This is the space for your weekly journals. (1) First reflection is under About Me!

(2) More Adventures in Sydney!

Kangaroos, Emo, Tasmanian Devils…. Oh My!

On Saturday January 21st, we had the incredible opportunity to explore the wonders of Walkabout Park. We met several Rangers and learned about their work on the Reserve and the mission of their projects: Rehabilitation and Return to the wild. The main priority is always the animals whether it be their health, safety, or happiness.

(3) Serotonin & Fuzzy Friends

I loved animals when I was younger and throughout high school I became less and less interested in them and what they offer humans. However, once I got to college I noticed anytime I say someone walking their dog I had a strong desire to pet and play with it. Maybe it was being away from my family and friends from home, but I missed having an animal more than ever before. Since Fall of my Sophmore year I have wanted to get an emotional support animal. Finally, this past Fall, I found a stray cat and decided to adopt her. It felt like such luck that I had found her at only approximately three weeks old, separated or abandoned by her mother. It was one of the best decisions I’ve made, both for my mental health and my overall well-being. Since arriving in Australia I have had an insanely difficult time adjusting to being away from her. Despite knowing she is in great hands with my mom and sister back home, I wish dearly that she were with me. She provided me so much joy and pride; watching her grow, taking care of her on my own, and even just the responsibility of being her owner made me happy.

(4) Another Week in Sydney!

For my third week of reflection, I’m going to focus on the friendships I’ve made so far. Being here with other Bucknell students is so wonderful and comforting. Keri and I are in the same apartment and I could not enjoy her company any more than I do! She is absolutely hilarious and incredibly kind. Her and I are becoming even closer than we were back at school and I am so thankful to be on this exciting trip with her! I have no doubt she’ll be a lifelong friend.

With 67 people in the program and LOTS of locals, there are so many opportunities to discover new friendships while in Sydney. It is great having students from universities across the States taking classes with us and living in the same apartments as us. Lola is a fantastic new friend of mine from the University of Delaware. She is also a marketing major and her bubbly energy raises my spirits. We have had many exploratory adventures together and through them, we learn more and more about each other. This week in particular we both opened up about ourselves and became significantly closer. I leaned on her for support and vice versa. She is from New Jersey which is not far from me in Connecticut. Although I’m bummed she is going to New Zealand instead of Singapore, I am thrilled to spend another month with her here and hopefully see her over the summer once we both return home. I have no doubt we will stay friends beyond the program. Lola is just one example of growing friendships, other students from UD and UNC Chapel Hill and I have been spending time together and I have loved getting to know them too. No doubt, it will continue to be a priority for me to engage with locals and other peers, forming friendships wherever I go!

(5) Meeting People From Around The World

While in Sydney, I met Australians local to the city as well as natives visiting from all across the continent. I also befriended some fellow backpackers and residents who traveled from Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia, and everywhere in between–at least it felt that way!

Around the corner from our apartments was a small convenient store that I frequented. My second time in there, I met the owner, I nice man named Ali who moved to Sydney from Pakistan. We quickly began chatting and swapping stories and experiences we’ve had growing up and through our travels. I quite liked hearing about his life in Pakistan, his studies in China, and his decision to ultimately start his own small business in Australia. He was very curious about how my education and experiences have differed from his own. He was inquisitive about my passions and desires out of life and he shared his values on happiness, work, and spreading kindness. I absolutely loved getting to know him and began often stopping into his shop to sit with him behind the counter so we could continue our riveting conversations. After studying business in China, Ali and his brother decided to abandon the traditions of living at home with his family and marrying another Pakistani, to pursue his desire to have a place of his own to proudly provide service to his customers and create lasting relationships. He said his favourite part about sitting behind the counter was all of the things he saw and all of the characters who have walked into his shop. His belief in fairness and compassion were truly admirable and his urgency to bring value to his neighbourhood was inspiring.

In addition to making a friend, I learned a lot about the perspective of a small business owner and the values he hold dear when making life-changing decisions.

Ali and I exchanged contact details and I have no doubt we will stay in touch. Meeting him was a true pleasure, I began looking forward to our chats.

(6) Visit to Cronulla

As a last-minute change of plans, Keri, Charlie and I decided to forgo our typical beach day for travel one hour south of Sydney and skip the usual Bondi or Bronte beach day. 

