Oh My God, Oh My God You Guys!

March 14th marked one full month of being in Australia! What better way to celebrate then a night of call back fun for Alice! After a long night of dancing, singing, and improving, I walked out feeling like I gave it my all, and at least I had a fun audition! I waited allllllll day Wednesday for my email. Around 9pm I finally had an email: I was offered the role of the Queen of Hearts! I am ecstatic! It'll be so great to be back on stage again after such a long break. I can't think of a better way to spend my time in Oz then rehearsals on week days, and traveling on the weekends.

This weekend Mary, Courtney, Maxine and I traveled to the Gold Coast and Brisbane! We woke up at 3am Friday morning for a 4am shuttle pick up. After settling in at our terminal, I looked up at the board and noticed our flight was no longer on it. A few minutes later I got a text that our flight was cancelled! We went out to the front of the airport, stood in line for an hour, were booked on a later flight, and made it through security a second time before we got a SECOND text that our second flight was cancelled. Back in line. a new flight. and finally in the terminal for a 4:30pm flight. We were in the airport for 12 hours! Somehow we managed to entertain ourselves and enjoy our free food vouchers.

When we finally arrived at the Gold Coast we checked into Islanders Resort and found a cool japanese restaurant for dinner. Then we went down to the boardwalk for the night market. I have been obsessed with markets since Thailand, and this one was pretty good as well! After we walked to the main strip and sat down at a pub to people watch. It had been a long day so we turned in early.

Dinner in Surfers Paradise!

Saturday morning we found the most incredible pancake place in the world. Courtney and I both tried the "all you can eat" meal, and both of us were completely stuffed after 5. The record was 24, and I thought that was low, but after eating a few of these pancakes I could understand why it was so low. They were huge and fluffy, but had the perfect density. I've never eaten a pancake better than my dad's before that morning. We also had to steal a syrup bottle from another table for us.

Then we off on a train for Brisbane! It was absolutly beautiful when we arrived so we checked into Chill Backpackers and made our way into the city as quickly as we could. We crossed the river and walked along a perfectly landscaped path past green space, a ferris wheel, a play ground, the public pool (with sand beaches), the most perfect place to read a book, an assortment of shops and restaurants,  and finally found our way to the market.

The perfect place to read a great book.

The landscaping was wonderful!

I love seeing what all the booths have to offer and it's refreshing to know the sellers most likely produced all the products themselves.







We were delighted to hear that Legally Blonde the Musical was playing in Brisbane and had student rush tickets available! We had pretty decent seats, although we were clearly underdressed compared to the rest of the audience. The show was fantastic! I'd seen a recording of the Broadway show before, but nothing compares to seeing it live. The show is hilarious, and the songs are infectious. No one could stop smiling on our walk home. It was the perfect ending to an awesome day.

Courtney and I with Brisbane behind us.

We "slept in" Sunday morning and left for Mount Coot- Tha at 8am. Once again, however, we had transportation failure and we finally got out of the city around 10:30. Mount Coot-Tha has a breathtaking view of the entire city as well as great hiking trails.

View from the top!

We spent all afternoon wondering around the trails and watching for animals. We ate our packed lunches in the nearby botanical gardens and relaxed in the grass, exhausted.

Sunday night we joined the St. Patricks Day festivities at the Irish pub downtown. There was a live band that played great music all night.

It was so much fun to rock out with the girls and new friends from all over the world!

Our flight home Monday morning was another "bright and early" but this time we got home smoothly! I fell in love with Brisbane while I was there. It was one of the few big cities I've been in that I can see myself living in. There's something about that walk down the river that makes me smile. I love seeing so many different places and learning more about what I like and want in life.

Another week, another adventure!

