediately arrived home.

When I left my hometown to experience a new culture and country I never felt scared or worried about how I would settle once I arrived. The AustraLearn Program made me feel at home before I even left the States. By having a group flight leave to Australia from Los Angeles, I immediately met students from all over the country who were ready for the adventure like me. I was able to share my thoughts, dreams, and goals with the people who were feeling the same way.

Of course when you first think of Australia, the first things that pop into most peoples minds are kangaroos, the Great Barrier Reef, and adventure. The support staff was there 110% and I was able to understand exactly what I was going to expect during my first week at Orientation in Cairns, Queensland. With the help of AustraLearn, I was able to do all the typical tourist “Aussie” things within my first 5 days of being there! By having orientation in a different place than our planned city, I was able to experience a different part of Australia that I would have had to travel to on a different date. The first week was full of adventure including a day trip to snorkel/dive the Great Barrier Reef, pet Kangaroos, view the Rainforest at Rainforest Station, and I even was able to give back to the land by spending an afternoon replenishing trees in the tropics.

Once the week of Orientation was said and done, we were finally flown to our new homes for the semester. I instantly fell in love with my new apartment in an area in Brisbane known as South Bank. I lived with a few American students from my program, which made the transition to life in Australia much easier. I was a half a block away from all the city transportation which made my journey to school quite easy every day. The 109 Bus took a 15 min ride right into the University of Queensland, the most beautiful campus in all seasons.

My schooling was different than the American system but I loved it just the same. The campus is quite large but the Great Court is absolutely stunning. When I arrived on campus I immediately felt at home. There was always something to do and there are so many student run groups that no matter what your hobby is, UQ will welcome you with open arms. My biggest regret of studying abroad? Not doing it for a full year. When my time was up, I wasn’t ready to leave. The city, the schooling, the people. They were fantastic and I wouldn’t change a thing.