Penn Abroad Ambassador Carmen Marranca

Programs:

• SA: University of New South Wales

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My experience was somewhat unique in the fact that I was approximately 10,000 miles from home or Penn. While the physical barrier made "feeling connected" very difficult, so did the dramatic difference in time zones. This pushed me at all times during the program to engage with the Penn students at my host institution and also at different institutions in the area. I made new Penn friends, but I also made well over a dozen friends hailing from the U.S., Australia, Europe, and Asia. We studied, cooked, commuted, traveled, and explored together during our time abroad. 

My Experience:

While abroad, I made it my mission to find a balance between completing my coursework/degree requirements while also finding time to relax and explore. At UNSW, I was able to take political science courses that examined current geo-political and economic issues through an Australian lens; this helped me to get a feel for how the U.S.'s actions are received abroad and how issues might be resolved differently down under.  This experience also allowed me to build upon prior concepts that I learned at Penn (and to use them competitively in the classroom). 

Other Highlights:

• My program allowed me to meet my first Penn and abroad friends through international student welcome activities. My university (UNSW) hosts the largest O-Week (or "orientation week" for my non-Aussies) in the southern hemisphere. It was hard to not feel welcome around constant free food, free groceries, and free merch.
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• I also had the opportunity to travel internationally twice due to UNSW's schedule –– once to New Zealand and once to Japan. This is in addition to a holiday road trip I did along Australia's South Coast. Being based in Sydney, I had access to cheap international travel to world-class destinations. If you ask me, it's hard to beat Rotorua (NZ) and Kyoto (JP) for natural and built beauty, respectively. 
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• The advantage that my Penn peers in Philly were most jealous of was ease of access to arguably the world's most beautiful beaches. Having arrived in Sydney in late December, I was thrown into the extreme heat of the Australian summer. Bondi Beach and Coogee Beach served as the perfect complements to Sydney's tropical climate. 
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• Aside from international flights, there are many things that are significantly more affordable in Australia. Brekkie and coffee (my go-to order was eggs on toast, side of avocado, and an iced oat milk latte) were on the daily itinerary. And tickets to Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras Tour in Sydney? Tickets to that 100,000-person show were also affordable –– and the show was incredible!