Samantha Barteldt, the Wolfpack Abroad marketing intern, writes:
G’day readers! My name is Samantha and I was a participant in this past summer’s South Queensland study abroad program through AUIP and NC State University. Since returning from Down Under, I have been consumed with the reflection and re-acclimating process, so what better way to do that than to write about it? For my first blog post of the academic year, I would like to focus on my original expectations and hopes for the study abroad experience and show how they were not only met but exceeded.
From applying, being accepted and going to the meeting for accepted students, I automatically formulated whimsical, exciting images of what the summer abroad would be like. And since I have been bitten with the travel bug, I booked flights that would have me in Australia two weeks before the program started and then almost two months after the program’s end. Because of this, my overall expectations were matched with timidity and anxiousness about traveling on my own. But putting that aside for possibly another post, I want to focus on the expectations that were met related to the program itself.
Expectation: Knowing that it would be 30 NC State students studying on the program, I wondered what type of experience that would be. I didn’t know any of the people going, but I figured there were groups of people going that all knew each other and applied to the same program together. Reality: None of us knew each other, and even if some had, the program made it impossible for us all not to grow close like a family. That sounds strange to say: that over the span of three and a half weeks, we became a family. But that’s what happened.
Some of the students from the NC State South Queensland, Australia 2013 program
Expectation: That I would maybe see a couple kangaroos, some pretty sights, and possibly some corals or a koala. I expected to spend most of the time in lectures or reading. Reality: We traveled, we hiked, we saw; we were outside the majority of the time. That’s my kind of program. Not only did we see kangaroos, koalas, coral reefs, amazing sights, but we saw and did so much more. It was awesome and can’t be summarized; so stay tuned for more blog posts!
Samantha holding a koala at Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
Expectation: I expected to take classes like any other class and absorb information that might or might not apply to me. I honestly wasn’t excitedly anticipating the curriculum because I wasn’t sure how it would relate to Australia and what we did there. Reality: The topics we studied blew me away. Between the initial lectures from historians and Aboriginal peoples to the field research and observation, I was constantly interested in what we were learning! And so much of the environmental sustainability topics about which we learned applies to my life and helps me view it in a new way.
Hiking at Carnarvon Gorge
Alright, I hope this helps provide a snapshot of how this program exceeds expectations for its students. I personally hope that anyone who is considering applying for a program through AUIP knows that it is definitely a worthwhile experience.
