Reyhana's Exchange to University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | USA


Source: UNC

Hi my name is Reyhana and in semester 2 2018 and semester 1 2019 I studied abroad at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. At Murdoch I am studying a Bachelor of Criminology & Global Security, majoring in Criminal Behaviour and Terrorism & Counter-terrorism studies.

The key factors for me choosing University of North Carolina Chapel Hill were....

After speaking with Jeannette, I chose UNC Chapel Hill as it was a well-recognised institution in the US and required a higher GPA to attend. It was also very well-established for global security studies with their peace, war and defence department offering many units that corresponded with my Terrorism and Counterterrorism major. I also wanted to experience the on-campus living and college experience that America provides. I honestly had never heard of North Carolina prior to going there, so I had no expectations. I was prepared for some rural southern American setting; however, it was one of the prettiest, greenest and lushest states I have visited in the US, with the most hospitable and friendly people.

A little about University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, the classes and the teaching system ...

During the academic year I took a total of 10 classes at UNC. In the Fall Semester I took AAAD312 Terrorism in Africa, GLBL383 Global Whiteness, PWAD110 Global Policy Issues, PWAD280 Anthropology of War and Peace, PWAD331 Cracking India: Partition and its Legacy in South Asia. In the Spring Semester I took POLI215 Political Psychology, POLI490 Comparative Politics of the Middle East, PWAD353 Intelligence Analysis, PWAD459 Trans-Atlantic Security and SOCI123 Crime and Delinquency. 

I thoroughly enjoyed all my classes and gained new knowledge about topics related to what I studied at Murdoch. The classes were different from Murdoch, in that all had compulsory attendance, some didn’t allow electronic devices and none of the classes used recorded lectures or uploaded the slides they used. This was to ensure students would be present in class. 

I also noticed that the UNC teaching system differed from Murdoch’s. There wasn’t an emphasis on self-directed learning, instead there were guidelines to what you must do and teachers would regularly check your progress by assigning weekly assessments. There were also midterm exams, something that I had not experienced at Murdoch, so not only a final exam at the end of the semester, but one halfway through! In my opinion, you ended up doing more regular work, but it wasn’t necessarily more difficult than the content at Murdoch. The grading was also very different, with marks being much higher and higher marks being much easier to achieve. 

In both Fall and Spring Semester the contact hours for each unit were 2.5 hours for each subject and would be split into two or three classes on that subject each week. These would run for either 50 minutes or 1 hour 15 minutes each. In total, for five units, I had 12.5 hours of contact time per week.

A little about the city I lived in, Chapel Hill...

I lived in Chapel Hill which is best described as a small college town with that main town strip (Franklin St) running parallel to the university. Public transport options were vast with a few free bus services running to nearby places from the campus, otherwise, it was $2.50 per ride. I don’t think the busses ran later in the evening or night, so it was much easier to get Uber/Lyft as most things were in close proximity and it was quite cheap. There was also a free, on-campus bus called the P2P, that would run from south campus to north campus and Franklin St. I actually built a second-hand bike for free while at UNC which I used to get around, which was very handy! 

Chapel Hill had a vast array of food places and just a little further out in Carrboro there was lots of indie eateries. I enjoyed YoPo for frozen yoghurt, I also liked going to Spicy 9 for Asian curries and sushi, Hops Burger Bar was good, as was Med Deli, which served Mediterranean cuisine. Just out of Chapel Hill, Al’s Burger Shack made delicious burgers! Unfortunately, for convenience, I had a meal plan only in my second semester, I regret this because I did not enjoy the food from the dining hall provided. However, it was difficult to cook in the communal areas in the residence halls if you did not have your own equipment. You could hire things from the residence hall to use, but there was a very short time frame in which you must return it all. The locals in Chapel Hill were kind, friendly and very hospitable, all were very accommodating and I had many people help me out or give me lifts.

The best parts of my Exchange experience...

I have no idea where to begin, I could probably write a whole book about the best parts. The best part would have to be the people. The friends I made and the people I met were so special and I got to travel to so many incredible places with them. I attribute this unbelievable experience to the people that surrounded me and shared my journey with me. People always joke about exchange changing them, but I truly believe it opened my eyes to the world and all the opportunities we have. 

