Internship and Classes in Sydney Past Review
By AnnaCasey (general business, New Mexico State University) for
CEA CAPA Education Abroad: Sydney, Australia
I loved my study abroad experience. It was definitely worthwhile. I gained experience in the field of law that I would not be able to do in the United States as an undergraduate.
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | CAPA/ Billy Blue School |
| The term and year this program took place: | Summer 2009 |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Through The Washington Center, each student is enrolled in 2 classes with CAPA. I found them interesting. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
CAPA stayed interested in how our internships were. The placements they gave to some of the other students were not beneficial to them at all. I was very pleased with my placements, but several other interns had to change placements halfway through the program. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The housing provided was exceptional. The location was close to the city and there was a bus stop just around the corner. Was a bit far from where we chose to go for nightlife, but with it being a huge city, it was normal. The suburb was called Waterloo and safety was never a concern there for me. |
| * Food: |
Strong Asian influence when it come to food. It is an opportunity to try new things and open up to new ideas. Service there is practically unheard of though. A lot of places were ordering at the bar and taking a number to your table. Food would be delivered and the server would not show back up to the table until they came to pick up the plates if even that. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
Made wonderful, life-long friends. Some were other interns from the program (from the US), but others were from Sydney. People are friendly and willing to make conversation and get to know you. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
Never had any problems with safety or health. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
No
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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) |
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| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | If you have Bank of America, use WestPac bank. There are no withdrawal fees to take out money. I do not recommend using your debit/credit card for most transactions. They charge an extra fee every time you pay with them. Withdrawal money and pay with cash. Just like anywhere though, don't carry too much cash on you. |
Language
| Language acquisition improvement? |
I was not speaking a foreign language while on the program. |
A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Talk to the advisers at TWC and give them a good description of what you are wanting to intern in while in Sydney. The better the description, the more likely you will be placed somewhere you will love. For those wanting to intern in the field of law, I interned at a community legal centre and was given the opportunity to work my own cases. Take plenty of money to do activities outside of the program. There was many many interesting things to do in and around Sydney and some are relatively cheap, but others are pretty expensive. |
Individual Course Reviews
| Course Name/Rating: |
Australian Government and Politics in the Pacific Rim Context |
| Course Department: | n/a |
| Instructor: | Dr. Stephen Mutch/ Dr. Geoffrey Hawker |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | The comparisons and contrasts between Australia's government and the United States were the center for the course. Very interesting class. One instructor for this class was actually a former member of Parliament; found his points to be intriguing. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | Have not dealt with this yet. |
| Course Name/Rating: |
Perspectives on Experiential Learning |
| Course Department: | PELA |
| Instructor: | Dr. Jane Maley |
| Instruction Language: | English |
| Comments: | Course was to supplement the internship. Found it to be a little unnecessary, but was helpful at times. |
| Credit Transfer Issues: | I have not dealt with this yet. |
