Exchange in the deep south, Louisiana State University

When I first arrived in Louisiana I a little shocked. I had been told that LSU was a huge college that was always bustling with life! I was hoping to arrive and jump right into class and meeting new people. However upon my arrival the campus was a ghost town which instilled some doubt that my exchange might not be what it’s all cracked up to be. Over the next week before class began, students slowly started to trickle in until there were more people on campus than I could ever imagine! I later realized this was because all the students had gone home to visit their families and no one wanted to return to school from their holidays until as late as possible.

I am just under 4 months into my exchange here and am absolutely loving my time here. I have never been travelling before so everything is new and exciting. There are so many things to do and see that every weekend is packed full of adventure. Some of these adventures include hiking at Tunica Falls, competing in a wake boarding tournament in Munroe with the LSU wake boarding team, staying in a beach house in Bay St Louis Mississippi and attending Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans.

American colleges are completely different to back home. Sports are a huge deal! Athletes are trained like Olympians with strict training schedules and drinking rules. Each game is shown on ESPN and the college has enormous sporting facilities. Colleges also have a cultural feel here. Not only is there societies like back home, they also have Sororities and Fraternities which has a multitude of events and traditions throughout the year.

I highly recommended for anyone going on exchange to join as many societies and sporting teams as you can whilst on exchange; you never know who you will meet or where it could take you!

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