IES Abroad Sydney Summer – Society, Sport & Leadership

Between the breathtaking oceanic views and delicious coffee, it was extremely hard for me to go home after six weeks of living in Sydney, Australia. From the very beginning the IES Staff have been nothing but helpful and informative. My program coordinators in Sydney, were so kind and a pleasure to be around. They gave us so many suggestions on different restaurants, bars, and attractions to see around the city. Being with other college students was so much fun because we all would go out and enjoy the city together. Our housing was in a neighborhood right outside of the city so we always had easy access to the CBD. Even though I went to Sydney during their winter, I still went to the beach and even learned to surf! I would go back to Sydney in a heartbeat to experience the sunsets, the cockatoos, and their killer transportation system all over again.

I've been extremely fortunate to have traveled quite a bit before coming to Australia, but this was probably the first place that I could've actually seen myself living there permanently. Australia is one of the most amazing places, and Sydney especially is probably the most unbelievable city. It is honestly unfair how gorgeous, how relaxed, how ridiculous the city is. IES does an amazing job of getting you accommodated, getting you comfortable, letting you explore, and organizing trips that you wouldn't have taken yourself. Like I probably would never have gone to the Outback if it hadn't been for the amazing experience that IES offered. It definitely was an unforgettable experience, and I cannot wait to go back.

My time in Sydney can't really be captured in words. I made friends for life, saw a part of the world that I never though I'd be able to see, learned so much, and experienced amazing things. Between visiting the Great Ocean Road, the streets of Melbourne, the Outback with my entire class and sleeping under the stars outside for 2 nights, seeing incredible animals that are indigenous to Australia and can't be seen anywhere else, to snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef, as well as staying in Sydney and taking in all that amazing city has to offer, I had an amazing summer. In Sydney, my favorite place to be hands down was Circular Quay. This is where the Opera House and Harbor Bridge can be found on either side of the bay, facing each other. This place made me feel like I really was in Sydney and this was all happening, as well as it being in the Central Business District, which made it hustle and bustle most of the time. In Melbourne, my favorite part was the Great Ocean Road trip, where we fed birds, saw koalas, saw the Twelve Apostles and more. This trip was one of my favorites of the entire trip itself. In the Outback, we learned about Aboriginals, went to famous sites, slept and camped in the outback, saw wild camels, and saw Alice Springs. I also loved this trip because I got so close with all the kids on my program and we had so much fun together on a bus for 3 days. Lastly, in Cairns my friends and I snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef. We left early on a boat and went a couple hours out to Green Island and snorkeled around this area. It was so amazing so be doing something that you never thought you'd have the opportunity to do or see. This trip made me mature so much, learn to be more independent, and made me friends and memories I'll hold onto for life. I would absolutely recommend this trip to anyone who is interested in it.