This past January I was informed of an opportunity to go to Australia and Singapore with the International Business program here at UA. I immediately applied for the study abroad and informed my parents of the unique opportunity it would bring me to meet company executives from international corporations. This was my motivation and reasoning for choosing the UA in Singapore summer May interim program. In order to prepare for leaving the country for the first time I consoled my Grandmother who had been to Australia before and informed me of special luggage to bring, fun places to go, and overall what it would be like to travel abroad. I planned out all of my outfits for each day and packed a few extras just in case; I wanted to have plenty of room for souvenirs. I brought mainly clothes and travel essentials such as my go pro, laptop, and chargers with me but I left unimportant things at home. Hair tools and a lot of cosmetics weren’t necessary on my trip so I’m thankful I left them at home. In order to prepare mentally I made a plan to talk to my parents at certain times each day and I got an international phone plan since I was only going to be gone for two weeks. My expectations for my trip were to have fun but also learn a lot from the local people. I wanted to make life long friends, meet new people, and have the time of my life; which I did indeed. I departed for my journey on May 10th at 6pm from Charlotte, NC and woke up two days later in Cairns, Australia!