What I gained most from traveling abroad ...
Spending Winter Term in Australia allowed me to learn about a culture I never would have researched here in America. My course focused on the Aboriginal people; their presence, history, and involvement in today's society. Engaging in their history and becoming more aware of their past was thought provoking. This course and my experiences abroad have forced me to think with a more open mind now 
that I am back in the US. I have always appreciated diversity and enjoyed learning about other cultures but, the Aboriginal people had a large part of their history erased from print and that has forced me to wonder ... are there secrets behind our American history that we are unaware of? Should I, as a student and a US citizen, challenge the facts of my textbooks and focus on what might be missing?
Why I would recommend this trip to other students ...
The study of this course was challenging, engaging, thought provoking, eye opening, and interesting. For those reasons alone I would recommend this study; however, if you apply for this course you must realize that in order to understand and become involved in the Aboriginal culture you need to be open minded and accepting of different cultures because, this course will challenge you to dig beyond the text. I think this course has a lot to offer students that are looking to learn about a culture with an unwritten history. The people you get to meet help you to understand their "dreamings" and encourage you to become accepting of their historical background that can't be uncovered in a book.
To be completely honest, aside from the course study, I did not experience much "culture shock". Australia, although beautiful, didn't feel too different than home for me; granted, I have had the opportunity to study in China, different parts of Europe, and Scotland. The outback was different however, reminded me of "The Lion King" in a way, but the
cities themselves just reminded me of a cleaner / slower paced New York city. One thing that was interesting to learn (and was slightly culture shocking) was their value of family first. This value causes the entire city to be on a work schedule from 9-5, allowing work to be secondary to family time; now this is something I wish we could adopt into our materialistic driven American society.
How I developed my leadership skills as a result of my experience ...
Before departing for Australia we spent the fall semester meeting on Sunday nights to have a weekly class meeting. During these classes we would learn about Aboriginal and Australian culture as well as present group presentations on our common readings. My first growth as a leader took place during this process. I was put into a group with four other people and we were assigned a chapter to present on for the rest of the students. Group work has always been difficult for me because, I like things done as close to perfection as possible and I like them done in a timely manner (early rather than on time). This assignment helped me to understand the role of being a team player, when the team fails - you all fail, so to speak. Throughout the failure and success; I became more understanding of the people in my group.
Personally, I became more self-motivated throughout my time abroad and I became well respected by my classmates. I am certain that both of these strengthened characteristics will help me become a better leader on campus as well. Although I have 
always believed that being yourself was the only way to be; college life makes that difficult and during my time abroad I was able to reconnect with myself and my goals. All in all this experience abroad has helped me grow intellectually, emotionally, and socially.
Extra Pictures ...
Wave Rock: Created by the dreaming stories of Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal Flag: Yellow for sun, Red for land, and Black for people. The blue and green flag is the flag of the Torres Strait Islanders. George Wardandi is playing a didgeridoo on the right; musical instrument to the Aboriginal people.
New Norcia Crest / Aboriginal Artwork: New Norcia is home to poor treatment of the Aboriginal people; including the Stolen Generation children. The artwork symbolizes the Aboriginal view of a biblical setting; including livestock and natural resources that are vital to their lifestyle and can't become extinct. 
Friends and Fun: Sometimes we got a break from learning.
[Boomerang throwing, seeing Kangaroo's and Koala's, and a day at the beach.]
