by Alycyn Fox, September 18, 2018

I spent my summer in the winter in Australia, and since the seasons are opposite, I have nearly completely missed summer! For the last six months I was on internship at Swissotel Sydney. I learned how to work in every single food and beverage position – night bar, morning bar, breakfast, lunch, dinner, in room dining, banquets, and executive lounge. I learned many things from this internship, but in the most respectful way, I am so glad it is over.

I have moved back to Chicago and am so excited to focus on school this term and work on finishing my degree, getting a different job (hopefully as far away from food and beverage as possible), and trying something new. In this past year, I have missed so many things, so many places, and most importantly, so many people. Being at Blue Mountains International School sincerely made me miss my friends more than anything. I have found it to be way easier to connect with people at Kendall than anywhere else.

I am appreciative of all the different kinds of people I have met while studying here, and also while studying abroad. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to experience both lifestyles as opposed to living in the U.S. my entire life. When I got back to Chicago, my friends organized a surprise dinner for me with my mom, pictured in the photo above.

As much as I missed it here, I do think I will return to Australia. I had built amazing friendships there as well, and it is amazing to know I now have multiple places to call home. As always, I thank KCT for the opportunity to study abroad, I could have never done it without you!