Jeremy Locklear, sophomore in business management, Universidad Cat-lica de Cordoba (Cordoba, Argentina)

Bienvenidos! Welcome to Argentina, home to the southern-most city in the world, the beautiful Iguazu Falls that put Niagara to shame, the notoriously passionate Boca Juniors soccer club fans, and arguably the most beautiful women in the world. Between Chile and the Atlantic, it is second in size only to Brazil in South America and is quite different than all other South American countries — not only because of the distinct accent, but also the heavy Italian influence on the food, the fashion and the light skin of the majority of the population. Expecting to eat tortillas and burritos? Pastas, pizza, and of course, a zillion meat varieties rule the palate here.

And the people? Expect to be introduced to every person at every social event and make too many friends to remember. Natives are receptive and very friendly.

Why should you study abroad? Why not? For many of the programs, tuition is the same as N.C. State tuition. Academically, studying abroad is practically the same as attending classes at N.C. State, except you can learn another language at the same time, explore an entire continent on the weekends, meet students from all over the world and become smarter than all of your friends! Also, because in South America you typically only have two or three homework assignments per class per semester, the energetic nightlife is something you would have to see to believe.

Jennifer Cessna, senior in geology, University of Western Australia (Perth, Australia)

I didn’t know what to expect when I got off the plane in Perth, Western Australia — certainly not this beautiful city nestled between the Swan River and Indian Ocean. There is something here for everyone: great beaches, awesome shopping and a thriving night life, just to name a few. All are within a short bus ride from the University of Western Australia.

I am living in one of the residential colleges near campus. The college itself has many different groups whose purposes are to raise awareness about various issues such as diversity and global warming, and to build a sense of community throughout the college.

Probably the hardest thing for me to get used to (besides the fact that it’s winter) has been the teaching style at the university. The professors still lecture here, but there is more emphasis on independent learning. We are assigned a list of articles and are expected to have read and understood each before coming to our tutorials each week. There are fewer assessments and therefore fewer opportunities to bring up your grade, but the cutoff for passing is much lower.

Time has been flying by, and all too soon it is going to be time to leave. The chance to come here and make friends from around the world has been amazing, and I would not have missed this for anything.