Studying abroad in Australia

Celia Harradence, 21, grew up in Prince Albert, Sask. and is student at the Edwards School of Business. She recently studied abroad in Australia at Curtin University. While abroad she took three classes: Retail Marketing and Distribution; International Marketing; and International Management, and Entrepreneurship.

Harradence recently answered some questions about her time abroad and showed us a few photos, too.

Did you visit any other countries?
When I was studying abroad I visited Bali, Indonesia. Bali was very beautiful and there were tons of things to do and see. Some of the activities we did there included hiking a volcano at 2 am to see the sunrise, white-water rafting and horseback riding on the beach.

What was one of the best moments of your trip?
One of the best moments of my trip was when I went abseiling at Kalbarri National Park. Abseiling is where you basically climb down a cliff using a harness and rope to suspend and ease yourself down. I am very afraid of heights so this was very scary for me. This was a huge accomplishment for me and the second time around I was much more confident. 

Tell me about one person you met.
I met another exchange student close to the beginning of the semester named Celeste. Celeste is also in business and is from the Netherlands. After we met we began spending more time together and quickly became really close friends. Being from the Netherlands, English was not her first language. Through our time spent together I was able to help her with her English and also learned a bit of Dutch. Even though she lives very far away from Canada, I still consider her one of my best friends and wouldn’t have had the chance to meet her if I didn’t study abroad.

What did you learn about yourself?
As I travelled by myself and lived in Australia, my confidence grew. I became more open to new experiences. I learned that I am capable of more than I thought and that I can do virtually anything I set my mind to. Studying abroad in Australia was a very eye-opening experience and it definitely made me more willing to set out on new adventures and try new things. 

What was the best meal you had?
The best meal I had wasn’t anything out of the ordinary or crazy, in fact it was pizza. We had this pizza at a little hole in the wall restaurant in Perth called Alfred’s Pizzeria. From the outside, this place did not look like anything fancy; it actually didn’t look nice at all. But the pizza there was unreal. Besides the great pizza, I also tried crocodile and kangaroo, which were also good.

To learn more about the study abroad opportunities offered at the U of S, visit goabroad.usask.ca or drop by the International Student and Study Abroad Centre.