Feng Tang

 Degree and Year of Degree: Bachelor of Science, Third year

Which university abroad did you attend? James Cook University

Which city/country did you go to? Townsville, Australia

Where did you live when you studied abroad? I lived in a rented house with several other students.

What was the easiest thing when you arrived in Australia? The easiest thing was getting to the University. It was only a 10 minute drive from the airport.

What did you find different about studying at a James Cook University?
All courses I took in Australia did not have a midterm. All work done and studied cumulated to finals. It was very hard before finals because there was a large amount of material to be reviewed.

Best things about Australia?
The best thing was field trips. I went on a four days field trip to a cattle station near Townsville. We saw so many animals in four days. We caught at least 5 snakes, including two pythons, two venomous snakes and one water snake. Also, we even learned how to identify geckos!

Which course did you take?
Course of Global Leadership, the Professor was so good; both in the way he taught and things he taught. He was an American who had been living in France for 20 years and married to a German woman.

Which course did you enjoy the most and why?
I like Australia Vertebrate Fauna the most. It gave me an overview of Australia’s vertebrate animals on land, such as birds, snakes, frogs, marsupials, lizards and so on. The class was very interesting, because the animals in Australia are very different from animals in Canada.

What did you miss about Canada when you studied abroad?
I missed the cold weather in Canada. When I got to Australia, it was in the middle of summer. Townsville has tropical climate so it was really hot and humid, and there was a lot of rain. At the end of the semester, even when it was already fall, the weather was still hot like the summer in Canada.

What did you like most about studying abroad?
I love the experience of going to a different country. The weather, traditional culture, animals are so different; I think it’s very exciting to be able to study abroad in such a different environment.

How many other countries did you visit while studying abroad?
I did not go to any other country other than Australia. However, I went to visit lots of different cities in Australia, such as Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

Do you have any advice to future students, who may wish to study abroad?
Apply for it as soon as possible. I know it will be difficult when you first start to think about applying for school, finding housing, choosing courses, and booking flights & hotels. However it really is worthwhile, because it’s going to be an amazing experience with amazing people and it will be very memorable.