This is it. I have finally finished my semester in
Australia. It really is bitter sweet to think about since it only feels like
yesterday all of us were talking about how much time we had in Australia. Four
months really does fly by. Being consistent with the blog the last few weeks
was almost impossible since I had to start buckling down for finals. There was
not much I had to talk about with everyone so for a brief moment I will recap a
few of things that happened after I came back from break.
I guess I will start with small things that happened. This
involved many different BBQ’s I went to. I spent some time at the other student
housing complex called varsity where I took part in BBQing some food with
various international students, some of whom I knew from my trip at Byron Bay
and Mojo surf camp. It really was a great way to bond and meet new people.
Another BBQ that happened was Alyssa’s birthday where everyone gathered at
Maloolaba and cooked some sausages and burgers. It was a great time during the
week to de stress and even have a run in with some Elon University alumni who
interrupted our festivities to just come by and say hello. One of the guys,
who’s name I have sadly forgot, graduated with a major in political science and
was part of Model United Nations at Elon, which funny enough I am apart of.
They mentioned they all graduated in 2013 and said how much they loved studying
at USC during their study abroad experience that they decided to travel
Australia. It was an interesting run in that reminded me of the friends I have
been missing back at Elon. They also reminded me that my time in Australia was
limited.
One fun activity I did was going to Bli Bli aqua park but
was a bit different than what you would expect a water park to be. Instead of
big slides and tubes to go down on, imagine a lake, and there are a lot of blow
up obstacles floating around on the water. Some are climbing walls, some are
hamster 
That week, Halloween was coming up. Surprisingly enough,
Halloween has become popular in Australia so I was able to dress up. The
Thursday before Halloween, Daniel took a group of us to Aussie World, an
amusement park that was not far from the University. Some of us dressed up and
some didn’t. We went on a few rides, were followed by some creepy guy dressed
in a creepy clown leotard, and went inside a haunted house where I lost my hat
running through a room full of hands hanging from the ceiling. That wasn’t the
only thing that scared some of us. There was a creepy lady who had a little
crush on Liam and was following our group around as well as that guy with the
creepy clown leotard that scared the life out of Dorthea when he popped out
during our time in this strange maze of mirrors. Needless to say it was an
interesting night for us. Saturday, I held a little Halloween party with some
food and blood orange sangria. People came in and out since that was how
Halloween works at uni but all in all, it was relaxing and fun. We eventually
headed over to Varsity (the other student housing) to join the many students
mingling and dancing. By the end of the night, a few of us just went for a
walk around the university before heading to bed. Though I was not having an
Elon Halloween, I still enjoyed dressing up and spending my Halloween in the
land down under.
Before I had my first exam, a friend Raffy and I went to the
place I wanted to visit since I arrived in Sunshine Coast, The Australia Zoo.
To me, going there was a dream come true because I was visiting the place of my
childhood hero Steve Irwin. My brothers and I grew up watching The Crocodile
Hunter from the show to the movie that was out in theaters. He was the reason I
had taken in interest in wild life and the reason I know too many random facts
about animals. The zoo was a lot smaller than I expected but we were able to
see everything there. There were Otters just laying around being cute as ever,
some large Cassowaries, Koalas chilling, 
As finals came closer, my stress levels became higher and I
ended up spending my last two weeks preparing and taking my four exams. Once I
walked out of my Abnormal Psychology exam I finally could breath. That same day
I went with Cara to Colondra to walk around and enjoy the beautiful sunshine
and heat of summer. We walked along the beach as well as explore the little
town and reminisce about the times we have had here at the Sunshine Coast. Flo
and his mother were very sweet in taking us back to campus where I said goodbye
to him and later Cara. Everyone else that day had left for home so I was one of
the few left at UniCentral.
The next day I met with Woody Pelton, the dean of global
education at Elon University as well as a bunch of the other Elon students that
were studying at University of the Sunshine Coast. We had lunch and talked
about our experiences as well as the advice we would give to incoming Elon
students that want to travel abroad to this program. It was interesting to hear
what everyone else has been up to and how excited everyone was to go back home
but sad to leave this place. Along with talking to Woody, we also got to talk
to a few USC students who will be joining the Elon community this spring. Two
are locals of Queensland Australia and the other is from Norway. Our group was
so excited to tell them about how much fun they are going to have when they
come to Elon. I even slipped in that they should look into Model UN as one of
their club choices. The rest of the day I was cleaning out my room and packing
as much as I could.
The next day I woke up at 8:00 so I could make breakfast and
meet up with Dorthea one last time before she left for Harvey Bay. We jumped on
a bus to Alexandria beach to catch a few waves. It was a bit windy that day but
we made the most of it after being knocked over by waves, violated by seaweed
and almost running into each other. I caught only three waves but that was
enough for me since I wanted to at least catch one before I left. We were at
the beach relaxing for a while before returning the boards and heading to grab
some lunch. From there we walked back to the bus and headed back to campus. We
said goodbye before parting ways. Dorthea if you are reading this, you better
come to New York for thanksgiving in the next few years!!!! Once I made it back to my room, I went to the
pool to relax before finishing most of my packing and cleaning up my room.
For my last day, I decided to treat myself to a pedicure as
well as a walk around the Sunshine Plaza one last time. I was able to grab some
last minute things as well such as a better nose stud and some small gifts as
well as a huge collection of TimTams because why not? I even got to see some
parts of the mall I had not explored yet which made me a bit mad since the
Sunshine Plaza I did not spend as much time at. After I finished getting my
toes done, I was not done yet with the general area I was in.
Sadly all great things must come to an end. The time seemed
to fly by but I feel like I have done so much even for the four months. I was
even able to check a few things off my list
- · I visited Lindsey twice since I came to Australia
- · I scuba dived in the great barrier reef
- · I got a picture with the Steve Irwin Statue
- · I went to New Zealand
- · I tried vegemite and actually liked it
- · I tried so many Aussie treats while I was there
- · I held a Koala
- · My eating habits got a lot better since I was able to cook
- · I caught way more than one wave while I was there
The only things I did not get to do sadly were cage diving
with sharks, going to Fiji and riding a sea turtle. I did hang out with a
Grouper so I will take that as a check. This was not on my list of things to do
but it was on my bucket list and that was skydiving. I can truly say I used my
time wisely when I was not locked in my room or Uni studying. One thing I would
give advice to any study abroad student is that yes your grades matter, but do
not miss out on opportunities when you are abroad because you have to get straight
A’s. You would not be using your time wisely. The school system was difficult
compared to what I do at Elon but I was able to get by enough. As I write this,
I am sitting in the airport waiting for my flight back to the states. It’s
going to be a rough flight back but I am happy to see my family once I arrive
in New York. I will never forget my experience in Australia and I hope to
return one day to this amazing country. Thank you to Elon University for
allowing me to have this wonderful opportunity to study abroad and to my family
for letting me stay across the world for four months.
Thank you to my friends at Sippy Downs for making this an
amazing experience and I hope to see you all in the future! Goodbye Australia
and hello New York!
