Twenty-Seven

I am alive, and well, very well actually...and a little bit older than the last time I wrote. Well definitely not the last time I wrote, I do a fair amount of writing these days actually, just not on the blog, unfortunately. I turned 27 this weekend, and at some point during last week I decided that I wanted to make a list of 27 things I am grateful for in my life. The weekend was so packed with goodness that I have yet to get around to it, so without boring you with a list, just let me tell you that I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that there were multiple times both Saturday & Sunday my eyes welled up with tears and I had to choke them down so I wouldn't scare my friends. :-)

So I am about 7 weeks into a 12 week semester, my 2nd and final semester of grad school. That is just CRAZY. Crazy because it has gone so fast, crazy because that means I get to work again soon (which I am VERY excited about), crazy because that makes me want to FREEZE time because I absolutely love my life here, crazy because I have about 5 HUGE assignments that are due between now and then...need I continue? Crazy. My final assignment is due October 21st, and the million dollar question seems to be what I am doing next, to which I don't have an answer...not quite yet. I honestly don't have the time or head space to look for jobs right now. I have really wanted to spend this semester just enjoying my time here, and soaking up every moment, and I am happy to report that I have been able to do just that without wasting it away worrying what is next. I can tell you that the idea of working and using my degree makes me very excited, I have enjoyed this season as a student but really enjoy working as well so I'm excited to get back out there. That being said, I am not in any hurry to leave Australia, and I don't want to jump into a job just for the sake of having one.

Tomorrow, September 1st marks the 1st day of spring here in Sydney. My fourth season to experience in Australia. September and October are going to be pretty packed for me. If you think of it I would appreciate any prayers on my behalf. I could use a little extra dose of diligence and motivation heading into the final stretch.

Halfway...

So semester 1 of 2 is done. Well, the semester isn't technically over until this Friday, but I have completed all of my papers/projects/presentations a little early because I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of visitor 1 of 3, my sweet friend Belem bright and early on Monday morning! I still can't believe that she is really coming...it will be so surreal to share my life here with people from home. Belem and I worked together at Woodview and also traveled to Africa together. We tend to laugh A LOT together, I am looking forward to making some more fun memories together. We are going to spend a week here in Sydney and then are flying up to the north coast of Australia for a few days to tour around a few of the islands and snorkel by the Great Barrier Reef. The day she leaves, MOM flies in. That is going to be such a treat for not only me, but those that are a big part of my life here to get to spend time with her. There's no one quite like her. And then last, but far from least, I will finally be reunited with my long lost sibling in July for 2 weeks and I can hardly wait. It will be almost a year since we have seen each other since he has been teaching in the middle east. TOO LONG. We are going to be volunteering together at the I-HEART expo for the annual Hillsong Conference which will be so good and then will spend the next week in the mountains that are a couple hours away. Knowing I am going to see Mom & Paul has really made me miss Dad...we are throwing around a few different options of when and what country we will meet up in.

So yeah, this semester, I lived to talk about it! Wow. There were so many moments I wondered if I would survive, or pass...without having an anxiety attack or total meltdown. I will write more about all that I learned (in and outside of my classes) now that I have time to slow down a bit and process. Hopefully will have some fun photos to post soon...

March Madness

Not as in the basketball. Which I have missed...March Madness as in the month that just came and went as a blur, and I think I survived? We will see how I go with the grades...

So yes, there was (is) a strike going on at school. They don’t go on strike indefinitely like at home. The way it was explained to me (because this is a semi-normal thing here) is the union that is going on strike chooses certain days that they are going to strike and announce it ahead of time, make their demands known and then unless things change they follow through with not working on those days. Well long story short, the professors want more money so they picked 3 days this semester they won’t teach. So I miss two weeks of class (there are only 13 in the semester). Calculated out, we (international students) pay about $200 a class. More than the money, it completely jacks with the syllabus/due dates/reading assignments, everything really. It has been frustrating, but more than anything the frustrating part is them acting like they don’t have a say in the situation, “we are so sorry that this is affecting you”, um, no you aren’t you are choosing to stay at home. Its just interesting to finish up a 2 hour lecture on the issue of POVERTY and then oh yeah by the way we won't be having class next week because I WANT MORE MONEY. Anyway. Other than than I actually really do like the professors. Their crazy liberal approach to everything really challenges me and makes me think about why/what I believe. They haven’t referenced Obama’s healthcare reform as an example of anything good, right, or wonderful yet so as long as we stay away from that topic I don’t think I will blow smoke out of my ears due to anger.

Life.is.so.extremely.busy. If I am not studying, I am at work, in class, in the library, or working on a project. Those of you who know me (which I would assume would be everyone that cares enough to read this blog) know that regardless of what the task at hand is, I have a hard time drawing boundaries and not giving 110% of myself to it. Maybe a little extreme. Well surprise, surprise, here we are midway through the semester and what am I struggling with BALANCE. If I could I would switch to a part time plan and do 2 courses a semester over 2 years, but they don’t let international students go part time. I have met some of the greatest people through school, church, work, and just living here really. I hate not being able to accept invitations for dinner, beach, shopping, coffee, you name it. I don’t want to get to the end of my time here, whenever that may be and not have any meaningful relationships because I was hidden away in the library. Yet, at the same time, that was my reasoning in coming here and I want to do it well. I feel really, really, really bad everytime I have to say no. It means so much that people are so sweet to reach out and invite me to do stuff. Sooooo yeah, I need wisdom in making decisions regarding that. I feel like I have been dropping the ball here and at home relationally. Not writing/skyping/emailing as much as I would like to. ☹

Because the first 2 paragraphs are so upbeat and happy let me leave you with a happy one. The projects in school are super interesting. They are really cool about letting us choose topics we are passionate about as long as we tie them back to class and format them as assigned. So far I have been working on designing a micro-financing project in Spain for women rescued from sex-trafficking. Tomorrow I will start research on a paper about failed international aid to the Sahrawi refugees between Morocco/Algeria (I did work there a couple spring breaks ago), and then my favorite is a project comparing education programs for immigrants/refugees in Australia/U.S. Another happy note is that if we have had a conversation going something like this, “Kate I’d really like to come see you, but its just crazy expensive…” Well, tickets are only (ha) about $1000 roundtrip in June/July. So come on down. I know I sound like I would be a blast from the rest of this blog but I promise I will be much more fun during those months, because I won’t be in class at the time, so come on down, where the sun shines brighter, all words are shortened into a nickname of some sort, and there are more…um, sharks?