A North Carolina Gal’s Great Australian Adventure

Hello everyone! Although, I must admit, my more familiar greeting goes more like “Hey y’all!” so be warned my Southern, American euphemisms may start to peek through.

I’m Sabrina, a 20 year old intern starting here at Eastside FM hailing from the great state of North Carolina in the USA. I was raised on the coast in a tiny liberal pocket of a mostly conservative state, but there are plenty of things about the south that make me happy to be from Dixie – mostly the fried food and the overuse of butter and grease (though sayings like “bless her heart” and “running around like a chicken with its head cut off” certainly add to my charm if I do say so myself). I consider myself to be perfectly blended between southern charm and the laid-back lifestyle of the beaches that I grew up on, so while I may spend my days in the surf and sand a little comfort food never bothered me a bit.

I’ve just arrived in Sydney as a part of a program called IES Abroad, which helps college students like myself find a way abroad while also simultaneously getting work experience and a feel for intercultural communication. My university in the States is known for our top notch basketball team and nearly impossible to walk on brick pathways, and while I’ve never been one for sports or falling flat on my face on the way to class, I have to say that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has become my home. When I started at UNC I wasn’t sure if I would ever study abroad, but it wasn’t long before a childhood dream started to creep to the surface once more.

When I was young I was adamant that I would become a marine biologist, traveling the world and discovering new species in the great blue depths. I was obsessed with fish and marine life of all kinds and spent numerous hours at my local aquarium. At the ripe old age of 12 I cunningly snuck into a summer camp for kids 13 years and up in order to get my SCUBA certification- with the precise goal of finding my way to the Great Barrier Reef. Well, as you likely could’ve guessed, my plans have changed. While I still love marine life, now I’m a double major in psychology and communication studies, concentrating on working with nonprofits of all types – but the end goal is still to be determined. However, one dream still remains alive, and nearly a decade later here I am in Sydney, Australia for the next two months (and believe me, I will be making it to the Great Barrier Reef).

So while I’m not here to study sharks or manta rays, I am here to work with Eastside Radio on another passion, and that is supporting the arts and encouraging the public to appreciate the types of art and music that don’t always get the most attention. I’m extraordinarily excited to start using my book learning from the past 3 years in the real world, and even more enthralled that it’s for a cause I can be passionate about. So far Sydney has been everything I ever dreamed and a few things I didn’t even consider – from my hike down the Blue Mountains at the Three Sisters to attempting to work my way through grocery stores with not a single recognizable brand. All in all, it’s already been the adventure of a lifetime and I’ve been here for less than week! Hopefully you’ll be hearing more from me as I work my way through my great Australian adventure – I can’t wait for everything that’s in store.

Since my work here is going to revolve around music, I thought I’d include a few of my favorite tracks at the bottom to help get to know me better, so enjoy!

Bye for now, y’all!