Submitted by Jessica Casino on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Australia and New Zealand sponsored by the Department of Business Administration…
While it is upsetting to think that my time in Sydney, Australia is coming to an end, I am so appreciative of the opportunity that I had here while abroad. I have been able to do amazing excursions such as the Sydney Opera House tour, the Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb, lawn bowling lessons, and a wildlife park. At the Sydney Opera House, we had a guided tour and were taught about the history of the building. It was a beautiful day and we were able to go inside of the theaters themselves. Later on in the program, our group went to see a show called Blanc de Blanc at the Sydney Opera house, a true once in a lifetime experience. The Sydney Harbor Bridge Climb was a surreal experience in which our program went as a group to climb to the top of the bridge and overlook the scenic skyline of Sydney. One of my favorite days on this abroad program was the Walkabout Wildlife Park where I was able to pet kangaroos, dingoes, wallabies, Tasmanian Devils, pythons, emus, and koalas. I love nature and learning about culture, and at this cultural excursion we were taught about authentic Bush medicine and the applications of it within the Aboriginal culture. Lastly, we had a lawn bowling lesson at Bondi Beach where my program competed against one another in a tournament. Each and every day that I have spent here, I have truly lived to the fullest. I have immersed myself into the culture and learned more through my experiences than I ever could from in a classroom. Through this scholarship, I have been afforded the opportunity of a lifetime and grown as a scholar through my experiences.
