And That's All Folks!

It's hard to believe I've been here for two months already. I feel like I just landed in Cairns yesterday.. 

Today has been very bittersweet. I've finished my internship which was a huge accomplishment. I ran an entire unit with my students and taught classes by myself for weeks. I'm really proud of myself for all that I did while I was here, but I am sad to go. I absolutely adore my students and I hated saying goodbye to them today. This whole experience went by so fast. I don't know where the time went.

But there's a different kind of sadness as well. I've planned for this trip for the last two years and I find myself wondering, now what? My life was focused around this trip and now it's over. But this won't can't be the last time I travel. I got a taste of something wonderful and I have a feeling it will only grow. There is so much to each part of the world and I cannot wait to see it all. That's what your twenties are for, right?

Tomorrow is my last day is Australia. I'm going to Phillip Island to see the penguins and after that I'm off to the airport.

Thank you all so much for your love and support. I couldn't have done it without y'all. One love.

Texas, see you soon!

Kiwi is Not a Fruit

This is a kiwi.

It is the national bird of New Zealand! It's also the only place in the world you can find this bird. Hence why they call New Zealanders kiwis. But all of this gets rather confusing. Is it a fruit, a bird, or a person? Yeah I'm still not sure either..

Anyway! I spent four days in the beautiful country of New Zealand with my best friend in the world. But four days definitely was not long enough. It is hands down the most beautiful country I have ever seen in my life. I had never been so mesmerized by hills before. I would just took out the window and be astounded. Seriously though. Look at this.

And I took that picture from the inside of a moving car. It's breathtaking!

While in New Zealand, I stayed in Auckland and then traveled to Mount Eden, Matamata (aka Hobbiton), Rotorua, and Waiheke Island. It was a busy trip! 

Mount Eden was gorgeous. It was just a random little mountain in the middle of Auckland and from the top you could see everything. There was a huge crater that was gated off and a running trail that surrounded it. I couldn't believe that this was people's morning run. Maybe I'd run more if this was my view!

(New Zealand has tons of mountains and volcanoes because they are on the fault line. One of their islands is only 600 years old!)

Buttttt, I know what y'all all have really been waiting for.. 

The next day I drove out to Matamata. And when I say that I drove, I mean I sat in the passenger seat and held on for dear life while Collin drove of the left side of the road for the first time. Props to him for not killing me though. Anyway, so we made the long drive out to Matamata, which also goes by the name Hobbiton. It is where the movies The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were shot.

Now let me preface with how big of nerds all my brothers are. HUGE. They read all the books and watched the movies the second they came out. Me? Not so much. I was still pretty young when the first movie came out and I spent the entire movie crying in my mother's lap because Gollum scared me so bad. But really Mom? That guy was scary. Anyway, so even though I'm not a huge fan..to say the least..possibly scarred for life..again thanks Mom..but I went and did a movie set tour. Mostly because I knew that if I got all the way to New Zealand and did not go see this, my family would possibly disown me. 

The set directors of The Hobbit decided to keep the set up and turn it into a tourist location rather than tear it down each time they filmed. So while we were in the same location where Lord of the Rings was shot, there was nothing left from those films. However, The Hobbit is still being filmed on location. 

So I found myself in the middle of a world that made me have nightmares for months, but it was absolutely beautiful. Even though it rained and was freezing (I'm noticing a theme with this side of the world and the rain..), I had such a great time. I went into hobbit holes, drank cider brewed from the Green Dragon Pub, and stood on the same ground as Orlando Bloom. That's got to count for something..am I right ladies??

It was really interesting to learn about how they shot the films to make Frodo so small and Gandalf so large. Did you know that they filmed each scene individually and then pasted them together? So you think they're standing together, acting out a scene, but in real life they were talking to themselves! That makes me appreciate acting more. It's one thing if you're pretending to be sad or happy with the other person. But to pretend to be happy or sad with a person who isn't sitting next to you, but will be edited in? That's crazy.

If you notice though, there is nothing on the inside of these hobbit holes. All filming for the inside was shot in a studio, so the actors only spent about five weeks in Matamata for the last Hobbit film. Everything else is a replica back home. But spending five weeks here wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, which is why a lot of the actors brought their families.
Trivia fact, most of the kids in The Hobbit are the actors real kiddos. You're welcome.

It was such a great experience. Who knows? Maybe I'll go home and be over my fear of the Lord of the Rings now.. But I may not chance it.

