Sunny Elliot

I wanted to study abroad since I started at Berkeley. I met with my major advisor and found out I could study abroad and still finish my requirements. I then went to the study abroad fair and got useful information and recommendations. I chose my program because it was closely linked to my interests and major. I chose Australia because of the amazing plants and animals that can be found there and nowhere else.

My homestay mom was a theatre professor at a university, and taught a class about accents. Her students were working on American accents, so she invited me and my roommate to come to her class and help her students work on their accents. It was interesting to talk to her students about pronunciation, inflection, and speed of talking, and notice the sounds we say really differently. I had fun helping them and talking to them about American life and language.

My biggest challenge of my study abroad experience was coming into a group of 44 people and trying to make friends and talk to people. It was overwhelming at first, but everyone was really nice and I made some amazing friends by the end of the semester.

For the days where I was taking classes on campus, I would take a 45 minute bus ride from my homestay house to campus, and have classes from 10-2 with an hour lunch break. Sometimes there would be classes or workshops in the afternoon, depending on the day. After class, I would either take the bus home or go explore a part of the city with some friends. When I was on terrestrial field trips, I would spend my day hiking and doing science-based field exercises. On marine field trips, I spent my day planning a research project, collecting data, and writing up my findings.

I took three classes while abroad: Marine Biology, Terrestrial Ecology, and Australian Studies. These classes had many more opportunities to develop research and field work skills than a typical class in my major at Berkeley. Combined, they were not as challenging for me as a typical semester at Berkeley.

Making connections with people. I not only made some amazing friends while studying abroad, but I also had inspiring conversations with my teachers, my homestay family, and people I met while traveling.

It’s hard to know if you want to go into a field of work when you've only ever learned about it in the classroom. This program gave me the chance to understand what it's like to be a field scientist while exploring Australia. It helped to validate my interested in my major and future career.

Keep your mind open in terms of what the country and program will be like.
It's easy to make an assumption about a country before you've been there, but Australia will surprise you in many ways.