Bethany

Time and Change Will Surely Show How Firm Thy Friendship OHIO

Putting on the Big Girl Pants

Campus Green

This week had a lot of ups and downs. They told us that eventually the "Honeymoon" phase would pass, and we'd spend a bit of time adjusting, and I think I'm finally at the adjustment stage. Classes always add extra stress to any situation, but it didn't help being sick for the entire week either. I've spent a lot of time this week talking to my incredible best friends from home. I'm so lucky they are all always there to listen. Even though the people that are abroad with me have the best understanding of what's going on and how it feels to be here, the people who love me back home have the best understanding of who I am and how I deal with situations, and they have been a blessing to talk to.

The first half of the week was mainly homework and sleeping as much as possible to get over whatever I've come down with (I'm notorious for avoiding the doctor as much as possible). A lot of people have been sick in the village: it's like living in the dorms all over again with how quickly sickness spreads. I also met another new roommate: Tina! She's in her last semester and she's from Egypt. It's been nice having another girl around :)

On Thursday I chugged as much water as possible and pushed through two auditions. The first was for the musical society. They are putting on a student written punk/rock/indie musical based on Alice in Wonderland titled Alice. Although I was less nervous than I usually am when auditioning for new people, I think my audition went rather well. I did, however, do the typical "Bethany Audition Move" and forgot the lyrics halfway through my song. I actually stopped, took a breath, and picked up again. It was pretty bad. But it happens :) More often than I'd like to admit! The audition ended with a cold read, and it felt good to leave knowing I gave it my all, and I was happy with whatever came of it.

My second audition was for Mac-apella: a student a capella group on campus. This audition also went fairly well. After singing My Junk from Spring Awakening (the same song I sang for Alice auditions) and NOT forgetting the lyrics this time (second times a charm) they asked me if I could beat box. In high school we had one day where my a capella group spent 10 minutes or so learning how to beat box from a member of another group. I thought that counted, so I said "yeah..a little." I should not have been so positive: their reaction was sheer joy. I thought "oh crap, what have I got myself into" as they asked me to give them an example. I somehow managed to give them a slightly decent 30 seconds of different sounds, and they didn't look too heart broken at the end, so it must not've been too bad!

Thursday ended with a Toga party at the campus bar (Ubar). It was fun to go out with the other villagers and see everyone's crazy outfits!

One of the parts of this experience I was most looking forward too was traveling. This week we started to make the major travel plans for our two week semester break. Normally planning is my forte. I planned all the surprise parties and random get together's growing up, and I've planned my fair share of road trips with friends. I've gained much of my independence growing up working through the logistics of the plans, figuring out the details, the cost, and how I would fund it before pitching it to my parents. Even though it can be long and tedious, the end result is always well worth it, and I usually forget about the struggles at the start. This past week, however, was the first time I started to plan a trip on my own that involved flying. Oh and it was also international. Talk about a headache.

After several days of huddling around computers, trying to figure out the best airline deals and the easiest route to take to get to all our proposed destinations, I finally gave in and took it to the professionals. I'm traveling with my friends Courtney, Mary, and Brooks, and another friend, Ani, is going to be with us for part of the trip. We booked our flights over on STA travel, and they have a way with working out student discounts, so we went in early morning Friday to talk about our options. We ended up planning a 15 day excursion traveling to Airlie Beach in the Whitsunday Islands (Australia), flying over to Queenstown NZ, and ending in Auckland NZ. So far we have our flights and accommodations booked as well as a one day excursion in Whitsundays and a three day contiki tour in Auckland. I am ECSTATIC to have this much planned, a month in advance. I know all the stress will be so worth the trip. After a few long nights of studying this week, I'll be ready to book more excursions! If you have an suggestions or recommendations I'm looking for ideas :)

After meeting with STA on Friday we went downtown to walk around. We started at Darling Harbour and took a path way along the water until we made it to Circular Quay.

It was absolutely beautiful outside. I'd been in the city a few times, but it's always raining and gross. This time we soaked in the sunshine and reveld in the opportunity to take pictures! I still can't get over seeing the Opera House, in case you were wondering.

