All about working to live

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.