As this is my first blog posting, I am sure you are expecting to hear all about long travel times, excitement about arriving in a foreign country, and an update on how I am settling in. However, I have already been abroad for a semester so none of that stuff applies. I am studying at the Australian National University in Canberra and have just finished up the first week of classes of what is the second semester here. Having just come off of a nearly two month “winter” break I have had a bit of readjustment to do even though I stayed around Canberra and worked nearly the whole time. Many of my good friends were international exchange students as well, but unfortunately the majority of them departed after one semester. Wouldn’t be enough time for me. Saying goodbye was tough, but hopefully I will see them again one day and now we have a new group of incoming exchange students!!
This has already led to a couple awkward moments….”Hey!! Why are you going in so and so’s room!?”…followed by embarrassingly realizing that they actually do live there now.
Apart from that, the new exchange students are great and I had some fantastic holidays. Mostly filled with working and making money (minimum wage in Australia is around $20 an hour if you are 20 years old) I did also go up to Cairns for a week for some fun times. Pronounced “Cans” by Australians, it is the farthest North city on the East coast and is considered the gateway city to the Great Barrier Reef and the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage rainforests. Considered one of the world’s best areas to dive, I decided to go ahead and get my PADI diving certificate so that I can dive anywhere in the world. What followed was an amazing four days of diving both in the pool and out on the reef. Underneath the water lies some of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen. Throughout our dives, we saw clown fish, sea cucumbers, sting rays, manta rays, and some of the most amazing colourful fish, both big and small. We even managed to touch a giant sea turtle as it swam, and came face to face with a couple of sharks! One of them was around 13 feet long and we were only about 10 feet away. Sure puts a whole new perspective on shark week this week. On the way there and back whales started jumping next to our boat! Cairns was definitely a unique great experience that I would recommend to anyone visiting Australia.
Many other study abroad students who have just left home are probably posting all about how great it is to be away from home or in another country. However, for me, I am starting to miss back home, and not only because it is winter here while it is summer back home. It has now been 7 months since I left America and it will be a good bit before I get to return. You start to miss friends and family especially when seeing them grow up without you there. When I left, my sister barely even knew where she was going to college and yet, by the time I return, she will already almost be finished with her freshman year. Although I miss home, I love it here and this is definitely a brand new home for me where I will always feel welcome and I wouldn’t give up a minute of my time here. I’m looking forward to a great new semester full of even more amazing experiences and will be sure to keep y’all updated!