Saturday - Australian Aboriginal Elders Farewell Dinner

Saturday was the program's final full-day in Australia before the students departed to various destinations on Sunday.  The week was a wonderful journey filled with countless learning opportunities and experiences.  Students spent much of Saturday exploring Sydney and the surrounding areas on their own.  In the evening, we gathered one last time to have a farewell dinner hosted by Australian Aboriginal Elders.  The experience was remarkable and the perfect conclusion to a spectacular program.  Below are some pictures from the event, including a picture from the welcome ceremony.

We hope you have enjoyed following our adventures in Sydney, and we hope you will follow other Southern Illinois University School of Law Legal Globalization and Comparative Law courses as they travel around the world learning about different countries, cultures, and legal systems.

Until next time.

Sunrise over Sydney Harbour

Student Post - Willie Lyles

The dinner with Aboriginal Elders has to be the highlight of this trip. Hearing their stories of overcoming and triumph gave me hope that we can fix our issues with race in America. With resolve and determination we can forge a lasting reconciliation that fosters peace and understanding. It takes leadership from the top and a willingness to see those who are invisible and acknowledge their place in society.

Student Post - Nazia Hosein

Traveling to Australia was an amazing experience. I have always wanted to visit Australia, but I was amazed by how beautiful Sydney was. We were fortunate that Vivid Sydney was going on while we were there. All of the the lights were beautiful. The food was delicious, two of the places I would recommend would be Saki (a sushi place) and O-Bar (a restaurant the spins giving you a 360 view of the city while you eat). I truly enjoyed it and will be back and I would recommend it to anyone, with the warning that they should be prepared to walk a lot.

Student Post - Maria Napolez

Visiting Sydney during Vivid was absolutely amazing! All of the lights and art work displayed made walking through the city an extremely exciting experience! Staying in the rocks was fabulous! Being central to great shops, eateries, the opera house, and public transportation made exploring the city an adventurous and easy task. I particularly loved seeing the Sydney Orchestra at the opera house, and visiting Manly beach! The welcoming dinner location and views were breathtaking. I also enjoyed visiting Australia's different courts whilst exploring the city on our way to our scheduled visits. Visiting the U.S. Consulate was extremely interesting, as well as visiting Ernst & Young and Baker McKenzie. Ending the trip visiting Aboriginal elders was another highlight of the trip. Having explored Sydney for the past week and trying the different varieties of foods from Australian, to Japanese, and Italian was a way to feel a part of the Australian culture in Sydney, so ending with a glimpse into the Aboriginal culture, after learning about it prior to visiting, really completed the visit for me. Overall, this experience has been incredible!!

Student Post - Chauncy Graham

Australia was great. I ate great and bonded with classmates I've never even spoken to. We learned so much about international law. I'm really considering studying abroad again and even working abroad. I recommend the class and Sydney to everyone!

Student Post - Hillary Hines

Last Day - On our last day of Sydney, a group of us decided to take a bus out to Bondi Beach for the day. Sadly, since it is Australia’s winter, it was rather cold so although we enjoyed the beautiful beach, we did not catch much sun. We then ventured over to the Bondi Beach Farmer’s Market. The market was very similar to ones in the United States. There were tons of vendors with their own homemade products, including chocolate, cakes, produce, and flowers. We bought our lunch at the Farmers market and took a place on the lawn, sitting in the sun (it finally came out for a minute), and enjoy some live music.

Later in the evening, we went to our closing dinner with an aboriginal experience. Our hostesses were amazing, sharing stories regarding their culture’s past, present, and future. It was truly a unique experience and the food was fantastic. It was a very nice way to end what was one of the best adventures I have ever been on. Throughout this trip, I made lasting friendships and memories that will continue with me throughout my future law and personal endeavors.

Student Post - Titilayo Agunloye

Today we visited the US Consulate in Australia and spoke with the Consul General and others from the office. The experience was quite interesting. One topic that rang clear was the idea of the United States being the world police and world problem solver. As our lecturer spoke about his role as a federal IRS agent for Australia, he discussed the differences in criminal sentencing. In Australia, many offenses that would impose at least a minimum of ten years in the United States have a maximum sentence of five years in Australia. The Australian government views time from a different lens than in the United States. He went on to discuss some of the most common schemes investigated by his department, which were money laundering and trade based laundering. One of the things I appreciated most was the respect the United States gives to other countries criminal process. It is not easy to be present in another country with a less stringent process for sentencing criminals and to be in a country that does not want to change its process. I respect the decisions by US officials to not tamper with the country’s policy nor impose their own sentencing structure upon another entity. In sum, he discussed his primary mission in life was to make a difference in the world and he seems to be walking in that peripheral.