"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life."

The above quote, from the move The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, is one of my favourites of all time. It is an incredible reminder for me each and every day that this life is a gift, and each day should be lived to the full. I was constantly thinking of these two small sentences during my three and a half months in Australia, because I knew I had a limited time there, but also to remind myself that the now is so wonderful. I often paused, thinking about the past and the future, but at the end of the day, I decided to focus all of my energy and self on the present. How can I make today mean something? How can I make it memorable, even in a small way?

Changing my mindset and focus like this is what made my experience abroad so special. I was seeing the world, finding others and myself, and drawing closer, seeing behind the walls that I had created out of fear and worry over time throughout my life. To break free of former barriers was more important to me than I had ever realised, but to let go and learn to separate myself from senseless worry made all the difference to me. I think I had to get far from home to get this new perspective, as this was an entirely fresh beginning in my life.

During these months, I have done things that scare me, thrill me, and make me so full of joy I think my heart will burst. I have bungee jumped, seen the Great Barrier Reef with my own eyes, watched two shows inside of the Sydney Opera House, seen nature in the absolute raw in New Zealand, made new life-long companions of all ages and nationalities, and seen the world as it truly is: full of wonder. 

I encourage you all to read the quote I mentioned before over and over until you can recite the words by memory, because they will without doubt teach you something. I only hope they can do as much for you as they did for me. And I encourage you, more than anything, to have courage and to adventure, because time stops for no one and every day has a beautiful meaning and encases a colourful new beginning.

Australia, thank you for showing me the quintessence of life.

You blew my mind and I cannot wait to see you again.

xx Christina

The Magical Luna Park and the Hauntings of Janet.

     I am thankful for the land down under. Australia is beautiful. The water is always crystal clear, and the views are breathtaking. All the cliché things people say when coming back from a great trip applies to this one as well.

 I have also learned how to adapt to a whole new environment and make Aussie friends. Adapting to Australia was a little different to me because I never had a honeymoon phase. I am not sure why either. I just got there and kind of was like, “This is my new home. Okay cool. I like Steve Irwin too.” Instead of, “THIS IS MY NEW HOME. IT IS AMAZING, OH LOOK AT THAT WOW!” I did enjoy my time in Australia a lot. Here are two memories that stood out to me. At least in this moment.

One of the most magical nights of the trip was our visit to Luna Park. We all went to Luna Park on March 23^rd, around 8pm. It was a cool and dark night. The park was all lit up in carnival lights, and it resembled something out of a movie. I was almost in a trance due to how ascetically pleasing the view was and the musical soundtracks played throughout the park.

We bought tickets and I saw the ad for a haunted house in the park. I am a lover of haunted houses, so I just had to go. Some of the others were happy to join me as well. This two to three minute haunted house was one of the scariest haunted houses I have ever been too. I could not point out what was scarier about this particular one; all I know is that it caused us all to run out screaming. It was a blast!

I also obtained a fair amount of fairy floss (cotton candy) from one of the carnival booths. I love a good fairy floss, and the carnival guy piled it around the paper wand. Around and around until the fairy floss was almost too heavy to stay on the paper wand. I was in heaven at this point. All in all, this one particular two to four hours of this one night captured my heart and will forever be a magical moment.

On a slightly less magical note, Australia would not be Australia without mentioning Janet. Where do I begin with Janet? I will start with the moment we learned about her. Cal, Ryan, Carson, Addie, and I had a movie night in our apartment. We decided to watch scary movies, so one of us suggested The Conjuring. For some reason we watched the sequel and not the original Conjuring movie. While watching this movie about a 11-year-old girl named Janet who got possessed, and we made jokes about her throughout the film.

After the film we continued to make jokes about her, and saying her name after something mysterious happened in the apartment. Throughout our whole trip Janet has managed to follow us oddly enough. 

When Addie, Carson, Cal, Ryan, and I went to the Whitsundays for spring break the screen door did not lock, and the wind would move it. We all were like "Janet??" As a joke. 

Later in the trip we went to a BBQ place. We all sat at a table of 6, with an empty seat beside me. I was joking like I saw Janet sitting there and told Carson that Janet did not like how she was looking at her. Carson got a little creeped out, because who wouldn't? So I decided to "push" Janet out of her seat. But in that very motion the table beside us dropped something on the floor- right where Janet would have landed. We all paused and looked at each other. We were all creeped out. 

Whats more is that later the waitress came over and told us there were free desserts tonight. We all said yes so she counted us and then said, "So dessert for 6?" Well there was only 5 of us so we paused again and told her 5. When she left we all lost it, joking that Janet was actually there. 

Other examples of Janet in our lives include us saying her name and lights randomly turning on, or water bottles falling from the trash on cue, or the time at surf camp when an instructor thought he heard that Katelyn’s name was Janet. It didn't help that the beach we were surfing on was Cunjurong Beach. Which my computer just tried to auto correct to conjuring. My point exactly.

One of the scariest was when Addie and I were up late at night and she mentioned Janet in a joke. 10 seconds later the hall light turned on. We heard no one, and the hall lights are motion censored. We were terrified. 

