How It All Started

The whole thing happened pretty spontaneously. It all began on New Years Eve 2010. The last night of 2010 I sat with my family eating dinner at a great seafood restaurant in Fort Meyers, Florida, where we were on our annual family vacation. We were taking turns reflecting on the past year and the many experiences we’d had and the ways we’d grown. My 2 sisters had both studied abroad, one in Argentina and the other in Cairo, and they had many exciting stories and great experiences to share. They are the adventurous ones in the family.. I've never been the type to venture out of my comfort zone, and I realized that I had felt stuck in a rut for the past year. I didn't feel as if I'd grown as a person at all. I was the same insecure, unstable, slightly irresponsible, naïve girl I'd always been. I decided my New Years resolution for the year 2011 was to take more risks, get out of my comfort zone, and really grow as a person. I had no idea how I would do it at the time, but I believe the universe provides opportunities as they are meant to happen.

And low and behold, that opportunity came, early one February morning when I woke up for class and the idea popped into my head that I should study abroad! My friend Jasmine picked me up that morning for our coffee date at Starbucks as usual and I let her in on my random, exciting idea. On our walk to the Campus Center we continued chatting about it and as we rounded the corner we noticed international flags hanging all over the windows of the building. As it turns out, that morning was the Study Abroad Fair at IUPUI and dozens of booths and representatives were standing around ready to inform and answer questions on every program option. Jaz and I couldn’t believe it. We decided it was simply meant to happen!

I explored the booths and asked many questions and spent the rest of that morning sipping coffee and researching my options. My first thought was France, because of my passion for the country and language, but I’d already been there and wanted to try somewhere new. I also preferred an English speaking country, so I wouldn’t have to learn a new language. I looked at Canada (too close), England (wanted to go somewhere other than Europe), and Australia. Australia… where’s that again? They speak English, right? Hugh Jackman is Australian. I decided it was worth looking into.

All I really knew about Australia was that they had kangaroos, koala bears, the Outback, the Great Barrier Reef, and some cute accents. I also knew it was pretty much on the opposite side of the world. The picture I had in my head was pretty much tan, blonde Paul Hogans wearing khaki and driving jeeps through the desert. Ignorant? Maybe. But my only impression of Australia had been formed by Rescuers Down Under, Crocodile Dundee, and Steve Irwin as the crocodile hunter. I decided to look into it a little bit more.

There were four options of places to study abroad in Australia, Adelaide, Canberra, Perth, and Wollongong. The characteristics listed under the Adelaide program were as follows: “The capital of South Australia”, “a lively city surrounded by parks”, “on a beach”, and “near Outback and wine country”. I was immediately in love. A lively city? Beach? Wine? This place was worth looking into. Yes, I looked at all four options, but Adelaide seemed to be calling my name.

I called Mom to bounce the idea off of her, and she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Let’s just say, it was the last thing she was expecting me to ask about. After a long conversation I explained to her my options and we decided I should go ahead and apply. And so, I wrote an essay, filled out some forms, and emailed an old professor to send in a recommendation. I sent it all in a few hours later, and then went on with my day. I was excited about the idea for the next couple days, but a week later had pushed it to the back of my mind. A month or so later I received an email back saying that my application had not been completed accurately and that it was past due. I shrugged my shoulders and thought, hey, it must not have been meant to be. I forgot about my plans of going to Adelaide.

That is, until the afternoon of April 7^th when I received an email from the study abroad director and the first sentence was “I wanted to touch base with you regarding a few matters you should be aware of as you prepare to study abroad this fall.” Um. What??! Me?? Going to Australia in 3 months??? No. Way.

Over the next month and a half as the semester wrapped up I had a lot of questions and a lot to think about. I emailed back and fourth with the director a little and learned that my application has still been submitted and accepted, despite it being incomplete. They had sent me an email back in March, but I had accidentally deleted it having not recognized the email and believing it to be junk mail. I was overwhelmed, and with finals approaching, felt I could not make the decision. And so I didn’t. I love Indy and was happy here. I had no reason to leave. I have lots of friends, a great job I love and am good at, a nice apartment on campus, the city of Indianapolis practically in my backyard… why would I leave? I talked to some of my friends about it and they all couldn’t believe I was actually thinking of not going. Many of them were jealous I even had the opportunity to spend 5 months living in Australia. I also talked to my family, especially my mom and sisters, about what to do. They all told me I WAS doing it. They didn’t even give me an option.

Still, I felt doubtful. I listened to what everyone said and explained to them the pros and cons, but never really had time to sit down and think about it until finals ended the first week of May. I can’t tell you the exact day I lost all doubt and made the decision that I was going, but I do know that all of a sudden I started actually researching Australia and Adelaide and learned everything I could about Australian culture. It sounded like a lot of fun and a great opportunity to put my New Years resolution into effect. I got my passport renewed, housing applied for and taken care of, courses scheduled with my study abroad advisor, and emailedemailedemailed. It is SUCH a process to study abroad, but I’m sure all the trouble will be worth it.

And so, now here I am, 3 weeks away from being on a plane bound for Adelaide, (Well, actually LA, then Sydney, THEN Adelaide), and I still don’t have it all sorted out. There are several last minute things I need to get taken care of, and I hope I’m able to get it all done before I leave! For now, I’m finishing up my summer class, still working some at Starbucks, and making the most of the time I have left here in my city with my wonderful friends. I have a feeling these last few weeks are going to fly by!