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Story Location: Australia

  • A Day of Play in Melbourne: A Digital Story

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    A Day of Play in Melbourne: A Digital Story

    “Your never far from entertain in downtown Melbourne!” Danielle shows us around a typical day in Melbourne, Australia. But if there’s one thing she learned, it’s that there’s no such thing as typical in Australia’s culture capital—from the museums to its music-filled streets to the city’s famous street art! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-oKjbKzUXU&feature=youtu.be

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  • Understanding Reverse Culture Shock: When Home Feels Foreign

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    Understanding Reverse Culture Shock: When Home Feels Foreign

    Having to look the opposite way before crossing the street. Referring to ketchup as “tomato sauce” and to fries as “chips.” Realizing that “going to the chemist” does not, in fact, mean that you’re paying a visit to a scientist’s lab. Instead, it’s the same as going to a drugstore in the US. All of these cultural…

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  • Panic Attacks and How to Stay on Track

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    Panic Attacks and How to Stay on Track

    Picture this: you’re hanging out with a group of your friends when suddenly you feel as though you can’t breathe. A minute ago you were perfectly fine, but something small set you off and now your chest is being crushed by the weight of your anxiety. You don’t want to draw attention to yourself, but you…

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  • Science: It’s Even Cooler Abroad – A Digital Story

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    Science: It’s Even Cooler Abroad – A Digital Story

    I never imagined collecting spiders or digging for insects could make me so excited about not only an environment but also the basic ecology that was going on inside it. Rather than spend her whole semester studying in a classroom, Hannah’s biology class studied on Fraser Island, the only place in the world where rainforest…

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  • Embracing My Sexuality in Melbourne

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    Embracing My Sexuality in Melbourne

    Before I left home to study abroad in Melbourne, my friends who had previously studied in other countries told me about how their experiences—particularly those outside the classroom—changed them. Going abroad altered their perspectives, boosted their self-esteem, and helped them unearth deeper parts of themselves. “You’ll be a brand new you when you come home,” one said. “Well, not brand…

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  • Take a Solo Trip, I Dare You

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    Take a Solo Trip, I Dare You

    Being in a new country brings along new food, friends and adventures. While it is exciting, it can be scary too, and it’s easy to try to slip back into your comfort zone. This is exactly what I found myself doing, and I realized that something needed to be done about it. So, I decided…

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  • (En)roll with the Punches: A Guide to Australian Academia

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    (En)roll with the Punches: A Guide to Australian Academia

    I’m a worrier. If you haven’t noticed based on my previous posts, “stress” is practically my middle name. In the weeks before leaving for the University of Melbourne I freaked out—as I usually do—about almost everything. Funnily enough, though, the one thing that didn’t worry me was the actual “study” part of studying abroad. All my life I’ve been the kid who enjoys…

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  • Studying While Abroad – A Digital Story

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    Studying While Abroad – A Digital Story

    I never would have expected that some of my greatest memories while in Australia would’ve come from the study part of study abroad. https://www.youtube.com/embed/kuCj4HZChDA?feature=oembed Lexi K. | Creative Writing student | University of Redlands | University of Queensland Partnership in Brisbane, Australia | 2015

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  • How I Learned to Trust My Path

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    How I Learned to Trust My Path

    “What are you going to do after you graduate?” This is one of the most dreaded questions a college student may ever hear. For many people this is an anxiety-inducing question, but for me it has always been an easy one. Since I was 13, I knew that I wanted to go into the medical…

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  • Special Mobility Series: How Moving to the Opposite Side of the World Changes You

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    Special Mobility Series: How Moving to the Opposite Side of the World Changes You

    The exact opposite side of the world from where I live is in the Indian Ocean, a little southwest of Australia. And I got pretty close.I wasn’t expecting many obvious differences when I got there, since Australians speak English and I assumed the culture was relatively similar to America’s. But there’s more to culture besides…

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