More on Rotorua and Waiheke Island to come, but for now, it's more lesson planning. Only a few days left of my internship. I've got to make the most of it!

Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road lives up to everything people tell you it will be and more! It is the most beautiful part of Australia I have seen, and I've been scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef. There's just something about standing on the edge of the world and seeing the apostles rising out of the ocean. It's breathtaking.

I went through a tour company called bunyip and they did an amazing job. They picked me up in downtown Melbourne and did all the driving for me. That's definitely the way you want to do it. It's not fun if you're the one driving and can't look at all the beautiful scenery surrounding you.

  

Trivia fact for you! We went through Torquay Beach. It has the coldest waters in all of Australia, but it's a huge surfing community. Since it's so cold and people wanted to suft, they started creating different kinds of wet suits. This created the companies Ripcurl, Quicksilver, and Billabong.

  

The weather was a typical Melbourne day. We drove through pouring rain and into random sunshine and back into pouring rain. The wind was blowing hard enough to move the van around and it was freezing cold..especially for a Texas girl like me! All this would usually make for a terrible day, but it was just not possible to be upset with the amazing view around me.

  

Our first stop was at the Great Otway National Park. There they had wild parrots and cockatoos.. The second I got out of the car, one decided I was his new best friend and landed on my head! It freaked me out pretty bad at first, but then when he realized I didn't have any food for him, he moved on to someone else. It's pretty funny watching these birds swarm onto people searching for seed. It's like feeding the ducks back home..only the ducks don't land on you.

Not only did they have wild birds, Otway has wild Koalas! It was the most amazing experience looking up into a tree and there is a little grey koala just casually taking a nap. The further we went into the forest, the more koalas we found. They were everywhere! It was amazing. I really wanted to take one home with me, but apparently that isn't an appropriate souvenir..

  

After we had all taken hundred of pictures of sleeping koalas, we packed into the van and went to the Otway lighthouse. The Otway lighthouse is on the Bass Straight and where two different seas meet. This creates large winds and crashing waves. It was gorgeous.
It was also where the weather stopped cooperating with my trip.

The twelves apostles is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. But the name is deceiving. There are only nine left standing. Erosion and the ocean have destroyed the others. While I was there, there was a brief moment there was a glimpse of sunshine, but mostly we were bombarded with freezing rain and high winds. The rain stung every time it struck my face. I was soaked, losing feeling in my fingers and my shoes were filling with sand. I stood in the terrible weather, barely holding onto my camera in the fierce wind and I just started laughing. This place is so beautiful that even the worst weather couldn't taint the view. I sat on the railing of the cliff with two backpackers, all of us soaked and freezing, but not wanting to leave.

(I didn't take this picture..obviously because the weather is perfect and not all these are still standing.)

The Great Ocean Road was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life. Not even the terrible weather could ruin it.



Teacher Nerd Out

So teaching in Australia has been a blast! I absolutely love my school, my fellow teachers, and my students. I could not have asked for a better internship. Why you ask? Well, I'm about to tell you!

It's not as structured.

There aren't any "TEKS." They have guidelines to follow, but Australia has this really weird idea that teachers can be trusted. What an interesting thought. Letting teachers actually teach. And you wonder how it's working? Fabulously.

My kids are well behaved.
Imagine a classroom where the students want to learn. Now isn't that nice? They listen and take notes. It's crazy! I actually have a student who thanks me after every lesson. It's the sweetest.

Teachers are allowed to teach.
What a concept! My two supervising teachers are phenomenal. They are so creative and really get the kids engaged. My first week in class, they had moot court and put the Holes characters on trial. It was such an amazing activity. And guess what! The kids are learning!

As much fun as it is, teaching here is incredibly difficult. It's not like back home where you have a classroom, the students come and go, and you teach the same lesson to 5 different classes. Here, you teach English. All English. My teachers teach the entire secondary school. Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. That's crazy. And they don't have their own classrooms. They are constantly changing rooms and running around. They have 24+ different lesson plans a week! It's nuts, but they love it. I, for one, will be glad to go back to teaching the same lesson over and over every day.

Teaching here has been such a rewarding experience. I love every second that I'm at my internship. I have been beyond blessed at Glen Waverely and I couldn't be more thankful to my teachers for putting up with me!

