By: Salem Murray

Kia ora, my name is Salem Murray, I am 29 years old and I’m currently studying an LLB at Waikato University as a fourth-year student.

I could be here all day talking about why I chose to go on exchange, but the thing that drove me forward was the experience that I could have. I’ve learned in life that when opportunities arise you really have to take them. There are some opportunities that will present themselves multiple times, but then there are times like this where the opportunity will only present itself once. The opportunity to not only travel to but also submerge myself into the culture of another country through the lens of being a student was too good to pass up.

Which is what lead to me deciding on going to America. I have this vivid memory of sitting on my living room floor in 2004 and watching tv. I vividly remember seeing an advert for Friends. This jumpstarted my fascination with America and American culture. Fast forward throughout the 2000’s and 2010’s with the likes of NBA superstars such as Kobe Bryant and Lebron James being lunchtime conversation at school, this grew into a fascination with American sports teams.

Fast forward through the early 2010’s when I attended high school and we learned about the black civil rights movement and American history. Absolutely fascinating stuff. I developed a keen interest in American sports, history and culture.

Fast forward to last year when the opportunity arose to potentially do a global exchange, I was animated about it. Upon pursuing this exchange program, I found that I could go on exchange to Temple University in Philadelphia. The primary option that I was successful in pursuing. This is the city of brotherly love, the city where Rocky was filmed and the city where in 1776 the declaration of Independence was signed. Philadelphia has major sports teams in the NBA, NFL and MLB. The city is located 2 hours away from both New York and Washington D.C. These are things that provided me with a great deal of motivation. For other travelers looking into doing one of these exchanges I would also say that no matter where you choose to go or wish to go, you get the opportunity to do more than just study abroad. You get to immerse yourself in another place, another culture and really truly experience what it would be like to live there.

Finally, what I am hoping to get out of this exchange is memories. Memories and experiences that you can’t read about in a book or watch in a movie. I want to run up Rocky’s steps myself. I want to eat a Philly Cheesesteak in Phillie.

When I come back from my overseas experience, I want to use the stories and experiences I gain to motivate others to pursue their dreams and to pursue the things they want. Sometimes if you dare enough to dream, life will find a way to get you there. As someone who came from the ‘wrong side of the tracks’, where most of my friend’s fell into the trap of drugs and/or alcohol; where a great deal of them fell into criminal activity; I chose to isolate myself because I dared to dream that there was more to life than the life I had known. So, when I come back, I hope that the things that I achieve at university, and the things I achieve on exchange, will show not only my friends, but people who come from ‘lesser’ backgrounds that though our journey in life is difficult, if you just refuse to give up on yourself, and you stay in the fight, then these opportunities will eventually come along.