 On our way home we ran into street performers who put on a great show, and one did a flip over 5 people, including Courtney.

Street Performers

What a flip!

On Saturday, 18 of us woke up bright and early and took the three hour train ride to the Blue Mountains. After getting a group deal at the "hop on hop off" bus station, we hopped on the bus with Jimmy, our awesome bus driver and tour guide, and explored the incredible views the Blue Mountains have to offer. I've been having an fun time exploring city life, but I've been missing nature a lot lately. When we're in Sydney it is constant hussel and bussel and constant talking. Although I've loved sight seeing, I forgot how incredible it is to be in the middle of nowhere and hear nothing but birds.

The Three Sisters

 We started out on a nice hike through the woods, and then slowly divided our numbers as people split off to do different things. Courtney, Maxine and I decided to climb down (and then up again) the giant staircase which had around 1000 steps. The steps are down the side of one of the Three Sisters, a famous national landmark (three giant rocks). There was a sign explicitly stating that you were not allowed to rock climb on them, and I knew all my climber friends would be sorely disappointed! By the time we got to the bottom our legs were shaking.

Courtney and Maxine at the bottom!

We rested for a few minutes and bird watched (no koalas, sadly), before starting the upward climb. I didn't think I was going to make it up the first staircase. The higher we climbed, the easier it seemed to get, but we were still panting and dripping with sweat by the top. I found that sprinting up a set of stairs and then resting for awhile on the platform was my best bet to make it all the way to the top. It was a great feeling when we finally reached the top, knowing I'd completed something I wasn't sure I'd be able to do when I first started.

We stopped by the Luna Cascades on the way back to town and I tried a few yoga poses on the waterfall. Once we were back to the train station I bought a meat pie and a Anzac biscuit (the biscuit of australia, apparently) and felt very Australian on the train ride home. Both were delicious! I'm loving all the new foods, words, and places I'm trying while I'm here.

Sunday was a trip to Bondi Beach for the Latin American festival! The festival had TONS of awesome dancing and incredible food. It made me miss my Dancesport family so much. I know they would've all loved it! I also saw someone with an OSU shirt on at the beach. However, when we stopped him to ask him about it, he said he had no idea what it was or where it was... this was after seeing a man with a Cleveland Indians hat who also had no idea what it was or where it was. Unfortunatly the only thing people seem to know about here is Miami Heat. I saw 5 Lebron James Heat jerseys in one day, not to mention a few scUM shirts! Some day I'll find a fellow buckeye out here. We had some issues with trains not running on the way back, and ended up stranded in a suburb somewhere... oh man. But luckily we have some incredible aussie friends who were willing to pick us up and drive us back to the village! And even luckier, Tony, the best head RA ever, saved us tons of ice cream and toppings from the sundae party we'd missed. I took full advantage :)

Till Next Time!

Bethany

ps. I almost forgot! I made Mac-apella, and I got a call back for Alice! I think I only have time for one though, so I'll have in my next update what happens with call backs and what I decide!

Time and Change Will Surely Show How Firm Thy Friendship OHIO

Even Paradise Has School

I woke up bright and early Monday morning to go out on the green and get my yoga on! It was a perfect morning for yoga and it motivated me for my first week of class in over two months. The first week of class here is called O'Week (orientation week). The booths for all of the societies (clubs) are set up every day and there's tons of free food! Stephanie and I spent the morning walking around and signing up for clubs before getting free lunch. I'm thinking about joining clubs such as the Bhakti Yoga Club, Musical Society, and the Drama Society.

