Aftermath

What would I have done differently?
1. Bond University is a great university with smart professors, good staff, and a beautiful campus. Unfortunately it is full of rich, snobby, unrealistic students who don't know the meaning of hard work and earning your keep. It was a good experience to be around different people, but enough is enough with being around multi-billionaires who just don't get it. If I had to go back and choose a different university to study at, I might just have done it somewhere else but I don't know. Bond did have a tremendous amount of diversity which was really a great experience. Also, if I studied in Sydney I would have been even more broke (how is that possible I don't know..) and I don't think I would have traveled as many other countries and cities within Australia as I did. Sydney is a huge city with a lot more to do and see and I think it would have kept me in the city more than Gold Coast did.
2. I would have planned my New Zealand trip differently. We pretty much were confined to one main city, which wasn't even all that great. I probably would have tried to schedule all the activities in Queenstown or on the North Island. NZ was kind of a waste of money and time but at least I can say I've been there and what not.
3. I would have made sure I sky dived over the Great Barrier Reef. I was supposed to do this but unfortunately ran out of time.
4. I would not have taken Drugs and Behavior and I would not have taken Australian Popular Culture. These two classes were awful. I didn't learn anything. First off I hate science so the Drugs class was torturous. Second, as I have previously stated, I learned more from traveling and talking with Australians than taking a stupid class on it.
5. I would have fought harder to get into the classes I originally wanted to take: Global Politics and Islam and Oil in the Modern Era. They rejected me from taking them and instead of meeting with an advisor I kind of just said oh well and took these two other boring and pointless classes. Although the upside would be I would have had a lot more schoolwork to do if I had been accepted into these classes.
6. I would have scuba dived. I know it doesn't matter but it's always good to have a friend scuba dive with you. I should have just not cared and dived while I was in the Whitsunday Islands. It was only $60AUD and it was the Great Barrier Reef! I still saw sooo much stuff with the snorkeling I did, but I did the night scuba snorkel so it's clear I could have done scuba diving no problem.

I really had a great time in Australia and can't wait to go back one day. I spent alot of money and am in alot of debt right now, but it was well worth it. I was able to go to four different countries and several different cities and islands throughout the last four months. I learned alot about Australian culture, and lack-there-of. Australians are very open and kind people (for the most part..). For example, I was in a bus station standing around. I end up having an in depth convo with a stranger for like 15 minutes. I learned so many new things from him and he learned stuff from me too. This type of thing seems to be rare in the USA. I found it easier to talk to random people off the street in Australia than in the USA.

Some of my favorite memories include 1. Sky Diving 2. Snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef 3. All of my adventures in Bali 4. Seeing and hearing the Sydney Philharmonic Orchestra at the famous Sydney Opera House

Future Study Abroad Students: Keep an open mind. Don't overpack because you will end up buying a lot of stuff here. Travel every weekend if you can. See a show at the Sydney Opera House. Sky dive. Scuba. Talk to as many people as you can wherever you are whenever you can.