Orientation and First Observations

February 3, 2017

As soon as I stepped onto the Bond University campus, my home for the next few months, I was hit not only with a wave of intense heat (the sun here is NO JOKE), but also with one of the most gorgeous views I had ever seen. The campus is essentially built around a lake and is the focal point of the entire campus; one can be given directions on where to go based solely on this lake, I’ve already found out. The beauty that is this university’s campus extends to this entire city of Gold Coast in Queensland. As I took my first trip to the nearby beach upon my second day here in Australia, I marveled at the gorgeous architecture (think a more modern version of the types of houses you would see in Miami), the foliage (palm trees mixed with foliage I’d never seen before), and how clean everything was. The entire 2-mile drive to the beach I didn’t spot a single piece of litter! It wasn’t only the look of the city that stood out, however, but also the vibe it gave off. The Gold Coast is a tourist destination by summer (which in Australia is right now in January – such a change from the usual feet of snow that would already by accumulating in Boston), and a well-known surfer’s paradise as well. The vibe in the Gold Coast is very cheery, warm, and sunny (way too sunny, I found out after getting my second ever sunburn). The people are incredibly friendly and inviting and always willing to give advice on places to visit and travel to.

This friendly and inviting vibe transferred into Orientation Week here at Bond as well. There were a couple of mandatory orientation sessions for international students that we had to attend which informed us about laws in Australia, in our dorms, and rules concerning the lake upon which the campus was build (turns out the reason no one swims in it is due to the family of bull sharks that live in there). A couple of things that stood out to me about orientation were that there were a lot more international (study abroad) students than I thought there would be. Turns out 130 out of the 200 new incoming students were study abroad students! Secondly, there were events hosted by the University that brought the new students to nearby nightclubs (super fun, but nothing I would have ever seen in the US – the drinking age being 18 here makes things very different in that regard). Lastly, it seemed that the University here is a lot more lax about classes and attendance. In fact, one of our orientation speech givers reminded us right at the end of his speech that we should still try to attend some classes even though most of us are only at Bond as an excuse to see Australia. Never would I ever imagine a faculty member at Northeastern having to remind us to go to class!

Overall, my experience here thus far at Bond has been extremely positive and I am super excited to see what the upcoming weeks will bring!

Claire Celestin

I am a premedical student interested in pursuing medical school after I obtain my undergraduate degree, and in my past few years at Northeastern University, it seems that I have gotten stuck in a routine of sorts. My days consisted of classes, volunteering, and studying in Snell library until I could not hold my eyes open anymore. Although all of this studying did allow me to maintain a high GPA, I have begun to feel trapped. Growing up, I had always dreamt of traveling, exploring, and immersing myself in different cultures and ways of living. I wanted to join the Peace Corps, build houses with Habitat for Humanity, and volunteer as a medical provider in impoverished countries. These are all things that I still want to do. My post graduate plans all point towards medical school and becoming a health care provider where I intend to serve not only those in the United States, but most importantly those areas where good doctors and health care are hard to come by. I believe that this study abroad opportunity will be a stepping stone into my future of world travel. I intend to take advantage of every opportunity that is presented to me while I am abroad. I will say yes to sky diving, snorkeling, and hiking into beautiful sunsets. In between all of that I will also try not to scream when facing Australia’s notorious gigantic spiders. I hope to travel around Australia every chance that I get, take surfing lessons, wake up in time for the sunrises on the Gold Coast, and still ace all of my exams. I intend to say yes to all of these experiences and more and upon my return I then want to share my experience with other students like myself. I want to show other students like me, who are afraid to push the rigid boundaries of pre medical studies that it is okay to take a break from the pressures that they have set upon themselves.