In the fall of 2001, I attended University of Wollongong in Australia for a semester. Wollongong is a beautiful city located about an hour and fifteen minutes south of Sydney on the east coast of Australia. The program I went through was Beaver College (now renamed to Arcadia University) and things worked really well. Since I was merely studying abroad and not taking a leave of absence, I still paid HMC what I normally do and they took care of the bills sent from Arcadia University. Essentially, I got my tuition paid for, my plane tickets, and my meals and housing. I appreciated going through a program because it gave me access to people who knows what is going on and whom I can e-mail/call with any questions or concerns. However, going abroad is not as simple as signing up on a sheet of paper, there are a lot of pre-organization involved. For example, I had to figure out what nation I am interested in and could offer classes intensive enough to earn me Mudd credits, I had to find out how many engineering (my major) classes I could get credit for, fill out petition forms, take care of humanities requirement, find out what universities abroad offer appropriate classes, speak with the financial registration, housing, advisors, and others, and then some more. Basically, it is quite a hassle to get organized enough before Mudd would let you leave (so get started early and be patient, it all becomes worth it). One word of advice when deciding to study abroad: look at the total cost you would be paying if you take a leave of absence (i.e. you would not be paying Mudd) versus studying abroad (i.e. paying Mudd who takes care of most cost involved) because either one could be cheaper depending on your financial aid package.

Now on to the exciting part, my experience in Australia. Wow. I have had so many people ask me "how was Australia?" since I have been back. And just about every time, I am a loss for words. How can you describe such an experience where you spent four and a half months completely removed from the environment you have become accustomed to, uprooted from those you call friends and family, and moved to a totally different nation? Where do you start? How do you make others understand just what a wholesome and, at the cost of sounding cliche, horizon expanding adventure it was? Through my stay in Australia, not only did I do the touristy experience when I traveled around, ate some good food, saw the Great Barrier Reef, threw a boomerang, blew into a digeridoo, imitated the Australia accent, and more, but I came to make friends with people half way around the world, looked deeper within myself, and in general, become a more mature and wiser person. This is the part where I have yet put into elegant words. You truly discover another facet of yourself when you go abroad because of the fact that you have been taken out of your comfort zone where everything is done out of habit and it takes no effort to go day-by-day, i.e., you become insensitive and unaware of your surroundings including people. When you go abroad, you have to make yourself vulnerable and make friends, discover the traditions, get to know the land, observe how this culture is different; you become more aware of your surroundings and as a result, yourself, and you appreciate all of it more. You stop taking things for granted and you look at the things back home with a different perspective.

In leaving I would like to give an advice: GO ABROAD! Think about it, you get to get away from Mudd for a semester, and still get credit for it. I can easily and honestly say that going abroad has definitely been one of the highlights of my life thus far. I strongly recommend studying abroad; it is such a wonderful opportunity. Carpe diem.