Exchange has allowed me to become comfortable and confident with myself. I know that I could successfully move away from home and succeed. I did not have the confidence before, I would never have travelled alone before, but these are all things I am certain I can do now. One of my favourite things about the exchange experience was the independence it gave me, I organised everything for myself and was responsible for my time. I was able to live with people my own age, study with them and travel with them. I was fully immersed in the culture, a very different experience from living in Perth, where I live at home, which is definitely more isolating. 

I have also found it hard to make lasting friendships at Murdoch like I did at UNC, as the contact hours for my course are so sparse and I am barely at university. Prior to going to Murdoch, when I was at school, I was very outgoing and always made friends very easily. Since going on exchange, I have learnt that it is my responsibility to seek out the friendships here and more effort is required back here in Perth because we don’t all live together! As a result, I am involving myself in voluntary mentoring for first years, the buddy program for incoming exchange students, the criminology society and internship opportunities. I would not have realised this if it wasn’t for my exchange experience on the other side of the world! Overall, the best part of exchange was meeting so many unique people that helped me become more comfortable with myself and uncover more of my identity.

My struggles on Exchange and how I dealt with them...

Surprisingly, I didn’t really experience culture shock or homesickness when I arrived. I had been travelling New York and Washington DC with my mum for three weeks prior to the semester beginning. She helped me move into my room at UNC too which was really nice. 

I was very aware that it would be very easy to feel isolated so I made the effort to be friendly and talk to everyone. As a result, I made an amazing network of American friends and also met other international students. The other students I met that were on exchange became my best friends, as we were going through similar experiences, so we all got along very well and were able to help each other. I think I avoided feeling down and sad by going out and getting involved in all the free events and activities that the campus had to offer. Having friends around really helped, as you could talk to people if you were struggling. The campus also offers a free counselling services; CAPS, which are very helpful if you need support.

A little bit about my accommodation while on Exchange...

I lived in one of the numerous on-campus accommodation options. I shared my room with a roommate, another international student, which was great most of the time. Of course, there are compromises you must make when living with someone, so keep that in mind if you prefer your own space, as you won’t always get it. When I was researching I did not quite anticipate the size and scale of the campus, it was very large with many options for accommodation. 

I was allocated to a residence hall on north campus called Cobb, when my friends visited they joked that it was the Caesar’s Palace of Residence Halls. It was very nice in appearance and was really diverse. As the building was so large, boys lived on one side of the building and girls on the other, on the same floor. This was a great opportunity to make friends of all types, as in most other Residence Halls, the floors were divided by sex. The bathrooms weren’t great in Cobb, they were quite dirty, as I visited bathrooms in other residence halls and they were much better kept. They were shared with all the girls on the floor and needed some extra attention. The thing about Cobb, as it was one of the nicer accommodations, the advisors that ran it were a lot stricter than other halls, so we weren’t able to have many friends over or any parties in Cobb! 

For future students looking for accommodation in Chapel Hill, I would recommend staying on campus as it provides the opportunity to be close to all events and live with other students your age and it is a great way to make friends. I would also recommend staying in north campus or mid-campus over south campus, otherwise you have about a 20-minute walk to classes which are based on north campus. The perks about south campus is that it offers apartment style accommodation; in Rams Village, so it is more flexible, you have your own kitchen and room, which would be more desirable to some. 

Also, in the residence halls, the cohort is generally younger, first and second year students so 18/19/20, as most third and fourth years move off campus and live in houses or apartments with friends. So, if you are looking for an older demographic, I would suggest to look into living in an apartment off-campus or in Rams Village. However, the downside to this is that it may be more difficult to meet people and make friends. A large proportion of exchange students I befriended lived in residence halls and were older, some were 23 years old etc.

Funding my Exchange experience...

I funded my Exchange Experience with personal savings and a study abroad scholarship! In the summer of 17/18, I worked full time and raised enough funds for my experience. I was determined to pay for it all as I had set that as my goal when I began studying at Murdoch and did not take out at OS Help Loan. As I travelled a fair bit at the end of my year abroad, I did have to go into my savings, however, it was very worth it. I would recommend people to take out the OS Help Loan if they need to though as it is very useful and accessible.

