Speechies take Australia!: 3 Whirlwind Weeks of Expanding Educational Horizons! Past Review
By Teresa H (Speech-Language Pathology, Texas Christian University) for
Texas Christian University (TCU): Traveling - Speech Pathology in Australia
This study abroad was a stepping stone academically, not only fulfilling supporting area credit within my major but also fulfilling Honors cultural visions credits; which allowed me to begin my upperdivision honors classes a semester early, as well as open my eyes to a myriad of research opportunities for my senior thesis. This study abroad afforded me the opportunity to meet and speak with some of the foremost and prolific Australian researchers in my field, and experience a totally foreign culture in the process. Who could ask for more?
Personal Information
| If you took classes at multiple universities, list those universities here: | we weren't enrolled in any foriegn universities, we only visited for lectures. |
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 0-2 weeks |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
Well we still haven't recieved our final grades on my.tcu.edu yet, but our grades were based on performance in the lectures and seminars, completeness of information in journals, and a final group presentation on a pre-decided topic. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
The Melbourne Quest was definitely better than the Sydney Quest housing; in the latter three people were crammed into tiny two person efficiency apartments and everything was SO much more expensive in Sydney. Also, in Melbourne our internet was included, in Sydney it wasn't. |
| * Food: |
Definitely go to Chinatown in Melbourne, but NOT Footscray. In Sydney, the best places to eat are little sidewalk cafes with daily deals. the cheapest meal in Sydney was about 11 AUD, and the most expensive was easily 30 AUD. But gratuity is automatically included in the prices, so there is never any tipping. But in Sydney, if you want a LOT of food for relatively cheap, DO go to Pancakes on the Rocks- it's open 24 hours a day and was wonderful! I wish we had discovered it before our last day there! |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
ALL of our fieldtirps were wonderful! In Melbourne we had a daytrip along the Great Ocean Road! And I don't think any of us will ever forget our bus driver Collin... But the views were incredible, despite the rain! The Taronga ZOo, the Featherdale Wildlife Park, and the Jet boat rides are a MUST! |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
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| * Safety: |
We were advised to be in groups of 3 or more, so there was never really any problem. |
| 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) |
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Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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A Look Back
| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Obviously a student who is majoring in Speech Language Pathology who is interested in Stuttering and Speech Sound Disorders would benefit the most from this program, as it is very specialized to our program at TCU. It was so much fun and the perfect blending of learning and exploring. You will work hard one day and play hard the next day, so you definitely get to see as much of the city as you want while still earning 3 hours of credit. It's an incredible opportunity to grow closer with your fellow SLP classmates and meet the girls in the years above and below you that you might otherwise miss out on knowing due to the time constraints of the clinic schedule. I came away with 8 new girls i can go to as mentors, and 17 new friends. My advice: Go GO GO! |
Comments
I tried to upload the pictures it asked for but it wouldn't let me :(
Teresa_6175 August 01, 2011
