AustraLearn - University of Adelaide

The Campus: The University of Adelaide was located on a beautiful campus in South Australia. It was a bit of a walk from my housing accomodations but was close to the city center. The campus was intertwined with art museums, an outdoor mall, and breathtaking scenary.

The Classes: The two classes I was enrolled in included Indigenious Peoples and their Environment and Community Engagement Learning Project. This program was a five week intensive winter program. The classes were challenging with many papers due within a short period of time. However each classes actively involved me in what I was learning about. I was able to travel to Camp Coorang for my Indigenous class and I was also able to work with Women's Information Services with my Community Engagement class. The professors were very accomodating to the short time slot as well as to the study abroad students. They were readily avaliable for help if needed.

The Accomodations: I stayed at The Grand Apartments in Adelaide. These apartments were very spacious and included cleaning maintanance each week. The gated facility offered safety and comfort. The gym and pool added to my overall living experience.

The Excursions: The excursions within my time in Adelaide were a bit less than what I was expecting. An excursion to the chocolate factory left me unsatisfied as the company did not put on a tour for my group. However, the trip to the wildlife park was a trip to remember. Being able to feed kangaroos and hold a koala was a once in a lifetime opportunity. The excursion to Sydney far exceeded my expectations however. Here my group climbed the Sydney Bridge and took a sightseeing tour around the city.

The People: Australearn matched my group up with a wonderful coordinator. She cared about each individual, helped us plan outside excursions, and was a pleasure to be around. We also had some peer mentors come along to some of the excursions. It was wonderful to meet each and every one of them and a blast to have them come along on the excursions.

Overall I would recommend this program to students looking to study abroad. Personally, I have wanted to study abroad since I graduated high school. I had always wanted to study abroad for a semester in Australia. However, time and money would not allow for this. The winter program at the University of Adelaide was a great compromise for my situation. I was able to meet people from across the United States and around the world. The experiences I was able to endeavor and the friendships that I was able to form are somethings that I would not trade for anything.