Lessons from Study Away

I have had many experiences with my friends throughout my time in Australia that have led to some interesting stories—most of which can describe general traits about my personality.

One of the stories an Australian friend told about me occurred during the first night bush walk I went on with him at the beginning of the semester. We walked down to the river to see what wildlife was out. We saw so many large spiders, wallabies, birds, a snake and even a croc! He was surprised at how composed I stayed when we almost walked right into a huge spider in its web and when we were taking pictures of the carpet python we spotted. I amazingly remained calm after the croc sighting while we were on the weir, right on the river, although I was very concerned I was going to get eaten! My friend enjoyed this nervousness over a freshwater croc, which apparently will not attack humans. At the time I did not know that you only need to watch out for the ‘salties,’ but I was still nervous about all the Australian animals that could kill me! I asked him so many questions about the wildlife we saw during the walk and other animals that popped into my thoughts. He answered all of them and even gave me a lesson on poisonous versus venomous because I kept messing that relationship up. I definitely learned how irrational my fears of everything in Australia wanting to kill me were when I first arrived, especially if you are willing to learn more about the animals. Ultimately, my constant questions and ability to enjoy a new experience with composure show two traits that define me well: my sense of curiosity and adventure. These traits define me well, as one reason I wanted to study abroad was to explore more of the beautiful world we live in!

 

Here are some pictures from my first night bush walk (from top left): Huntsman spider, Tawny frogmouth with what looks like a large centipede snack, and a spotted python.

Another one of my Australian friends mentioned that I am a vibrant, happy individual all the time. Anytime he has seen me, be it early in the morning before class or volunteering at the hospital or after one of my long days of classes, I am always excited for something upcoming. One morning I was half asleep when he joined me for breaky, but as soon as he sat down and we started chatting about the remainder of the week, I perked right up and got excited about my plans to get dive certified. Another time after a late night finishing a paper, I ran into him at lunch and we chatted a bit. I was exhausted from my lack of sleep and when I’m tired I start blabbering on about random subjects that pop into my head. I went from telling everyone about my day volunteering at the hospital to talking about the superglue I spilled earlier on my thumb and how I was excited for cricket to start because I had made the team. Despite my being tired, I was excited about nearly everything that happened that day. Hearing this story gave me a good laugh as I’m sure everyone that day did, but it made me wonder if I would act similarly if I were at home. I try to be a happy individual to brighten people’s days up because you never know what they could be going through, but I know I've struggled to do so at home with all the gloomy weather; however, since being in Australia, I do not think I’ve ever been in a bad mood! This might be due to my wanting to have the best experiences while abroad, but I think I’ve just become a happier individual with all my new friends and learning to be independent away from my family.

These and all my other experiences while in Australia have really helped me realize the type of person I have become, as I have changed for the better over the course of the semester. Hopefully, I will continue to be a curious, adventurous, vivacious, independent person when I return home to complete my studies and move onto a new chapter in my life!