Kim P. - Australia - Fall 2009

Hey everyone! I have to apologize that I’m a little late in posting this but I’ve been doing quite a lot of traveling in the past month, including my two week spring break trip or “holiday” as the Aussies call it where I traveled up the entire east coast of Australia as well as a few weekend trips to Sydney and Melbourne.

I am currently studying at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle, Australia. Uni (as we call it here) is much different from Elmhurst. The campus is set in a bush land and it takes me about 20 minutes to walk to class or the train station, which took some getting use to at first! Unlike everyone else who has more recently arrived in their destination abroad, I’ve been in Australia since way back in July and only have about a month left in Oz. Australia is a beautiful country full of some of the most easy going and friendliest people in the world. The past 3 months have just flown by, so I’m trying to make the most of the precious few weeks I have left here.

I think that people are hesitant to study abroad for a semester because they’re afraid that they’re going to miss out on something big while they’re gone. I’ve come to realize that everything at home is nearly exactly how it was when I left. However, if I didn’t take the risk and study abroad then I would have missed out on the semester of a lifetime.

Before coming to Australia, I would have never guessed that I would become such great friends with people from so many different countries and parts of the world, not just Americans and Australians. I’ve met hundreds of people through my adventures and travels that have taught me some unforgettable things and allowed me to experience so many different cultures. However, I am very grateful that I’ve had this opportunity to actually live and study in Australia because I’ve come to know and love the Australian culture (music, lingo, food, way of life, etc) that I wouldn’t get to absorb if I was just traveling through Australia.

I hope everyone is excited for their semester abroad, because trust me it’s the best decision I’ve ever made. I know that right now it can be quite stressful with all the paperwork and details to take care of, but hang in there, it’s totally worth it :). I have had such an amazing time in Australia thus far, and would be more than happy to talk to anyone about studying abroad. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have any more questions, I know I had a lot before I left! You can shoot me an email at kpitingolo@gmail.com or add me on Facebook. Also feel free to check out my personal blog from down under (http://kimpitingolo.blogspot.com) with heaps of information, pictures, and stories about my travels and adventures in Australia.

Kim Pitingolo