By Maggie Biunno
Try to picture spending a semester studying in a practically spotless city. There is an outstanding skyline that is free of smog. And to make it even better, there is a variety of new and interesting restaurants and activities bursting with culture.
Through a program from the University of Nevada, Lorin Kicklighter, a junior mass media studies major at the University went beyond the extra mile to take a break and escape traditional schoolling.
In fact, Kicklighter went practically 10,000 miles out of her way to spend a semester studying at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.
She took off from her home in Florida and began the journey by flying across the country to Los Angeles. From there, it was a 13 hour flight to New Zealand and another three and a half hour trip on another plane to Australia.
“I hate flying,” Kicklighter said. “Other than that I was a little bit [nervous], but I was more excited.”
“I lived with a guy from Kuwait, two guys from Zimbabwe, a girl from Korea and three people from Australia,” Kicklighter said. “Really Australians and even the people I lived with from other countries were really not much different from us.”
In fact, when it came to interacting with Australians and living in country half way across the globe from home, Kicklighter found that it was easy to fit in.
“I generally found that they were just more laid back than people in the US,” she commented. “Even though they speak English, a lot of words were different that I had to get used to.” Similar to individuals living in England, the Australians have their own variations to the English language.
“‘Tea’ is what we would call dinner, ‘mate’ would be friend, and yes, they do say that to everyone,” Kighlighter explained. “In Australia, they also shorten lots of words such as for ‘arvo’ instead of afternoon, ‘uni’ for university, or ‘brekky’ instead of breakfast.”
Griffith University had its own diversity outside of Kicklighter’s apartment. Most of the individuals she came in contact with on campus were of Asian or European descent.
With so much time to spend in Australia, Kicklighter interacted with individuals other than her roommates and expanded her circle was friends.
“I was friends with a guy from France, people from the Netherlands, a girl from Sweden,” Kicklighter said.
Along with the variety of people, there was a great abundance of different types of food to choose from. With a tremendous Asian influence on food, there was always a place to get Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Chinese cuisine.
Foods from Britain such as Fish and Chip shops, Turkish and Indian food was also popular. And of course, like many foreign countries, you could also find any type of American food, such as Domino’s, McDonalds, Subway and even Starbucks.
However, when it came to real Australian food, Kicklighter did not have as many to mention.
A favorite food straight out of Australia was Tim Tams, a chocolate wafer cookie.
“They do not export and you can’t find them here in the U.S.,” Kicklighter said. “They are amazing and all the Australians eat them.” While at Griffith University, Kicklighter opted to take three classes instead of four, so that she could spend some more time traveling in Australia. With the school located just 15 minutes out of the city and in a suburb in the mountains, she had a lot to see and explore in the area nearby and also in around the continent, such as the capitol, Sydney.
“There are a lot of islands of Brisbane, so we took weekend trips to the islands and towns around the school,” Kicklighter explained.
One of these locations was Morton Island, the third largest sand island in the world. It is located right of the coast of Brisbane and is accessible with a one hour ferry ride.
Thirteen hours away from Brisbane, Kicklighter had the chance to stay on a ranch in the Queensland Outback of Australia. Here she experienced hundreds of wild kangaroos, koalas in and emus.
“It was amazingly desolate out there, but very peaceful and beautiful,” Kicklighter commented. “It was amazing to see those animals that are not found anywhere else in the world.”
However, of all the places Kicklighter experienced, her favorite was her trip to Cairns, a town that Kicklighter described as “the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef.”
“You feel like you are in Jurassic Park when you fly into this place,” Kicklighter said. “There are big mountains, rainforests and amazing beaches. It’s a very laid-back place.”
Kicklighter stayed on a sailboat for two days while at the Great Barrier Reef, completing her trip with the beautiful water and breathtaking view.
“I went scuba diving and snorkeling and went out on an island on the Reef,” Kicklighter said. “It was the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen.”
While Kicklighter missed her friends from home and the University, the experience of studying in Australia is something that can not be compared to anything else.
“It was a lot harder leaving there then to leave to go over there,” Kicklighter said. “I still miss it so much over there.”
The opportunity for students of the University to travel and study abroad through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is easily accessible with many programs lined up for the summer of 2006.
These one month programs can offer a taste of what Kicklighter experienced in Australia, without being away for an entire semester.
The credits earned during a time that would usually be spent being lazy on summer vacation, will be added to the credits toward graduation, beneficial for education and for the unbelievable experience that is waiting to be enjoyed in a foreign country.
“I think everyone should,” Kicklighter concluded. “I learned so much being able to live outside of the U.S. for a while. I think that from living with people from other countries I now know so many people and have perspectives that I never had before. I think that I learned a lot from them.”

Kicklighter in Australia