International Fleet Review

On my last day in Sydney, I got to be a part of the most incredible experience to happen in the Sydney harbor in 100 years. The International Fleet Review. It was the 100th anniversary of the Australian Royal Navy and the largest fleet review to be publicized. (Little war fact for you: The largest fleet review was kept a secret because it was in the month prior to D Day and no one wanted to reveal their ships to the public.) Over 40 warships and 11 tall ships sailed into the harbor to be a part of this tremendous event. Prince Harry even paid a visit.

Sadly, I didn't get to meet him. But we walked down the same street as him 10 minutes later. That's basically the same thing right?

The fleet review attracted millions of people, so to get a spot for the fireworks we left the house at 10 am. I have never seen Sydney so packed. There were people everywhere. We followed the large crowds to Circular Quay (pronounced Key..don't ask me why), but had no luck seeing the ships. It was just too crowded and there was a large cruise ship in the way. (I seriously wanted to know who let that giant boat park right in the way!) So after a failed attempt to see the ships, we walked down to Macquaries Point, which was a firework viewing spot right on the harbor. When we walked in, the war ships lined the harbor decorated in banners and flags. It was amazing. 

During the day, airplanes and helicopters flew over the vantage points. They had choreographed flight routines that kept everyone entertained while waiting on the fireworks. They even had a rescue reenactment where someone jumped into the water and a helicopter saved them.
 

 We spent the rest of our downtime putting on fake tattoos, laying in the sun, and eating from food trucks.

 

 

When the sun finally set and the ships were all in, the most amazing firework show in the entire world went off, accompanied by a projection show onto the world famous opera house. It was absolutely breathtaking. I stood next to the water watching five firework shows explode from naval ships surrounding the harbor. It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I didn't take any picture of the firework show because pictures would never do it justice and I wanted to soak in every moment of the fleet review with my own eyes, not behind the tiny screen of my camera. But believe me when I tell you it was beyond beautiful.

Luckily for you, the local TV stations filmed the entire thing and posted it to youtube.

I was a part of that. I will forever be a part of that.
I couldn't have asked for a better last day in Sydney.

A Birthday Abroad

21!

Well y'all, it's official. I'm 21 in a country where it does not matter at all. But that's OK! Not many people get the chance to celebrate their 21st in Sydney, Australia! Which reminds me, the school term ended and I've spent the last week and a half in Sydney and New Zealand.

On my actual birthday, the other interns, our amazing director Ross, Collin, and I all went out for dinner at the Glenmore Hotel. It was absolutely gorgeous. It has a rooftop bar and beautiful dinning rooms. The food was great and it was nice to have the whole group together! I bought myself an outrageously expensive drink and enjoyed the night with my GlobaLinks family! 

But since it was a Wednesday and we all have big kid internships, we went home at a decent hour and went to sleep..

Butttttt, the next day was Thirsty Thursday and we went out for my 21st! I could not have asked for a better birthday. It was absolutely amazing.

If you're ever in Sydney, hit up World Bar. We had such a blast! We even met, Kieren Jack, a rugby player for the Sydney Swans! We had no idea who he was..but that's not the point!

Bars in Australia stay open until 5 or 6 am, but at about 4, I was birthdayed out. You can only dance in high heels for so long! We ended the night in true American style..FOOD.

Birthday pizza to finish off my perfect night. 

Until next year..

That One Time I Danced on Stage with the Aboriginals..

So here is the lovely video I promised, along with a video of the whole day from another amazing intern.

Video Courtesy of Kamryn Fall, another awesome intern at GlobaLinks!

Life in the Land Down Under

I have officially survived my first week! For those of you who know how much of a homebody I am, this is huge. Although I may or may not have called a few people crying and wanting to go home.. But that's not the point. I stayed and I survived! This past week has been a whirlwind. I left the rest of the group of interns, flew to Melbourne, moved into my apartment, and started my internship all in a matter of 24 hours. Since my blog was down for the last five days, I've got a lot to cram in here so y'all bare with me.

Public Transit:

This has been an ordeal. I have never used public transport except for the ebus to 6th street. Other than that, I turned 16 and got a drivers license. Trams don't exist in Texas. So this in itself is weird. And then I had to worst luck getting a tram card. I walked to two different places to get a card..only to find they were both closed. (Because the entire country shuts down on Sundays. It's weird.) I was exhausted and in tears because I had to have the card to get to my internship the next day. (This may or may not have been the time that I was possibly calling people wanting to go home..) Buttttt, then the caretaker of my apartment drove me to the shopping center to get my tram pass. Alls well that ends well.

