Studying abroad: new experiences, new culture

Jenna Wolf is a junior management major who studied abroad in Australia fall 2009 through CIS.

My name is Jenna Wolf and I studied abroad in the fall of 2009 at the University of Newcastle, South Wales, Australia.

The university is home to about 26,000 students. I lived on campus in a dorm style building a lot like Viterbo; however, the Aussie school system is very different than ours. Instead of meeting two or three times a week for classes, they have lecture one day a week and a tutorial once a week.

The lecture is pretty straight-forward and a little dry. The tutorial consists of a teacher assistant who explains what was actually taught in the lecture.

Since I'm a management major, I took three business classes to complete my international emphasis in my major and then also took an interesting aboriginal history course to complete a general education requirement.

Although the systems were quite different, I'm pleased to say I did well in the classes and all the courses transferred back to complete requirements here.

Not only did I attend the university, but while in Australia I got the opportunity to do some pretty incredible things and meet some really great people who will be lifelong friends.

I was able to go sand-boarding twice, learned to surf, and hiked through the Blue Mountains. Over spring break, I traveled with friends, got to see Australian wildlife, and went skydiving. At the end of the semester, I spent three days on a sailboat and went scuba diving over the Great Barrier Reef.

Aussies throw some wicked parties. They are champs at drinking and I am convinced that they invent heaps of holidays just to take part in the sport of drinking. The biggest difference for me while I was there is that the drinking age is 18 and universities don't have dry campuses. In fact, the residence hall where I lived even threw some of the parties. We had a rock star party, uniform party, gender bender, garden party, hall ball, and recovery day and I was also there during Autonomy day.

I must say that these parties definitely wouldn't have been as fun if I hadn't met some of the coolest people. I got to meet and live with people from across the U.S., from Australia, and from around the world. I met people from almost every state up the East Coast, from the majority of the Midwest, and several from Arizona and California. I lived with people from New Zealand, England, Asia and the Middle East.

Some of these people introduced me to new things and gave me a place to stay over breaks and holidays, and without them, I wouldn't have gotten as much out of this experience as I did. Some of these people will be lifelong friends and I will make an effort to visit them wherever they may be.

My study abroad experience is something I will remember for the rest of my life. It is an experience that, if given the opportunity, a person should never pass up, regardless of money. My time in Australia has influenced my life and how I look at things more than anything else I've ever done. It has changed me and taught me to be a much more independent person. It is something that I would recommend everyone do sometime while they are in college regardless of how much money it costs. I created memories I wouldn't trade for anything and I will have them for a lifetime.