The World Is Your Oyster--Choose Study Abroad

By Stephanie Vera on January 7, 2013

Sydney Opera House? Check. Saw a wild kangaroo? Check. Had a Vegemite sandwich? Check. All that’s left is for me to have shrimp on the barbé… or so my friends think back at Davis.

I am currently waiting for the bus to head back to my home stay in Castle Cove, a suburb in North Sydney. I am one of the 21 students completing the Sydney Quarter Abroad Writing and Internship Program; with only one week left in Sydney, I am left sitting here pondering on the past 9 weeks. To say I have had a great time would be an understatement.

Australia had always been under the radar for me. I always knew I wanted to travel to Europe and South America, but I had never really considered Australia. To be honest, being a graduating senior, the only real reason I chose the program was because of the internship component.

Having already studied abroad in the past, I felt too guilty to study abroad once more. I had gone through my commencement ceremony; it was time to buckle down, get serious and find a job. Being the obsessive traveler and social butterfly that I am though, I convinced myself that my resume could use abroad experience, applied for the program, packed my bags and left.

That decision was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I have had the opportunity to live with the most amazing Aussie family. We do not eat shrimp on the barbé every night, but we do have sit down dinners together every night and drink tea before bed. I worked as a public relations intern for Express Beauty Bar, which opened doors for me to work with The Sydney Angels, an angel investing organization. I have made friends that will last a lifetime and learned so much about Australian history which has led me to revisit American history. I could go on all day.

I now understand what people mean when they say they feel wanderlust—the desire to keep moving from one place to another. I recommend every student to study abroad if they have the opportunity because you will return with a more critical mind. Australia is much more than the Sydney Opera House, kangaroos and Vegemite Sandwiches. To understand that fully though, you have to experience it; you have to live it and you have to do so with an open mind.

My study abroad experience in Sydney has–without a doubt–been the best part of my college experience. While I love Davis, being 19 hours ahead of California-time and thousands of miles away from home helped me put my life into perspective and realize just how small I really am. I realize the world is much bigger than I had grasped and I want to spend my time on it doing what I love.

Like the saying goes, the world is your oyster. Experience as much of that oyster as you can. There are so many abroad programs to choose from and memories to be made. If that does not convince you, then maybe the saying all my graduating classmates used every weekend of senior year—YOLO—will resonate better. You Only Live Once. Don’t wait for life to happen to you; if you are not happy in your classes at UC Davis, then maybe it is time for a change of scenery.

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