My Yoga View

On Monday's I only have one lecture: Intro to Vocal Studies. The first week of classes here are fairly boring because no real information is given out, but also stressful because you realize how much work you have for the semester. I'll reiterate the point that I've been making since The Ohio State University decided to make the big switch: Semester's suck. However, the last 10 minutes of class our professor had us all stand and warm up. She then put on Many the Miles by Sara Bareilles. I was pretty excited (I've only seen her in concert three times now...) and I instantly started to sing along. It wasn't long before I realized that I was pretty much the only person singing because 1. we were just supposed to be listening to learn the song and 2. there were no lyrics on the screen yet. Apparently I was the only one who knew the song by heart. Nonetheless, it was a perfect first class in Oz because I had a bit of home to help me through it :)

Tuesday it my long day of class. I start at 9a and finish around 5p. I also have both of my difficult classes on Tuesday. I started out with a gender studies class titled Naughty Boys Bad Girls: Gender and Discipline at Home and at School. I'm very excited for this class because I think it will give me a lot of insight as to what forms of discipline do or don't work and how best to work with children. My second class for the day is a sociology class called Activism and Social Change. I've read a lot about social movements in other classes and I was particularly intrigued by the Occupy movement last year, so I'm hoping to gain a better understanding of social movements as well as how to become more active in non profits throughout this course. Even though I'm taking two 300 (senior level here) classes while I'm abroad, I'm excited about both of them, so hopefully the time commitment will be worthwhile!

Tuesday night we walked over to the huge field/lake area and watched the second half of Casino Royale which was playing on a large screen. There had been food vendors set up from various clubs, but by the time we arrived only the Bhakti Yoga Club was there selling indian food. It was delicious! I love trying new foods while I'm abroad and I would not mind eating different asian foods every day while I'm here!

Bird I Found!

Wednesday is a much easier class day with only my Vocal Studies tutorial (recitation). We were asked to sing two lines of any song we could think of so our tutor could get an understanding of where our voices are, and the first thing that popped into my head was Part of Your World from The Little Mermaid. When I started to sing there was a bit of a murmor, and I wasn't sure if it was because of my clearly american accent or because Disney is universally loved! I'm asked daily where I am from, and most people are thrilled to hear I'm American. It's a completely different experience to know that when you speak in a crowd everyone is instantly going to judge you from your accent.

After class, Wayne, Alex and I got free lunch and then went to the Mac Center (the mall on the other side of campus) for groceries and things for our apartment. I then went to the Musical Society welcome meeting and met a few new friends! We decided to stay after the meeting for the performance Bend it Like Broadway. The show was cabaret style and it was a compilation of famous songs, however they were all song by the opposite gender than was originally supposed to sing them. For example, Bitch of Living by Spring Awakening was sung by all the females in the show, where as So Anyway's from Next to Normal was sung by a man. The songs were humorous and heart wrenching and the show was well put together. I went back to the village and got ready to go to The Ranch with the rest of the villagers. The Ranch is a local hotel with a bar attached with great deals on Wednesday nights. We all had a great time getting together and talking about our first few days of classes!

Crazy Birds on Campus

Thursday is the last day of classes for me this semester, and I only have my dance class! I'm taking a modern dance 2 class. It was great to be able to dance and let loose and have fun in class while meeting aussies. I somehow always seem to meet other study abroad or exchange students in my classes too! After class I did a bit of work and then a few of us hung out and watched Silver Linings Playbook. It was a perfect way to unwind after our first week.

On Friday I had an orientation for the Global Leadership Program. In GLP I'll be going to 5 colloquiums as well as a large group outing and learning about a broad range of topics. A lot of local students do this program so I'm very excited to meet others while learning about wordily issues and how to truly be a global citizen. I then stopped by for the Drama Societies meeting and learned about their year to come! It's always great to be among other theatre people who are just as crazy and weird as you :) Friday night we had another movie night, this time watching Grownups. I think we had too much excitement the first few weeks and now we're trying to relax.

Saturday was the huge Mardi Gras festivities in Sydney! In Australia, Mardi Gras is actually their Pride Parade. We all trekked to the city late afternoon and walked around a bit before making our way to the parade route. We didn't get the memo that apparently everyone stands on stools or crates to see the parade so we couldn't see much, but it was still exciting to be there! We eventually found the main square and the large screen so we were able to see some of the parade from there!