Volunteering at UNC...

When we arrived at UNC and enquired into Internships and volunteering, they instructed us that we were not allowed to join clubs to volunteer. This had something to do with their liability and we found it quite frustrating. I wanted to join a criminal justice society that helped disadvantaged children, however, due to the no-volunteer restriction they placed on us, I was unable to. However, I did involve myself in free activities on-campus and women’s rallies off-campus.

Travelling while on Exchange...

So much travelling! I left Perth on August 3rd 2018 and returned on August 3rd 2019. I was away for an entire year! Before this exchange experience I had visited two US States; Hawaii and California. I have now visited 17 States and DC the Capital! I did not stay just in the US either, venturing to Toronto, Jamaica and after the exchange concluded; Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and England. Prior to starting the Fall semester at UNC, I spent three weeks travelling New York; visiting Manhattan and Brooklyn and Washington DC. I was joined by my mum and it was my first time visiting these places. They were so much fun and I said I could even see myself working in my field in DC one day. 

After three weeks on campus, myself and a group of 6 international exchange students took a girl’s trip to the beach; Wilmington, a couple of hours away. Three days after we arrived back from this trip we were advised to evacuate campus due to the incoming Hurricane Florence. So, 7 other exchange students and myself took a week off in San Diego, California, where we were lucky enough to relax by the beach and even catch a baseball game! The next trip we took coincided with Fall Break in August and 9 of us took a bus up to Washington DC for a couple days break. After that, our entire group of 18 international students took a weekend trip to Asheville; the mountains of North Carolina, a few weeks before the end of semester. 

The final trip I took during the semester was to Wilmington, on the NC coast to spend Thanksgiving with my American friend (Chloe) and her family. Such an awesome experience and to share it with such a kind family made it a highlight. We then had winter break for three weeks beginning in December and ending in January. Luckily for me, my family used that as opportunity to come out and visit! I met my mum and sister in Florida and we travelled from Fort Lauderdale to Miami and the Florida Keys; which were beautiful. I then headed up to New York for a week and stayed with an American friend (Brian) in Pleasantville, NY. After that I spent New Year’s in Manhattan and stayed with an international friend (Sylvie) who lived in Queens, NY. I then went off to Toronto, Canada to visit my aunties and cousins for 10 days, my Dad even visited me while I was in Toronto! 

Then it was back for the spring semester, soon enough, during the weekend of week two, a large group of internationals and myself visited the Big Easy; New Orleans, Louisiana. Honestly, such a fun and enchanting place, the culture and music were just as portrayed in the Princess and the Frog! This inspired us to take another big group trip a few weeks later to Nashville, Tennessee. The home of country music and the famous Grand Ole Opry; it was a truly wild southern experience. After that, we were off on Spring Break, so where else to escape and catch some rays than beautiful Jamaica (there were only five of us this time). The land of Usain Bolt, Reggae and…pristine waters, it was literally paradise. The first weekend back from Spring Break, we (James, Oisin and myself) went on a weekend-long double date to our American friend’s (Cassidy) beach house in Wilmington; my third visit to this awesome place. 

A few weeks before the end of semester, we took our final big group trip and hit the road for a long Easter weekend in Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina. We were lucky enough to take a haunted and paranormal tour in quaint Savannah and sample yummy food in picturesque Charleston. The final trip of the semester was round two for the weekend-long double date and was spent in the quirky and charming Asheville. We were shocked by the town we were staying in when we saw a gun shop and the Airbnb host’s pickup truck with a sticker on it, saying, ‘Hillary for Prison’! 