Turns out that Cal needed a glass of milk at 2:40am and did not want to wake up JJ. Still, the coincidence of mentioning Janet, and Cal awaking from his slumber in need of dairy is almost too much.

Janet is not allowed to come back to America with us. 

However, the person who sat by Ryan on the flight back home was named Janet...

Constant Time

What an AMAZING time I’ve had in Sydney. I am so thankful to each my fellow CCI Global Scholars for making this semester what it was. I will never forget this life changing experience.

I’ve had so many fun times. From travelling throughout New Zealand, scuba diving the Great Barrier Reef, hanging out with kangaroos at surf camp, to just exploring Sydney with my best friends. Each of these things along with many more brought so much joy and happiness to my life. I will be forever thankful for these fond memories.

Along with the good times, there were also some not so good times. I would get homesick and want nothing more than to be at home with my family and friends. It took a little while to get adjusted and fit in to my new workplace, and the initial weeks were a bit difficult in trying to feel like I belonged. The different culture also took a little bit to get adjusted to and made it hard to feel like I could really call Sydney my home.

In dealing with all of these things, I learned so much about life and about myself. I learned how to handle adversity and to keep my head up no matter what. Life will go on. I am more confident in myself and in my abilities to be a grown person. After conquering studying abroad, I feel like I can conquer anything. Graduating college is still scary, but I have no doubt that I will be just fine.

As much as I wanted the time to slow down while I was in Australia, it didn’t. And even times when I was feeling down and wanted time to speed up, it didn’t. Time is always constant. It doesn’t matter how much fun you are having or how badly you wish time would stand still so you could savor the moments for longer, time marches on. And it doesn’t matter how sad you are or how badly you wish time would speed up to get you through the hard times, it wont.

I had to learn to be thankful for each phase of life. Each phase passes, the good and the bad, so its best to make the most of each. I had such a great time in Australia, despite a few bumps in the road. Each day was something unique and something to learn from. Each up and each down gave me a new outlook on life. Every minute, while technically being the same as every other minute, held something so different from the others that has made me who I am today. I am thankful to time for being so constant yet so full of unique minutes.

Time is constant. It wont slow down and it wont speed up regardless of what you want. It will always be the same. So, make the most of your time. If it’s a bad time, it’ll pass. Learn from the adversity and come out stronger from it. If it’s a good time, be thankful. Enjoy your moments and come out remembering how blessed we are to be alive. There is something to learn from each phase of time.

I am going to continue to make the most of each coming minute regardless of where I am on this beautiful planet. I can’t believe this semester is already over, but I know that every day I am steadily drawing closer to my next big adventure. And in the meantime, I am continuing to learn and grow with each unique minute that passes.

Looking Back and Looking Ahead

            Looking back at this trip from the end of it all, I do not know where to begin. Studying abroad in a foreign country was a major decision to make. There are so many stipulations that go into making a choice like this, but I am so happy I decided to study in Sydney, Australia. The country is absolutely breathtaking. We traveled to the country in the heat of Summer and left just before the chill of Fall began. From the beaches, rainforests, harbor area, and all of our travels, it is no wonder why the country is called one of the most beautiful in the world. Every day you have a choice to take a train/bus to the beach or explore the city as a whole. No matter where you go, every place is more breathtaking than the next. My favorite places I went in Australia were Bondi Beach, Ijams Beach, The Whitsunday Islands, Circular Quay, Darling Harbor, Watsons Bay, Bronte Beach, and so many others. They all have a special meaning to me because of the things we did there and the people I went with.

            I would say the trip was so special because of the place we were staying, but this is only half of the truth. The group that came on this trip left the U.S. not knowing hardly anyone we were going with. We had a few dinners together and spoke at our orientation meetings before the trip, but had not had the opportunity to get to know each other very well. At the end of this trip, I can say that all the people on this trip have become some of my greatest friends and each of them has a place in my heart. Everyone was so goofy and different in his or her own way, which made the trip so entertaining. We also looked out for each other and did many activities together like traveling across the country or taking a bus to a new destination. The people that came on this trip made the experience so much more enjoyable than it already was and I won’t ever forget any of them. The staffs from ISA, Dr. Miller, & Dr. Swan were also so helpful with teaching us the layout of the city and helping us learn how to assimilate into a new culture. If they had not been there to guide us the first month or so of the trip, it would have been a completely different experience. I am so glad I made the choice to come study abroad in this wonderful country. I realize it is a major decision to make. However, if you have already made the decision, you are going to have the best trip of your life. You will grow and change in such a positive way for the better. I won’t sugarcoat it, the classes are tough and it’s a decent amount of work. But here’s the kicker, you get about 80% of the classes done in the first month alone! The last two months you are in an internship and will get to meet so many extraordinary people that want to see and help you grow. During this time you have the chance to travel/explore the city as much as you want or as little as you want. The choice is up to you. Just remember, this trip will fly by, it will leave you with a wonderful group of friends, it will teach you more than you can imagine, and most importantly, it will be a period of your life you will never forget.