Study Abroad

Traveling has always been one of those things that I’ve always wanted to do more of.  Starting a blog is also one of those things I’ve wanted to do.  I never knew what I could blog about, after all, reading a blog about going to class every day can’t be super interesting.  But, finally, I have something worthwhile to write about, my upcoming semester abroad in Australia.

For those of who don’t already know, I’m going to be studying for a semester at University of New South Wales in Australia.  The campus is located in New South Wales, go figure, right outside Sydney.

The A is where the campus is.  Here's a nice view from the campus towards the water, just to make you jealous.

About a year ago, the study abroad coordinator from Oneonta came to one of my classes to talk about studying abroad.  I had always wanted to study abroad, but never really thought about it seriously.  After his presentation I was hooked and immediately emailed him to set up an appointment to go over my options.  Originally I was considering a program in Finland, but soon added Australia to my list.  After looking over the materials, I quickly decided that Australia would be the place to go.  No offense to Finland, but a Nordic Winter doesn’t sound nearly as good as an Australian “Winter”.

Then came the long process of deciding which schools to apply to, finishing applications, getting letters of recommendation, gathering transcripts from the long list of Universities I’ve attended.  I finally narrowed my choices down to two schools in Australia, UNSW and Bond University which is located on the Gold Coast.

 Both schools were in excellent locations and offered many courses in my desired field.  After looking more extensively into the two schools, I came to a decision that UNSW would be my first choice.  I decided that since the two schools essentially had the same choices in classes, I went with the location that I felt I would more enjoy.  I just couldn’t turn down the chance to live in Sydney for a few months.  (On my parent’s dime, no less)

Sydney had always been very high on my list of places to visit and I knew this would be the perfect opportunity.  I was looking for a place with lots of culture, especially a unique one.  I liked the idea of being in a big city with lots to do.  And the fact that Sydney is right next to the water made it even more inviting.

About two weeks after getting the applications in, (mailed off on the day they were due, I might add), I heard back from UNSW that I had been accepted into the Study Abroad Program.  I quickly sent in my letter of intent and got the ball rolling.  All I had left to do were pages and pages of paperwork, of course with a little (read: a lot) help from my mom.