Our Pitiful View

On Sunday I woke up feeling fairly under the weather. I hadn't felt great waking up on Saturday, and spending the day in the rainy city didn't seem to do much good for me. I spent most of Sunday in bed and doing homework so that I could have a speedy recovery for everything else I have planned!

I'm starting to fall into a routine here, but hopefully my posts will stay exciting! Keep taking pictures of snow and sending them my way, they help me appreciate the sun and rain here so much more!

Bethany

Time and Change Will Surely Show How Firm Thy Friendship OHIO

52 Wallaby Way Sydney!

Finally! We arrived in Sydney!

Unfortunately, I was on the wrong side of the plane flying in and I didn't get the apparently magnificent view of the harbour, but I still got my fair share of beauty. We all had jitters as we drove through the city to our new home: Macquarie University Village.

The Village (as it is affectionately called) is located on one corner of campus and is a community of little houses that were apparently built for the 2000 Sydney Olympians. (I wonder which olympian stayed in my room!) There are two sides to the village: the west side and the east side. Most of the American's live on the east side where the houses are 5 bedrooms, each with their own bath, and a family room, kitchen, and dining room to share. When I first moved in I only had one roommate. His name is Wayne and he's an American from my program. More on my other roommates later!

After hurriedly moving in we returned to reception (the front desk of the village) for trivia night. At trivia night we met heaps of other villagers. We competed on teams and ate the most horrid dominos pizza I've ever tasted. If I was dominos I would be ashamed to put my logo on the piece of cardboard they tried to call pizza. Although we did fairly well at trivia, we didn't win, but it was still a great event!

On Tuesday, our head RA, Tony, took us on a quick tour around campus. However, I later realized, when I was rushing to classes after hardly glancing at a map, that he never actually showed us any academic buildings. Tony likes to tell us that he isn't "here to steal our souls like RA's from the states" but that he's just gonna help us out if we can't get into our rooms or we need a good party to go to. He even got us free drink vouchers for the campus bar! I think RA's in the states could learn a thing or too ;) #reslife

After the tour we had a spit roast back at reception. The food was free, so it was great (I'll take whatever free food I can get while I'm in the overpriced world of oz!), and it was nice to talk to more people and mingle with students not in my program.

On Wednesday we had our mandatory orientation session for most of the day. An aboriginal woman opened the ceremony with a musical performance and then we learned all about life at Uni. We also had a long lecture by our advisor, and I am so pleased to announce I can now say I've had four total competent academic advisors in my life, out of 7--not too bad!

We ended Wednesday night with a cruise through Sydney Harbour. As we were riding the bus down to the harbour someone kindly shouted out that we could see the Opera House through the window. I turned and was in complete awe of the incredible piece of art that I was finally seeing in real life, and, I have to admit, I started to cry. Seeing the Opera House solidified the reality of my journey. I'm out exploring the world, and here is one of the most well known landmarks in the world, and I'm able to see it any day I'd like for four months. I am living, and I am doing everything in my power to experience it all, and I am so grateful for my opportunities.

The boat cruise was just like any other, but I spent most of the night leaning against the rail, watching the incredible Sydney Harbour Bridge and, of course, the Opera House.

After the cruise we had to find our own transportation back, and I was at the front of a large pack of yanks, in a city I'd never been inside, asking directions to the train station to reliable looking passerby, and hoping we didn't lose anyone along the way. You really start to gain a sense of independence when Dad isn't checking the maps for you and leading you through the city. We did eventually find our way home, and I was so excited for a full night sleep.

