Once Upon a Time…I Left the US 10 Months Ago and Landed in New Zealand

Yes, I realize that I have been a terrible blogger as of late and really do have LOTS to write about and catch up on, but until I back track lets start with the present…

I am currently in Auckland New Zealand…yup…not Sydney, Australia. This is a twist in the story that I did not see coming, there have been a few twists since I have last blogged, but this is the biggest of late. Around month 6 I started praying about what my next step would be when my visa would be up in September. Where would I live, what would I do for work and so on. After much prayer I decided that after many years of putting it off, it was time to go back to school and start my Masters in Music. So I started to research music programs all over the world to find the best fit. I looked in the US, Europe, and in Australia, after a while of searching I found the perfect program for me and it happened to be in Sydney. Best part, I get to focus on contemporary vocal production and write a thesis based upon my interest in the field, as well as study with excellent musicians. Once I decided to apply for the program I was accepted and the term started the second week of July. I was informed by Immigration in Sydney that I could easily switch my visa to a student visa in country. That was incorrect information and the reality is that I need to apply for this out of country. The cheapest flight was to New Zealand, so here I am, as I wait for my visa to process. I have already been in school for three weeks and HATE that I am missing class, but this is where I am. I arrived on Monday July 23. Thankfully I have friends who have family and friends here in NZ that I am currently staying with as I wait.

God is teaching me a lot. This is once again a game of trust. There is nothing I can do at the moment, but pray and wait. Funny thing, a week ago I had no idea that I would be in New Zealand. This is becoming the theme of my year in Australia. Trust and curve balls. 🙂 I had a “plan” for my year in Australia thankfully I have held that “plan” loosely for it has not turned out how I expected. Overall the last 10 months have been better than anything that I could have planned, including the trails that have come. Yes, at first I freaked out when I had to leave Sydney, but now that all I can do is pray and wait I am choosing to trust God. The months my change, but the lesson remains the same: no matter what the circumstances God knows best and He is trustworthy. His plan for my life is far greater than anything that I could design. And truthfully sometimes God and I have words as I get upset and confused as to why this has to happen now, but even in that I am thankful that I have a God who can handle all of me, even when I get upset.

For those of you who read this, please pray that my student visa processes quickly so that I can get back to school in Sydney! Thanks to everyone who has been praying for me these last 10 months, and I promise, from here on out the blog is back! 🙂

Once Upon a Time…6 Months Flew By

6 Months. I have now been living in Australia for 6 whole months. I can hardly believe it, time has gone from being the slowest thing in my life to moving at lightening speed. I’m writing this post on this my 6 month anniversary. I am still in awe at how far God has brought me in just 182 days. It really does not seem like so much time when I strip it down to the mere days that I have been living here. I have a WONDERFUL roommate who I love living with, in an adorable flat. I get to ride over the Harbour bridge (I walked across it the first time this weekend, see above pic) everyday on my way into work. I really do love this city, even in the rain that continues to ruin my fun (It was raining in the above picture). 🙂 The seasons are changing and instead of entering into Spring like I would be in the US, we are officially into Fall, or as they say here, Autumn. I have yet to get my vocab straight. I still say cell instead of mobile, roommate instead of flatmate, apartment instead of flat, and z instead of zed. I am learning, but I still frequently walk to the drivers side of the car here thinking it is the passenger seat. And am still not used to driving on the wrong right side of the road. I still miss my car and the sun of California, not to mention all my friends, but funny thing. I have lots of friends now here too! 🙂

My parents will be here in less than a week to visit and as I am thinking about all the things that I can show them and people to meet, I had to just step back and realize that I actually have a life here, and not just any life, but a very blessed life. I have a good job where I am learning new things every day, AMAZING friends, a wonderful church, and music is picking up!! I am actually teaching a few voice lessons again and LOVING IT! I am making music friends who can jam and write with me. I am playing every two weeks at a local open mic and am once again beginning to write. Life is not perfect and there are still days when I am incredibly homesick and would give just about anything to transport back to my beloved California, but those days are few in comparison to when I first arrived. These last 6 months  have been filled with so many lessons and SO much growth. I am different because I came. I had brunch with a friend on Sunday morning and had a moment when I realized how much I would have missed out on had I stayed. Leaving was the hardest thing I have ever done (emotionally speaking). But God is good and he sustains. The lessons that I am learning and continue to learn are worth every ounce of pain. God knows what he is doing with my life, far better than I do. Trusting is never easy, but it is ALWAYS worth it. It has taken a life move to finally get just an ounce of that truth through my thick head. He always provides and He never fails. The road is never smooth, but it is amazing how much more at ease I am when I am not the one driving, the bumps are much more manageable then.

