A Summer of Australian Adventures Past Review
By Anisha (The University of Texas at Austin) - abroad from 05/25/2016 to 07/09/2016 with
Arcadia: Sydney -Sydney Internship Program Summer
the independence of living on one's own in a foreign country
Review Photos
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
The class itself is very enriching and interesting. Topics discussed range from politics to global and environmental issues. We even learned some history of Australia. We examined race relations and what it means to have an Australian vs American identity. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The 3-day orientation really helps get you acclimated to Sydney, especially helps you avoid the downfalls of jet lag as the program coordinators keep you moving with activities the first few days. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The main benefit of where we stayed in the program (Adina Apartment Hotel) was that it was right next to central station which is the train station you use primarily to get around Sydney and various other places. The apartments are serviced, with a laundry and a dryer in the bathrooms which came in handy. |
| * Food: |
There were these weekend markets that had food stalls all along the streets and they had really cool food vendors where you could get Kangaroo skewers and authentic cuisine from different parts of the world. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Arcadia provides some excursions as part of the program, including the blue mountains weekend trip where they take you to the blue mountains for 2 days, and you get to go abseiling (which is like repelling off a giant cliff-so much fun!), hiking, and to the wildlife park. We also went to see plays in the local theatre and to the Sydney film festival. Arcadia also lets students in the program have time to explore around Sydney. My group went to see a show at the Sydney Opera House. I went to the Australian Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, the Art Gallery of NSW, Bondi Beach, Manly Beach, aquariums, the wax museum, three different zoos. We also went to an "Aussie Rules" football game. There are a lot of opportunities in the time you're given to traverse the city and also visit places around Australia. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Sydney is a relatively safe city |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
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Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
Food can start to add up fast. The opal card which is what you use to take the train or bus everywhere can be costly but the good thing is that once you've taken 8 trips for the week, the rest of your trips are free for the week. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | $110 |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | I would recommend eating from home for several days a week instead of going out to restaurants every night which can start to add up. Just buy basic groceries for stuff you can make. The kitchen in the apartment hotel we stayed at had utensils and cutlery, bowls, dishes, etc. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | No |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
Select all that apply |
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 0 |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | I wish I had brought more summer clothes because I didn't think there would be any hot days considering it was winter over here during the duration of the program |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Outright UrbaniteA social butterfly, you're happiest in bustling cities with hip people, and took advantage of all it had to offer. You enjoyed the nightlife, and had fun going out dancing, and socializing with friends. Fun-loving and dressed to the nines, you enjoyed discovering new restaurants, shops, cafes, and bars in your host country. |
