Juliette Lunger Meet:
Juliette Lunger
Theatre Arts

Studied in:
Trinity College
Wales, United Kingdom




Studying abroad definitely encouraged me to go after my dreams even more so.
A lot of my friends only hope and dream that they can go and travel, and a lot of my friends who have graduated say their one regret was not studying abroad. I don't have to say that. This is the best time in your life to travel.

You've got to do it now because of the way you see things right now as a student. Your mind is so open and flexible that you're able to see a bigger picture of the world, of where you can go in your life at this time. Later, you'll see things but they won't affect you the way that they can when you're a student. I will continue to travel as long as I live. But as a student, the way you experience things, you'll never get that back. Later in life when you get married or have children, you have other obligations; as a student you're free. This is the freest time of your life being in college, and so I think this is the best time to travel.

I am a theatre arts major in costume design and hair and makeup. I studied abroad in spring 2005. Our department does a study abroad program with Trinity College in Wales. So, every semester during spring, we'll send our American students over there. During the fall they'll send their theatre majors over here.

I talked to my adviser about studying abroad. He's like a father to me and we have a really great relationship, and he thought that it would be the best thing for me. So, I just said ok, let's do it. I brought it up to my parents. I was worried about my finances but my parents just basically said ‘we'll pay for it. Go for it.' They wanted me to go and have fun because they didn't get to do that. They know my character, how free spirited I am. I needed to go and do something for myself. They were very happy for me, and they want the best for me. They know that traveling and going to see another country is the best thing you can do as a person.

So, it was amazing. All the paperwork was so easy. Financially I didn't have to worry about anything. I hear about how people want to do it but there are problems with paper work or money, but my experience was nothing like that. It was great. It was very smooth sailing.

At Cal State Fullerton our professors and their backgrounds are excellent, and I honestly didn't like Trinity College's theatre program. It's a very different theatre. But I don't have any regrets about studying abroad. My suggestion for students studying abroad is to make sure they know what their department is about and what they're getting into as well. Philosophical reasons of why you're there is very important in being in a different culture. You don't know anyone there, so knowing what they're about is important.

Study abroad is not all about an intellectual experience. It's also about having fun. It's about going out there and traveling, and just having fun. It's about being able to experience all of that. So with that in mind, I understand that my experience was not in vain at all.

I learned so much. I had so much fun, and I just had such a good experience there with my friends. I would meet up with people and travel every weekend. I had friends in London, in Cardin, and I would just go and hang out with them. The best part was going out and seeing different things, being there and soaking up the culture.

They gave us a four-week holiday for spring break so I started my trip off in Paris, and I took the train all the way through Eastern Europe. I traveled to all the main cities in Italy, and I traveled through Switzerland. I had friends in Germany that I went to go stay with for awhile. W traveled through Brussels, Amsterdam, and flew over to Ireland. Actually in the middle of my trip, one of my good friends was getting married in London and I flew from Rome into London. So I did a little holiday for my holiday.

I am so glad I studied abroad. I have so many memories, so many pictures and I just can't believe all that I did. I was in Italy when the Pope was passing away; I was in Wales when they won the national rugby championship, which is the biggest sport for them. It was just one of those experiences that you can't get anywhere else.

I definitely want to stay in my field. I want to get my Masters in Fine Arts. Either here in California, or I will be going back to London to check out their master's program. I think that it would be great to study over there because they have really good resources. I think it helped because I fell in love with England and Europe. And once you're there it's just so easy to travel everywhere. It's so inexpensive and things are an hour away; it's just so easy. Everything is very accessible there.

I built so many great friendships. I plan on always visiting them now. I keep in contact with my friends in Germany, Wales, and London, and it just brings the world a little bit closer. I can travel because I have friends in different countries. It builds your character; I mean you just have to do it.



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