I’m excited for the next month. I am playing worship for a week at a youth camp. My parents will be here!! I am traveling up to Cairns to go to The Great Barrier Reef. I start teaching my voice class, and I am finally launching the new product that I have been working on for the past 4 months. Month 7 is going to be crazy insane and I can’t wait! Once again, thank you to all my blog readers for being apart of this journey with me. I know I have been slacking on the blogging, but I promise all you are missing out on is my crazy work building up to the product launch. 🙂 Thank you for all your prayers and encouraging comments. I appreciate it all more than you will ever know. Month 7 is going to be the best one yet…here we go…

Once Upon a Time…Eliane had a Birthday

Last night my wonderful friend El from church celebrated another year of life. Her real birthday is today…Happy Birthday El!! But last night we celebrated in style. 🙂 El is Swiss-Canadian so for her birthday she requested that we all go ice skating. I haven’t been ice skating since I was probably 10 years old, maybe 12, but the last time was definitely in elementary school. I will be posting an awesome video in the days to come. 🙂 After the epic event of ice skating we went to the bistro for dinner and when they kicked us out at 10pm, since they were closing, we moved to the pub next door for drinks and dancing. Fun was had by all. 🙂 There were many more of us out on the ice, but the pictures above are from the pub. I had such a fun time and LOVE that I have friends whose birthdays I get to help celebrate. Not only that, but this weekend I have a party each night. It took 5 months, but I no longer feel like an outsider wishing I fit in. Ahh…its good to be back! 😉

Through the Looking Glass Thursdays: Tootsie Rolls

Everyone once and awhile there will be a moment when you just miss the culture, when you have some fun witty comment to say that due to cultural differences DOES NOT translate well. That happened to me last night. I was at a dinner party with friends and a comment was made about paint drying and other theoretical questions that don’t really have answers. And my first thought was…kind of like the age old question of how many licks does it take to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop. And then I said thought, thought…outloud…and there were crickets and odd looks. LOL! They don’t have tootsie rolls here let alone tootsie pops. Instead the group said it sounded like a dirty word. ha! So there you go. Sometimes its the little things that make all the difference. To my Australian friends…see the commercial below 🙂 Now…how do I get tootsie pops over here so that everyone can enjoy the wonder of a childhood favorite candy. 😉

Once Upon a Time…Month 5

5 Months…I left California on September 17th 2011 and arrived here in Australia on September 19th 2011. This last weekend marked my 5 month mark. Keeping this blog has been one of the best things that I have done upon moving here. It helps me not to forget how far God has brought me in just 5 short months. For awhile time just stood still and I felt so lost and alone. It was just God and me on an adventure. And now…so much has changed. I am making some amazing friends here. It is fun to watch these friendships grow and I am so thankful for the amazing women that I am getting to know, I have real solid friendships and rarely have a night to myself. I love having my social life back! 🙂

I have a routine, it looks nothing like my routine in California, but it is a routine none the less. Its nice to have places to go and things to do. I am so busy that it is nice to just have a day at home once every few weeks, where before I couldnt handle all the down time with nothing to do and no where to go. I vowed to make this last month a growing music month. Well, it is still in process, but I now have a voice teacher who is amazing that I meet with every week, I got hired on to teach a local  community college voice class, and I have starting to lead worship for the high school youth at church. I still don’t have access to a piano. Oh how my fingers long to grace the keys again. Everyone once in a while I will be somewhere with a piano or keyboard and my hands are drawn to each beautifully laid key. I will never take having a piano for granted ever again. This has been much to long of a spell without one. Music is coming along, but I am not yet where I would like to be.

I LOVE having a church again. It is so nice to see the same people every week and to discuss theology and life. I am excited about all the new friends I am making there. I have a bible study now too! This month I feel the most me since I have moved here. For awhile I felt like a partial version of myself, just trying to figure out this new place, this new way, this new life, and now…I am still figuring out, but in a way where I am fully me. I love it! Work has been crazy (which is why I have missed the last few blog posts) as I have been learning a ton and handling a product launch from start to finish. It’s not music, but at least at times it is still creative. 🙂 The sun still has not been shining, but the last few days its has made an appearance, along with some pretty spectacular lightning storms. I have never seen storms like this in my whole life. They are epic and powerful and leave me in awe of how great God is. I have finally adjusted to the humidity and the fact that you can’t go outside at night without leaving with a million mosquito bites. Last night I sat on our deck with a friend watching the storm and started to feel itchy on my arms and hands. I came away with 6 mosquito bites…the bugs are winning. 😉

