Just like that my semester abroad is coming to an end…
I only have about 20 days left in Australia before I head back to Canada to enjoy the summer with my family. Everyone told me time would fly by, but I am still amazed at how fast it really went. I have made some amazing friends with Australian and International students and I hope some of them will pay me a visit in Canada soon!
My time at Flinders has been an excellent learning experience and I am grateful to have had a peek at the university experience outside of my own country. There are some things I will miss about university here (recorded lectures) and other things that I will not (tutorials). There are a lot of things I will miss about Australia as well: warm weather, beaches, surfing, shopping, koala spotting, Farmers Union iced coffee, and many more. I am happy to soon see my family, have a regular cup of drip coffee at Tim Hortons, be back in the mountains, and not live in constant fear of spiders (HaHa).
Since my last post, I have experienced some more awesome adventures! I went to my first AFL game and it was so fun! It had a really good atmosphere there and I really enjoyed myself even though I had no idea what was going on the whole time. I also celebrated my 21st birthday at the beginning of May. I went to the d’Arenberg Cube winery with some friends in the beautiful Mclaren Vale. I would definitely recommend going to that winery, it has some interesting artwork and an amazing venue that is just as good as the wine! I also went on my last big trip of the semester to Whitsundays Islands. It is one of my favorite things that I’ve done in Australia. I went sailing around the islands on a boat with my friend. We went scuba diving, snorkeling, and explored Whitehaven Beach, which was by far the most beautiful beach that I have been to. It was also really nice to get away from the Adelaide rain to some warmer weather as well.
Australia has stolen my heart and I hope to return very soon. I am so grateful for all the friends that have made my time here amazing. Exchange has been one of the most emotionally challenging things that I have ever done – being so far away from my family and friends for this long has been extremely difficult – but the growth, friendship, and experiences that I gained in return far exceeded any challenges, as great as they were.
Thank you Australia for making this the most meaningful experience I have ever had and thank you Flinders University for my favourite semester of my degree!
Piper Matus on semester exchange at Flinders University from University of Calgary, Canada during Semester 1, 2018