During our Australian life and culture course, we learned about the riots that took place across the Cronulla. Locals were harassing and even attacking Middle Easterners outside of train stations and across town in other places as well. There were hundreds of people gathered in the streets, creating mayhem and overwhelming the police forces. The whole class watched a documentary on the riots and saw secondhand how racist and discriminatory the locals were being towards even other Australian born citizens who were Middle Eastern.

(7) A Fabulous Night

One of my favorite nights while in Sydney was when a gentleman I had met, asked me on a date. He took me to a bar at the very top of one of Sydney‘s tallest buildings, where we had cocktails and admired the lovely view of the harbor and the city below. Afterwards, my date asked me if I had ever explored Watson Bay, to which I replied, no. We spontaneously took a cab ride out to the point. A small oasis, just outside of the city, where the beaches and harbor sit against the backdrop of Sydney‘s spectacular skyline. The view of the city was absolutely stunning. Seeing it the way I did even made me view it differently. I noticed that from further away, it’s not nearly as big as it feels when you’re standing in the Rocks district or walking around Darling Harbour. The next day I thought a lot about perspective and how my recent observations and experiences have differed from those I encounter in Lewisburg and in my hometown.

(8) Wrapping Up My Time Down Under

The final bit of my time in Sydney was dedicated to my studies, final assignments, and exams. I was able to go to Bronte Beach, which had become my personal favorite throughout the two months, for one of my last days in Sydney. I brought my book and was able to lay on the beach and relax for a couple hours. I also got the chance to go into the pool right beside the beach, which was cool to experience given that the water splashed over from the ocean and I hadn’t tried going in before. This last week was mostly spent working and stressing about work, but I had a lot of excitement and anticipation for the spring break week ahead of us, as well as getting to Singapore, and settling into the new city and my very first internship.

(9) Spring Break!

Spring break was absolutely incredible, because not only were we getting a break from our rigorous academics, but we were getting an opportunity to explore another city in Australia. Snorkeling in the great barrier reef was an incredible experience and the all day boat tour that we participated in, gave us the opportunity to explore various swimming spots and encounter beautiful corals, and many different sea creatures. I saw a shark, a turtle, and the clams. 

On another day of the trip, a bus and two guides took us into the rainforest to explore different lakes, waterfalls, and wildlife. Ultimately my favorite day of all was, the Thursday of our trip when myself and seven other students from Bucknell traveled outside of the city to go skydiving. I’ve been wanting to try the extreme sport for a long time and doing it in Australia over the great barrier reef sounded like the perfect time to take the leap. The views were spectacular, the locals were so engaging, and the experience was one I’ll never forget. I’m afraid it’s very likely I’ll continue chasing that surreal feeling for years to come! The experience of flying through the sky gave me the strongest sense of freedom, excitement, and thrill.

(10) Arriving in Singapore

Arriving to Singapore was a relatively smooth process, despite a few hiccups, leaving Brisbane, the flights went smoothly, and the travel from the enormous Chonchie Airport, back to our new accommodations, was slightly more exciting, due to the addition of my brother, who decided to spend his spring break in Singapore with me. coincidently our flights landed within a half hour of each other, and he hunted me down outside of customs. We explored some of the gardens and waterfalls within the terminal and waited to board the bus for our first drive through the city. I was immediately surprised by the amount of greenery, as well as the piece of people, traffic, and culture. The first few days were spent settling in, learning about Singapore, and getting oriented and informed on transportation and internship details. I was very excited for my first day in the Innovation Lab because it has been months since I talked to Clarence Tang, my boss at BSI group. he was very friendly, articulate, and passionate, which was one of the main reasons I signed onto work with him. It was a pleasure finally getting a chance to meet him in person as well as the rest of his team. I was shocked by the small size of the office and the few employees there, but the dynamic was very comfortable and I felt excited to contribute to the projects they were working on. Since the first few weeks were focused on on boarding, I got out early from work a couple of days that first week. Give me the opportunity to explore some of the city with my brother. We were able to go see the beaches of Sentosa, as well as the beautiful, nature and landscape of Singapore’s botanical gardens. My brother and I have traveled together Abroad previously and visiting various botanical gardens across Europe was something we loved to do together. I was very happy that we would get the chance to experience our first Asian country together and visit the beautiful garden grounds that reminded us of our adventures in Europe.