Australia. Dublin. Spain. Japan. Costa Rica. Maastricht. South Africa.

Where will students go? These are just a few of the many possible destinations where Eastern students can study abroad.

Studying abroad offers more than a change of scenery and a chance to try weird food. Students who study abroad find themselves with a new sense of independence and an understanding of a culture other than their own.

Some say that it is “the time of my life.” Although many students find the adjustment difficult at the beginning of their trips, by the end most wish that they could stay longer.

Twenty-seven Eastern students are studying overseas this semester and taking classes that will either count as general education credit or for their specific fields.

Emily Brueseke, coordinator of the Office of Study Abroad, has studied in Kenya, Ireland and Guatemala and is a huge advocate of studying abroad.

“Taking a major course overseas give you a totally different perspective on that subject,” Brueseke said.

Phil Sasser, a senior communications major who studied in Cape Town, South Africa, took media classes that counted toward his major.

Aside from completing some classes during his trip, Sasser bungee-jumped off the world’s highest commercial bungee jump at the Bloukraus River Bridge and sand board – the same place where the movie “Flight of the Phoenix” was filmed.

“It ended up being so much better than I ever thought it would,” Sasser said at a Study Abroad Panel sponsored by the study abroad office on Wednesday night.

At the panel discussion, twenty people showed interest in studying abroad.

Matt Zigrossi, a freshman undeclared major, was not sure if he really wanted to travel, but the panel convinced him.

“Maybe I’ll go to Australia,” Zigrossi said. “I picture Australia as having a nice climate. I want to go through with it and actually go.”

In 2005, the U.S. Senate declared 2006 to be the year of study abroad, so according to the U.S. Senate, this is the year for doing exactly that.

At Eastern there are two different ways to study abroad. One option is to go on a faculty-led trip.

In this option, a faculty member leads a trip that includes different stops so you can see several countries, rather than stay in the same place for the whole trip.

If students would rather study in one country and travel on their own, then the more independent program is the way to go. In the independent programs, students pick a university somewhere overseas and match up their classes.

The study abroad office has programs organized in more than 40 countries. And if students don’t like the selection, they can even set up a destination of their own.

The study abroad Web site displays budgets of all the programs and the costs of studying abroad, but financial aid and loans can be used to help pay for a study abroad trip.

For most of the possible destinations, the office has taken into account plane tickets, room and board and even spending money.

For Justin Lopez, a junior recreational education major, his trip to Australia was one of the best times of his life.

“I stayed for four months, but wish I had stayed for a year,” Lopez said.