by Seth Martin
Hey all! My name is Seth Martin and I鈥檓 serving as one of the student bloggers for the Australia 2012 study abroad program for the 91探花!聽 I鈥檓 from the small, scenic town of Gleed, Washington (right next to Yakima and Selah for those of you East-Siders). I love adventures, outdoor sports, science, and meeting new and interesting people wherever I go. I鈥檓 a bit of a two-sided coin when it comes to being social and being studious. 聽On one hand, I鈥檓 an active member in my fraternity Beta Theta Pi and love the social scene that comes with it. On the other hand I鈥檓 going into engineering and thus can be very studious.聽 As for my intended major, that鈥檚 a bit funny of a story. I鈥檒l actually be going over to Cornell University next year to pursue a degree in Applied & Engineering Physics. That鈥檚 not to say I don鈥檛 love the 91探花and the vast number of opportunities available here (and believe me, they are vast!). I鈥檝e been other places in the world before including: Canada, Mexico, China, and Japan! However, I鈥檝e never been gone quite this long and can say that I鈥檓 thoroughly excited for it.
To prepare for the trip, I actually made my packing list three or four days before the flight just to be sure I had everything. Packing is the easy part though. You really have to stay on top of the requirements to study abroad. Between group meetings, visas & passports, plane tickets, and funds allocation there was a lot to keep on top of! The staff at the study abroad center made this all a breeze though and I can assure you that studying abroad isn鈥檛 as daunting a task as it seems. One of the biggest things I鈥檝e done to prepare for the trip is absolutely messing with my sleep schedule (not to say that you college students don鈥檛 already have a crazy one)! I started going to bed and waking up Aussie time. Though I鈥檓 sleeping at odd times, I know from experience that I鈥檒l skip over that nasty thing known as jet lag.
That鈥檚 about all I can think of at the moment. Hope you enjoy reading! You can expect about a post per week from me with all sorts of photos and interesting stories. Who knows, maybe I鈥檒l make some web account to post all of the pictures for your viewing pleasure (you can never have too many photos).