Thursday was yet another fun and exciting day in Sydney as we went as a large group to Bondi Beach! Bondi Beach (pronounced Bond-eye) is one of the most famous beaches in Sydney and it's about 45 minutes away from Macquarie. The beach is absolutely beautiful. The sand is white and clean, the water is sparkling blue, and the people aren't too bad to look at either ;) We spent about an hour or so there, and then went on a coastal walk to another beach. The coastal walk was absolutely breathtaking (I'm going to run out of adverbs and adjectives on this trip, I can just tell). My phrases of the day, of the week, of the month, really, is "Is this real life? Is this really happening? Is this forever?" I found a million different spots I'd love to bring a book and just read while looking out over the ocean. I never wanted the coastal walk to end, except, of course, the end meant a barbie! (barbecue)

Our usual cheap/free meal of sausage and various potato salads was followed by a hilarious bird watch where all the seagulls who inspired the "MINE" scene's in Finding Nemo fought over the left over food that people were throwing them. We then went off to another beach and relaxed in the sand until it was time to go home.

Australian beaches are much more "controlled" than American beaches are. Every beach has life guards, and there are always signs up describing the dangers or special areas of the water. Also, certain color flags mean certain things. For instance, if you want to swim in the water you need to swim between the red and yellow flags. Generally, this area is very crowded  but it's also much safer. The waves are HUGE here (obviously, considering the amount of surfing they do) so it's important to know your beach safety! Also, the hole in the ozone is essentially right above Australia, so it's very important to wear sunscreen every day. I was told that it only takes 12 minutes to burn here, which is really about 8 minutes for me! I've been wearing spf 50 every day since I've been here. One expense I did not think about was how much I would spend on sunscreen! After I've been here a few weeks I'll switch over to spf 30, but I want to really have an understanding of the sun first. I'd much rather be pale than burnt--tan isn't really an option for me.

When I returned home from the beach trip, I was so excited to see that I had a new roommate! Alex, an Australia, was moving in as we walked in the door. I am so glad I have an aussie roommate. It's much easier to learn the subtle differences in language and culture when you're living with someone from the area, and it's always a blast to tease back and forth about our differences. Plus, we have a full kitchen now that we have a roommate who wasn't restricted to two suitcases! Added bonus, for sure.

Friday was a more relaxed day as everyone went shopping for much needed items and hung around. On Saturday it began to rain, but a few of us went into the city anyways. Courtney and I decided we wanted to take a train in (about a 45 minute ride) and just walk around aimlessly for awhile and see if we could get our bearings.

Now, keep in mind, Sydney is huge, so we knew we wouldn't get all of it, but I wanted to at least have a section that was recognizable. Six of us took the train into Town Hall and walked through the streets of a large shopping area. We eventually wondered over to the harbour and we made our way to the Opera House! After taking some pictures on the steps we walked around to see what we could see without having tickets to a show--it was not much.

 We then went on a wild goose chase for Thai food (by my request) but we ended up settling for Chinese food, which was also delicious. I still haven't gotten the good Thai food I keep being promised is here, but I'm planning on eating as much asian food as possible while I'm here. Even though it was a really crummy day, I'm so glad we went out and explored the city without a map or plans. It ended up being a fun and rewarding day out :)

On Sunday we went back to Bondi beach and attempted to soak up the sun. It was fairly overcast as soon as we got to the beach until when we were about to leave, but we still made the most of our day! I was so happy to sit on the beach, watch the ocean, and listen to my music. We haven't had much down time since we've been here, so the peaceful moments are in high demand.

 After relaxing on the beach all day we decided to head in, just as the sun was peaking through the clouds. As we were walking down the beach to our bus stop, 4 australian's stopped us and asked us to play soccer. Courtney convinced me to stop and play, and Andrea and I tagged teamed while Courtney dominated the "field." I didn't score any goals, but I had a whole lot of fun! We said goodbye to Bondi and went back to the Village to get ready for our first week of classes.

Playing Soccer!

Cheers!
Bethany

Time and Change Will Surely Show How Firm They Friendship OHIO