The end of semester marked the beginning of three months of adventure over multiple countries. Leaving UNC on the 8th of May, a group of international students (James, David, Georgie and myself) made our way to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a day, where we were confronted by rain, before connecting to Denver, Colorado. There, we were welcomed by snow and spent our time meeting with another group of international friends (Oisin, Michael, Jez and Chris). We were lucky enough to visit the Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Red Rocks Auditorium and Rocky Mountain National Park. We then made our way to Seattle, Washington and were once again welcomed by rain. We spent a few days exploring this green and technologically advanced city before making our way down to Portland, Oregon. This was the first place we had visited in the US where there was no tax added to the bill! It was also the place of the best ice-cream that I have ever tasted; Salt and Straw, honestly, nothing compares. In this city we parted ways with our two travel buddies; David and Georgie, and went onto San Francisco, California. James and I hired a car at the airport and took a three-day trip to Lake Tahoe, Nevada. We arrived at our accommodation at midnight that night and were welcomed, again, by snow. Believe it or not, we were camping, so we set up our tent as it snowed down on us. Fortunately, we survived, as we had all the right gear, which we had loaned for free from a cheeky little camp shop in San Fran. We made our way back to San Francisco and met two other international friends (Mark and Perdy) who would be accompanying us on our next road trip. 

After exploring San Fran, we visited Yosemite National Park, which presented us with all kinds of weather, from sun to snow to rain and hail. As you can see a regular theme of this trip was climate change! Regardless, the park left us in awe with its giant granite rock faces and tremendous, cascading waterfalls. After that, we hit the Californian coast, visiting Santa Cruz, Monterrey and Carmel. We then took the Pacific Coast Highway which mesmerised us with breathtaking views, clear skies and endless ocean. Our last stop on the coast was San Luis Obispo, before heading inland for the giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park. We then spent a day making our way through Death Valley, where the lowest temperature was 40 degrees Celsius before arriving in Sin City; Las Vegas, Nevada. As you know, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, however, not a lot happened as it was so hot, we were all sweating while exploring all the grand casinos. We were lucky enough to meet up with the boys from earlier on again (Oisin, Michael, Jez and Chris). 

After a little rest and relaxation, we hit the road again, to make a loop beginning in Vegas and ending there. We started by making our way through Route 66 to eventually end up on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Here, we camped in our tee-pee tent that we purchased at Walmart, before exploring the stunning canyon. Next, we sent up camp on the shores of the Glen Canyon Dam where we awoke each morning sweating profusely in our tent, with little ants crawling everywhere (all part of the experience). We made our way to Monument Valley, Utah which is run by the native Najavo Tribe. In the middle of nowhere, these rock formations did not fail to impress. After leaving the Mormon state, we explored Arizona, visiting Page and Horseshoe Bend. We hit the road, for one of the last times and arrived in Zion National Park, Utah. We did the most petrifying climb of my life up Angel’s Landing, I was so sure I would never come down. 

We ended our little adventure together in Las Vegas, Nevada where we spent our last night exploring downtown Vegas, where the magic began back on Fremont Street. I said farewell to my friends, but not for long. From Vegas, I went back to Toronto, Canada, to spend some time with family. We explored the city and Niagara and I was lucky enough to witness the NBA Toronto Raptor’s Final where they were crowned champions. 

After a short time, I made my way to Dublin, Ireland where James met me and showed me around Northern Ireland before we set off on a road trip around Ireland. Visiting numerous places including Westport, Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, Limerick, Dingle, the Ring of Kerry, Cork, Kilkenny and Dublin. In Dublin, I was lucky enough to see my mum, sister and a friend from exchange; Aoife. We then headed over to Scotland and spent time in Edinburgh and Glasgow, where we visited our international friends (Perdy, Michael, Kimberley and Emily) and saw Highland cows! We stayed with Michael, Emily and his family in Newcastle, England, where we visited the Beamish museum, an incredible open air, living museum, where I sadly broke my phone. We then embarked on a road trip to the stunning Lake District where we managed to do some hiking and drive a boat on Lake Windermere. From there we spent some time in Manchester in some very budget accommodation which gave us a room with no windows. We then made it to London, where we were lucky enough to see so many of our international friends (Ruth, Jez, Michael, Emily, Georgie, Mark and Perdy) and explore all the sights. 