The next morning, I took the tram to work the way I was advised by the information desk. The other teachers asked how I got to school and just about had a heart attack. Apparently, I had gone 45 minutes out of the way. Coooool information desk. Cool. So they all figured out the best way for me to get to the school and back and now I'm a tram pro! 

My internship:

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. My kids are angels. My supervising teachers are a dream. I'm so incredibly blessed to be working at Glen Waverley. Don't worry fellow educators. I'm going to have an entire blog post soon dedicated to my teacher nerd out.

But remember how I said my students were angels? I wasn't kidding.

 

They are so sweet and well behaved. I absolutely love teaching at Glen Waverley.

On Thursday, the students had a middle school social. If you ever want to feel old..even if you aren't..help supervise a middle school dance. I didn't know most of the songs and I kept thinking, "What on earth is that little girl wearing?" That's when it hit me. I'm 21 and I sound like my mother. Granted, she's basically the coolest person I know, so I can't complain.

 

The social was glow in the dark themed. Everyone was awkward and adorable and I loved it.

Tourist LE:

So after my first week of teaching was over, I had a chance to pop into the city and look around. I ended up taking a double decker bus tour, like you'd see in New York. Melbourne is beautiful. Everywhere I looked there was something magnificent. Around every corner they'd say, "And if you look to your left, this is over 100 years old. And if you look to your right, that's also over 100 years old." It was just breathtaking.

This week has been amazing and scary. I'm so blessed to have this opportunity. I can't wait to see what else is in store for me during the next month!

Home is Where the Heart is

Well, I made it to Melbourne.

Ross, my program supervisor, told everyone this morning that someone would be calling him by the end of the day crying and wanting to go home..I don't have a cell phone, so I didn't call anyone; but tonight it definitely hit me. I live in another country.

There's one problem with living outside of my southern comfort zone.. it's uncomfortable out here. The jetlag sucks. I'm in a foreign country, by myself. And my new roommates are constantly speaking another language. All of these add up to an exhausting night. I'd give anything for some real Mexican food, Whatabuger, and a Dr. Pepper.

Missing Texas, but I know I'm just tired from my flight. Melbourne is beautiful and tomorrow I can see it with rested eyes.

When In Oz..

This has been my motto since arriving in Australia. Back home, I'm always the one taking care of other people. Making sure everyone has a ride home, always carrying around medicine just in case someone needs it, being a momma bear. I'm also fantastic at being a homebody; but, this trip I made a conscious decision to be different. I don't think I will ever have this opportunity ever again and I want to do everything imaginable. 

The last two days are probably the most amazing and adventurous days of my life. I spent yesterday outside of Cairns in a Rainforest! I took an Army Duck tour, which is a car that can run on water, through the rainforest. It was phenomenal. The plants were exotic and beautiful, although some I would avoid with my life. The birds sang like nothing you'd hear in the states and the butterflies are neon blue. If seeing a rainforest wasn't enough for one day, I literally snuggled with a kangaroo. I laid down next to one in the grass and she laid her head on my arm. It was pure perfection. 

We met a few aborigines who performed a bunch of dances for us and I even got up on stage and danced with them! Yes, there is a video. No, it hasn't been posted anywhere..yet. After, they taught us to play the didgeridoo. Since I was a band nerd in middle school and played bassoon, I actually did quite well! It's actually a really interesting and difficult instrument. (Funny story though..another intern had a bug crawl out of the mouthpiece while she was trying to play it.)

Speaking of gross bugs.. I ate an ant. Yes. You read that correctly. Me, princess LE, ate an ant. It was gross and tasted like an excessively sour warhead. Excuse the terrible picture, but really, who has a good picture of them eating an ant?

And if the ants don't gross you out enough, I spent some quality time with Rosy the amethyst python. 

It was the most perfect day full of adventure and new experiences.

Today was equally as amazing. I spent the entire day on the Great Barrier Reef. From 7 am to 5 pm, we were on a boat in the middle of the pacific. It was the most beautiful and terrifying experience of my life. I am completely petrified of water. PETRIFIED. But I signed up and followed through on scuba diving. After a crash course lesson on diving, we were thrown into the water with 100 pounds of gear, in the middle of 5 foot swells. I almost quit the second I hit the water. I felt like I was drowning, which seems stupid considering I had an oxygen tank strapped to me. But when you have huge waves swallowing you in the ocean, it's not a comforting feeling. Despite my gut feeling to climb back into the boat, the instructor pushed me down into the water and once the panicked breathing subsided, I was able to calm down and at notice the beauty enveloping me. The ocean sucked me under and I'm so glad I stuck with it. The Great Barrier Reef was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. It was perfection. The water was crystal clear and the sea life was unreal.
Thanks to my amazing underwater camera (shout out to my amazing mother for the purchase!), I have pictures to prove it.

