It all started with a semester...

During the spring semester of my junior year of college, I was lucky enough to study abroad for 5 months.  Five whole months on the other side of planet Earth!!  Needless to say I was extremely excited and extremely terrified.  I wouldn't know a single soul.  At that point in my life I was extremely shy and self conscious, so doing all of this was completely out of my comfort zone but for some reason I just knew that I had to do it.

Australia was a place that I had dreamed about since I was a little girl, The Rescuers Down Under being one of my favorite Disney movies.  And during the Mary-Kate and Ashley faze Our Lips Are Sealed was my go to!  Aside from that I was always fascinated by the culture and the unique environment.  The country was calling my name!  I filled out applications, spoke with others who studied abroad and narrowed it down to three schools.  I ended up choosing USC - University of the Sunshine Coast.  It was essentially in a beach town and the campus is a designated nature preserve AKA there were kangaroos just chilling on campus.

Soon enough it was February 14th, my flight day!  I had to take a flight from JFK to LAX, then meet with other study abroad students on the layover and then fly from LAX to Brisbane, Queensland.  During the layover, unfortunately shy Court kicked in, so talking to the other students was not easy.  The worst part though was finding out that while everyone was seated next to each other on the plane, I sat solo.  That's kind of the sucky part about being last in the alphabet, these things tend to happen to us but I made do and survived the 14 hour flight.

I was in complete awe upon arrival.  I had made it! It was so unreal that I was ready to cry tears of happiness (I didn't but I could've, believe me).  Throughout my semester, I saw a different side of me.  I had to force myself to be outgoing (even though I froze up a lot).  I learned how to be even more self reliant.  I learned how much that I wanted to explore.  This is where it all started!  The trip that changed my life and has given me a forever kind of wanderlust!

I waited until now to make a blog.  I was always nervous about putting myself out there and sharing my experiences.  If you've made it this far, thanks!  I hope you continue to follow me!  This blog will focus on my past adventures, upcoming adventures, tips & tricks, and I'll even throw in some geography/GIS.  Welcome to Court's Coordinates!

Feeding a kangaroo at the Australia Zoo (aka Steve Irwin Zoo) in Beerwah!