One of the highlights occurred on the day we arrived in London, at Hampstead Heath. A larger group of people were dancing and wearing headphones, obviously a silent disco, I eventually joined in and was told that they were celebrating the sunset and the rising of the full moon. It was a surreal experience and James and his friends all ended up getting involved. Later, we took a trip up to Oxford and explored the medieval colleges there with my mum and sister. Then we headed off to Brighton to visit and celebrate Oisin’s 21st with many other international friends. On our last night in London we had our final double-date with Oisin and Cassidy and spent the day with them, before seeing the musical, Come from Away, on Westend, where we were also joined by Jez. A heart-warming story that follows the grounding of multiple planes during 9/11 in the tiny town of Newfoundland, which welcomes everyone with open arms. I then spent a few more days in Northern Ireland with James and was lucky enough to visit the Giant’s Causeway. Eventually, I made my way back home after three months of travelling, in time for week 2 of Semester 2 here! 

In summary, I did lots of travelling while on exchange with all the incredible people I befriended. They all welcomed me into their homes when I travelled the UK and Ireland. It was an experience of a lifetime and I am privileged to have shared it with such extraordinary people. It was honestly something I had envisioned and it became my reality, a dream come true to be cliché.

my advice to someone who is considering / about to embark on Exchange...

I have a few tips for someone who is considering exchange. Firstly, stop considering it and commit to it, you will not regret it, I promise. If you are finding the process overwhelming or difficult, which it really can be at times, seek help. No matter how many times you visit staff, be it Jeannette or your Academic Chairs, they will always give you their time because they want to help and if not, because they have to! 

Also seek advice from fellow Murdoch students that have been on exchange, it would be useful if they are in your course, as they will have recently gone through the process and be able to help (contact me!). Also, do not despair when you cannot find classes that match your units. I had huge difficulties with this as I had no elective spaces for my degree, so all my units had to match with core units from Murdoch. The UNC enrolment system was very difficult and all students, domestic and international, always struggled to enrol in their classes due to the poor online platform. 

Often, during the first week, I would attend the classes and explain my international student situation and they would make allowances. I recall that I was almost not going to go on exchange because I was not finding any matching classes. Academic Chairs are usually accommodating, I liaised with both Guy Hall and Ian Wilson, you just need to ensure you correspond with them in a timely manner. It is very normal to feel doubtful and second-guess your decision to move away. I remember I was so sad to leave my life and all my friends here as I was so content. I also left behind my long-term boyfriend at the time, which was very difficult. Others may share this concern and I know this often holds people back, but all I can say is that sometimes moving away is all you need, to step outside your comfort zone and realise what is best for yourself. It is an opportunity to learn and grow as a person and really come to terms with yourself as an individual. 

Funnily enough, a month ago, I was sitting with a group of my best friends from exchange in Brighton (so we met at UNC and ended up at one of the boy’s homes in the UK) and we were discussing our decisions to go on exchange. Prior to going to UNC every single one of us had our doubts, with each of us coming to a point where we thought we weren’t going to go. But you know what, we all went and look where it brought us… to another country surrounded by some of the most special people. In my case, I loved the study abroad experience so much that I extended my stay for a second semester, meaning I was away for an entire year! 

While on exchange, I also have a few tips. I was concerned about making friends and I am quite extroverted, and I am sure you may be feeling the same. Be as open and friendly as you can, involve yourself in the free activities the campus offers, speak to people in your residence hall and involve yourself in things that you normally wouldn’t. The more you put yourself out there, the more likely you are to meet people you really get along with. I believe that I took this approach and as a result, ended up with a really diverse and strong group of both American and international friends. Finally, remember your time away is precious, don’t get bogged down in the small things. My friends joked that whenever, they saw me, be it at 3am or while I was ill, I always had a smile on my face. Be positive and think positively about things because there will certainly be obstacles in your journey but you are more than capable of overcoming these.

Finally, my last tips! 

It was such a crazy experience, the things I saw and the things I did, I could never have imagined. For example, fraternities and sororities… they are legit, honestly, like the movies. It was surreal. As the drinking age in America is 21, frats were where all the first and second years would go, if they tried to go to bars, they wouldn’t be allowed in due to the strict ID laws. The boys would run the parties and would generally only let girls in, our male friends weren’t allowed in unless they knew a boy in the frat and had a wristband! Weird right?! A bizarre sorority thing that happened a few weeks into fall semester was bid day, as people were leaving class, the quad was filled with all these screaming girls, running around, celebrating their acceptance into their sorority. 

