Lucas DuMez, Hokies Abroad Marketing Intern from Virginia Tech, talks about his most memorable study abroad experiences.  He writes:

Hello, my name is Lucas DuMez. I am a sophomore, from Virginia Tech, and I will be talking about the top five things I experienced on my Australia and New Zealand trip with Hokies Abroad in June 2018. These five things are not the only things I got to fully enjoy and experience, but they are the most memorable as I look back on my experience.

The first thing is the animals I got to see. I have always been drawn to fauna wildlife, as I grew up in the Shenandoah Valley. I normally get to see squirrels, bears and deer, so a change was very refreshing. I had never seen the spectacular colors in the feathers of the many bird species we saw. I think we got to see around 40 species of birds during my visit. Pictured bellow are the rainbow lorikeets. On Magnetic Island they would flock during feeding time and land on your head; the flash of brilliance around you is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I also got to see and hold a koala. He smelled like eucalyptus and was much bigger than I had imagined.

I also travelled to the Great Barrier Reef with the group and got to see sea turtles and many technicoloured fish. I have had my deep-sea diving license for three years now and have done dives in Belize, Florida, and Hawaii. The Great Barrier tops all those places because of the acres of reef filled with diverse fish species and many varieties of corals.

Talking about the Great Barrier brings me to my second top five thing which is the views and landscapes my group got visit and see. Listed below are but a few of these locations. The New Zealand hills and forests were so green and rugged they reminded me so much of the Lord of the Rings, which is fitting because we got to visit Hobbiton. The beaches were also fantastic with crystal clear water and miles of sand. All the places we visited were breath-taking.

The Running River Gorge shown in the title photo was in ‘the bush’ of Australia. A season of Survivor was filmed in this location and was a favourite spot for all the students. We got to jump from the cliff edges and swim in the fresh water.

Speaking of the other students brings me to the third thing I enjoyed during my abroad experience – the friends. I became best friends with all the students and both of my professors. I still snapchat them and go to trivia nights with them at a local pizza place. They have become my second family, because after living with someone for a solid month you become very close. We’ve experienced so much together, and I could never see anything getting between our friendships. We had a reunion this past fall and nearly everyone was in attendance and three of the participants live in New York! As for my professor, Jonathan Watkinson, I have since taken one of his classes and he now acts as my current advisor for my Biology Degree.

The other group of people I have come to have great respect for are the native indigenous people from both countries. The locals are my fourth topic in my top five. The Maori and the Australian Aborigines taught me about the land and how to be more sustainable. I have a greater understanding of the earth and how I should act on it because of their teachings. I also received an education on their cultural struggles and how they have had to persevere through rough times as they have not always/may still not be accepted by the European settlers. I was very humbled and gracious that they would spend their time teaching me about their history and homeland. We were given numerous nature walks, lectures, and a painting class to help build our cultural understanding of Australia and New Zealand.

Along with all the information we learned from the natives we also gained a lot of knowledge from field studies and lectures on the environment… making education my fifth topic. Our professors, Lori Blanc and Jonathan Watkinson, were the best professors I have ever had. They made it their everyday goal to help us learn and build our thought process of the world we live in. They taught us about government thinking, environmental concerns, social constructs, and technological advantages within science. I benefitted immensely from their teachings and have since used the knowledge in three biology and engineering classes. I have changed in many ways because of this experience and I mostly owe that to them and the scientific journals we read along our trip.

Going to New Zealand and Australia with Hokies Abroad changed my life. I believe everyone should experience new cultures first-hand and have an international education – it really will give you a new outlook on life! If you are interested in this or any of the other Hokies Abroad programs, check out www.hokiesabroad.org