I cannot even explain to you how incredible this opportunity has already been. I'm so blessed to be in Australia doing so many amazing things. I cannot wait to see what else there is in store for me. When in Australia: my motto for the next 9 weeks. 

Airplanes Are Torture Chambers We Only Use Because No One has Invented Teleportation

I hate airplanes.

And airports. And basically anything to do with the two. The first flight I was on was 17 hours long, I stopped in Brisbane long enough to run to the next terminal to get on a plane for another 3 hours. Inside of Brisbane, they stopped checking bags at the international terminal for my flight, so I had to get all of my bags on a bus and check them in domestic. (Which was a lotttt of bags!) When I got all my bags on the bus, my giraffe suitcase zipper busted and my clothes started pouring out! Thankfully, it has two zippers and only one broke. But in fixing my suitcase, my nail broke off..Sad day. So then I ran to my next flight and barely made it. It was nuts. I didn't even have time to process that I was in Australia until I boarded the plane to Cairns.

My crazy airport experience aside, the airplane ride was pretty smooth, minus a few bumps here and there.(Shout of to Collin Nace, because his flight lessons on turbulence kept me from freaking out every time we bumped around.) Overall; I slept and read a book given to me before I left. I was very fortunate to sit next to a guy who was coming back from "holiday" in the states, but was from Australia. He had so much to tell me and ask me about our two countries. We told stories until neither of us could keep our eyes open. We joked about each others accents and had to ask what the heck we were saying a few times, but it was incredibly helpful. I learned a few Australian words from him and some survival tips that will help me with my students, like the Australian Football League Finals is coming up in Melbourne. I had a crash course lesson in the rules..which is different from the four other footballs they have here.

Y'all, Australia is beautiful. I have literally been rained on almost the whole time I've been here, and it's still gorgeous. Today and tomorrow I get to participate in these incredible once in a lifetime experiences (I won't ruin the surprise) that I'm beyond excited about. The other interns are such beautiful people and we all just want more out of our lives. The people of Australia have been very welcoming and patient with our American confusion. I cannot wait to see and do more, especially when I'm not jetlagged. I'm fighting my homebodiness as hard as I can and trying to do everything they offer me. I'm determined to live outside of my Southern Comfort Zone.

All Aboard

I'm sitting in the international airport terminal waiting for my flight to Australia and it hit me. 

I made it. 

Obviously not literally, since I still have 23 hours until I arrive in Cairns, but I made it. I am leaving the country and studying abroad. All. By. Myself. 

With all the down time before my flight, I was reading a letter from a dear friend of mine that told me to live selfishly while in Australia. That sentence seems rather strange, but she followed it with telling me to get everything out of the experience I can and to grow for me. Not for her, not for my family, not for anyone else. That's when it hit me. This trip is mine. Now that is a freeing but fearful thought. I am petrified of what is going to happen in Australia, but I know that when I return home to the beautiful state of Texas, I will not be the same. I don't want to be the same. This is the trip of my life and the airline is calling my name. Once I get on the plane, life as I know it will change. 

Next stop Brisbane. 

Final destination? Growth. Acceptance. Freedom. 

Melbourne.

Never, EVER Add Up Your Expenses

$9,861

The calculator hates me.. Or maybe my bank account. Either way, both are looking pretty sad right now. Lesson #129381 I've learned about getting ready to study abroad, don't add up all of your costs after you've paid them. It's done and paid for, so why did I feel the need to do the math? Because I'm an idiot and wanted to stress myself out apparently. So take my advice folks. When studying abroad, pay for it and move on, because when you see this view, it will all be worth it.

The Final Week

Well folks, it's down to eight days. I've been pretty calm up until now, but last night I had a minor panic attack. All the things I use are American products. My shampoo. My toothpaste. My underwear. My tampons (sorry guys!). What if they don't have what I want in Melbourne? Well this idea sparked a pretty ridiculous shopping spree.. I have enough tampons for 6 months. I kid you not (sorry again guys!). I went crazy at Victoria's Secret buying underwear, because there isn't one Down Under (no pun intended). This whole thing is rather irrational, but heyy, I've never left the country y'all!