After a few days on campus, a friend and I were walking to Franklin Street for dinner and we walked right into a protest! Students were protesting a confederate monument on our campus; Silent Sam and we witnessed them pull it down. There were news reporters everywhere, a historical and controversial moment for conservative North Carolina. The campus itself was a liberal hub in a conservative state, with various protests and rallies occurring. Another noticeable protest was the boycott Wendy’s rally, as people were protesting the chain on our campus due to the lack of workers’ rights and underpayment of staff. I even attended a women’s march myself in neighbouring Durham to advocate for women’s rights. The university itself hosted various academic talks, which I attended, at one, a future Democratic Presidential candidate; Beto O’Rourke spoke! At least twice, we received alerts from Alert Carolina to inform us that there were armed, white supremacists, protests on campus. 

As it was a public institution, the grounds were open to the public. There was also a notorious preacher, who was often found in the “pit,” outside the dining hall, who would tell students they were sinners for not following God. It was crazy because all these things became so normal after a small time and were so far from life in Australia. A few weeks into the fall semester, there was a hurricane; Hurricane Florence. Classes were cancelled and we had to evacuate, so off to San Diego myself and other international students went! On another occasion, there was a water crisis on campus and they had to shut down temporarily, yet again, classes were cancelled as the local water plant was contaminated! All the shops sold out of bottled water!!! The dining halls had some crises too, with one student publicising that he had found maggots in his food! 

During exam period in December, we were snowed in due to a severe and random snow storm, so exams had to be cancelled for a couple days. In Spring semester, we had some radical weather in April, firstly, the pollen arrived and literally covered the roads and cars, turning everything green, my hay fever was so bad I had to stay indoors! Later on, there were severe storms, power outages and a random tornado, so the libraries closed and eduroam went down for a while. Aside from the sudden weather crises, it was a pleasant place, initially in the summer it was very humid, however, this didn’t last long as beautiful autumn arrived. 

Apart from all the time off due to crises, during the semesters I was able to enjoy Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Winter Break and Spring Break, which were all great fun. Halloween was a huge celebration over there, with people having multiple costumes and partying for the actual day and the weekend before! Sports life at UNC was insane, particularly the basketball as it is known to be one of the best colleges in the US for it. At their home games, there was a basketball lottery ticket system that randomly distributed tickets to interested students. I only won this twice out of the 10 times it was run and some people didn’t win it once! At these games the school spirit was so intense, with students all wearing their Carolina Blue and chanting the alma mater and other chants. Ramses, the school mascot was often there performing and revving up the crowds. The rivalry between Duke and UNC, which was 15 minutes down the road, was REAL. People were paying fellow students for the lottery tickets to see the UNC vs Duke game on-campus, with some people paying thousands of dollars. 

Prior to this game it was rumoured that Obama was on campus and stampedes of people were seen running around in big groups all over the place looking for him, his visit at UNC was never confirmed, so it remains a mystery. When UNC beat Duke, students rushed Franklin St and were celebrating by lighting couches on fire and jumping over them, a bizarre tradition. After the regular basketball season, March Madness began and consisted of all the college basketball teams across the US playing in a tournament for the championship. We all thought UNC was bound to win and students were watching the games in class, after class and in any other spare time. UNC were eliminated early, in the Sweet 16, to an underdog team, but it was very fun following the tournament and the games. 

Another bizarre tradition was that students would drink from the Old Well before the first day of class due to the superstition that it would bring a 4.0 GPA. New First Year students would also remove a brick from the footpath as it was another superstitious tradition, so it was common for many paths to be missing bricks! Maybe the strangest tradition of all, the night before final exams began for each semester, students would streak through the libraries at midnight. The group mainly consisted of senior and graduating students and the school cohort would watch and cheer the people on! In a tradition that extends back over 40 years, it promotes body positivity, liberation and campus spirit. It was common to spend a lot of time in the libraries, notoriously Davis (open till midnight) or the UL (open 24 hours), due to the constant workload and socialising, I found myself pulling a few all-nighters in these libraries in Fall semester. In Spring semester, I was not too fond of these places and managed to get by without staying up all night!


-  Reyhana studied abroad at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in the USA.

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