So far, I have been a part of the CEA CAPA community in Sydney, Australia for more than a month. I am currently taking three classes through CEA CAPA, live with seven other students from the program, am the marketing and social media ambassador on the student board, and have attended all of the events offered. 

A photo of me on my birthday. 

I don’t love the length of my classes; all of my classes are at least three hours long. This is to keep a tighter schedule and only require you to attend each course once a week, which is appreciated but a hard adjustment. I have been really enjoying the other aspects of my CEA CAPA experience, however. 

The dining hall in the Sydney Opera House with a beautiful view. 

One part of the program that I really enjoy is all of the trips that we have taken. It has been really incredible touring the Sydney Opera House, hiking in the Blue Mountains, feeding and petting native Australian animals, and sleeping over at the Taronga Zoo.  

Feeding an albino kangaroo at the Featherdale Wildlife Park. 

Reaching the top of the Blue Mountains during a hike with my friend Hailey. 

All of these activities have allowed us students on the program to get to know each other and experience interesting and different parts of the city. 

Feeding a giraffe at the Taronga Zoo. 

A couple of kangaroos chilling in silly poses. 

I have also really been enjoying my time as the marketing and social media ambassador for my program. We have weekly meetings to discuss our progress on planning student events and update each other on our personal initiatives. My job is to run the group Instagram account that keeps everyone updated about what is going on through CEA CAPA. It is really helping me get more experience crafting professional posts and engaging with people that aren’t just my friends on social media. 

Mid-hike with my friends in the Blue Mountains. 

View of the Three Sisters at the Blue Mountains. 

The most important thing that CEA CAPA has given me is a really good group of friends. I have really enjoyed getting to know people who don’t go to my school and are from all over the United States. It is fun to live with a large group of people who I had never met before arriving here, and this is something that I do not think I’ll ever get to do again after this semester. 

Posing in front of an elephant being fed after sleeping over at the zoo. 

Group photo at the Blue Mountains.