The good news is, my passport is HERE! And I turned in my pre departure paper. All I have left is a huge to do list and to get on the airplane. 

8 days!

A Place to Call Home

There's times in everyone's lives when they are in limbo. Just waiting for things to happen. Desperately wanting answers. I've been there, anxiously waiting. I've lived my last few months in this state, wondering where I'm going. Wondering what I'll be doing. Wondering where I'll be living. So many questions and all it took was one word to shatter the silence.  

Melbourne. 

I'm going to Melbourne.

For ten beautiful and amazing weeks I will call the city of Melbourne home. I will live there, work there, shop there, and possibly never sleep there. There just might not be any time for it. My head is spinning with all of the possibilities. Everything I research seems perfect and wonderful. I'm counting the days and hours until I step off the airplane. I want to see everything from the tourists traps to the local bakery. I want to soak in their education system and the lives of all of my students. Everything is real now. I have a location. I have a school. I have an internship.

46 days and 19 hours

Correspondence Application

Gabe Schirm, Welcome to my Blog! 

As you can see, I already have a blog for my study abroad adventure! I created this blog in the hopes that my family and friends could follow along with what I am doing in Australia, but also as a guide to others as they go through the steps of studying abroad. I would be a great GlobaLinks Correspondent because I am already ahead of the game. I've already started a blog to do exactly what this scholarship would be asking of me. Not only would I be doing this for the $200 voucher, I'd be doing this blog because it is something I am passionate about. Since I am getting a degree in education, specifically Language Arts, I am in love with blogs. It is a way for anyone to get their written words out to the world. Personally, I have found that researching different blogs about expats who have moved to Australia and other students who have studied abroad has been very helpful as I have been getting ready to leave the country. I would love for my blog to reach more people and hopefully be that source of information and hope for others looking go abroad. I'm also a picture junkie! I take more pictures than anyone I know. With a combination of my love of language arts and picture taking, I think that my blog could be a huge hit. I would love to share my adventure and advice with others who are wanting to study abroad. It is a huge decision to leave your home country and live in a foreign land for 10 weeks. I'd love to be the guiding voice to help others be more confident and excited about their journey. Please feel free to click around my blog. There isn't much up right now since I have't gotten my assignment or left the country, but much more will be coming. You can count on it!

I'm All About That Free Money

If there is one thing that scares people away from studying abroad, it's definitely the cost. Leaving the country and living elsewhere is not a cheap adventure, especially in Australia. Milk in the good ol' US of A is about $3.14 a gallon at HEB, but in Australia, it's double that. But a girls gotta eat! Plus, I can't exactly fly my car over there for the semester, so I will be using public transportation. All these things add up to a rather expensive semester, and since I'm not made of money, I'm filling out stacks of papers begging others to give me money. Here's what I have learned about scholarship applications so far:

1. Getting accepted to your study abroad program and scholarship deadlines DO NOT go together.

By the time I was accepted to my program, the university had already closed the Fall 2013 scholarship application period. BUT you have to wait until you're accepted to the program to apply for scholarships. #lame

2. Study abroad scholarships are not usually for internships.

I am not doing a traditional study abroad. I have chosen to do a study abroad internship in order to see how the Australian education system is run. I didn't want to go to their university and take classes like I would here in the states. I wanted to learn directly from the source. But, this has left me with limited scholarship opportunities. It's been research, research, research since I was accepted. I know there are people out there just dying to give me money for my trip. I've just got to find them and convince them!

3. Not all scholarship applications are boring.

I applied for a scholarship that was given out based on creativity. I'm all about that! I had to create an Australian flag and take a picture with it. This is what I came up with:

4. It's a numbers game.

Filling out ONE scholarship application is not going to fund my trip. Considering my airfare is anywhere between $1,500 and $3,000 and my program fees and housing is $7,000, I have to optimize my chances by applying for every scholarship I qualify for. And even the small $500 scholarships make a difference. That's $500 that's not coming out of my pocket and I can deal with that!

5. Scholarship application periods differ. 

Don't forget about a scholarship just because you can't apply until months or weeks later. I've been bookmarking the sites and dates to apply on my computer. That way, whenever the application period opens, I'll be first in line for that free money!