I am learning so much about trust and timing. That is the lesson of the moment. Everything happens at just the right time, and do I trust God enough to wait for that. Waiting…not so good at it, but I am getting there. Constantly a work in progress. God is showing my over and over again just how trustworthy and big He is even when I cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on. He knows, and that is all that matters. I still miss everyone one at home. I am so thankful for Skype, free txt apps, and email. It makes everyone seem so much closer. However there are times that I wish I had the super power of teleportation so that I could quickly get back to the US and go out to dinner with my friends there. One of my students who I was exceptionally close to (I lived with her family for awhile) turned 8, I missed her birthday party. I have been to all of her birthdays parties since she turned 5. I called to talk to her and she cried, asking why I couldn’t be there. Oh my heart…I cried to. It broke my heart that I couldn’t be there to celebrate her special day with her. Just like every month before, there are highs and there are lows, but the lows are becoming fewer, while the highs are growing. I have grown so used to the Australian accent that I barely notice it anymore and I am getting used to being one of the few Americans around.  Funny thing though…they still use words that I don’t know and I have to ask what they are talking about. 🙂

This next month holds travel, product launches, more involvement at church, building relationships,  and my parents coming out to visit me!! 🙂 I have learned how to wait with hopeful anticipation. I am excited about what lies ahead, even though I have no clue what that may be, because God has me and He is trustworthy all the time.

To all my friends, family, and blog “stalkers” 😉 Thanks for coming along on this journey with me. Your support, prayers, and words have meant the world to me and has helped pull me through the days where I want to call it quits and move home. Love you all!!

Once Upon a Time…We Moved Offices

Life has been crazy busy as of late, and most of the busyness comes from work. Though it is time consuming, it is kind of fun to be apart of a start up. I laugh at the many “titles” I am sporting in my new job. Who would have thought that I could add: project manager, creative manager, marketing manager, executive assistant, advertising director, sales representative, and cleaner to the ever growing role that I play here. Right before Christmas we bid farewell to the small cramped office that the two of us were trying to work out of and moved into our partly finished new studio in Surry Hills. It is a work in the process. I feel as if I live in a half finished house, which life has prepared me for since my dad was constantly doing some sort of project on the houses I grew up in. I never lived in a fully completed one. They decided to try that after I was out of the house. 🙂

So here we are now working in a much more spacious environment, still waiting on things to be completed. Next big project is the new website that I am project managing and the video and photo shoot that I am putting together for our new product launch. Hence the new title of creative manager. Soon there will be parties to plan as we launch not only the opening of the studio, but also the launch of the new product. I guess I better add events manager to that ever growing list as well. It is fun to be employee number one, and its even more fun to work with a friend.

Also with the new job comes new clothes. I have never in my 29 years of life had to dress professionally, now I do, which means I had to purchase a whole new wardrobe. I feel like a fraud in my work clothes ;). A musician in a professionals attire.

Once Upon a Time…Erica Came to Visit

So I know I am behind, but I am almost all caught up to the present! Two weeks ago my friend Erica who I met at church in the states was in town. I would love to say for me, but really she was there to see Curtis. She and Curtis came out to Sydney for a few days while she was in Australia and I got to meet up with them for dinner. It was so great to see someone from home. It is amazing how quickly that will cure the homesickness, even if it is just being with people from home for an evening. She was even sweet enough to bring me throat coat tea, which I cant get here, and Hershey kisses. Those have been eaten, but the tea is being savored. I had such a great time with you and Curtis, Erica! Seriously, there is always room in Australia for more Americans. 🙂

PS. The bottom right picture is are, what you are doing in Australia picture. We are dorks 🙂

Once Upon a Time…I was 4 Months In

So here I am with four months under my belt. This month has by far been the best one yet and unbelievably this crazy upside down world is starting to feel like home. I don’t think I got lost even once last month! That is a huge accomplishment for the girl who is incredibly directionally challenged and 9 out of 10 times ends up lost. I actually know where some things are and when people talk about different areas and places I can finally join in the conversation because I know what they are talking about. 🙂 Like the last three months a ton has happened and changed, and it is one again a reminder that when I feel the most defeated that life will not always stay that way. Andrew and I moved into the new shop, though it is not yet completed, and I have yet another new routine. I’m getting used to having to start over.

The Holidays were hard, it is difficult to be away from friends and family. Christmas did not feel like Christmas, but more like Memorial day. And New Years Eve felt like the 4th of July, which I have more than once referred to it by accident as that. I get the best looks from the Aussies as they stare at me all puzzled when I ask them where they watched the fire works on 4th of July, only to quickly correct myself and say New Years Eve. 🙂 Summer has officially hit and I am loving the sunny skies, mixed in with epic thunder storms. So far I am not a huge fan of the humidity. It makes sleeping at night extra hard when you don’t have AC.

I love my church! Love it, and it makes me so incredibly happy to know that I have found a home and that hopefully in the next month I will once again be serving at church as well. Not only do I have a church and place to interact with other believers, hear excellent teaching, and worship, but I am also making church friends. I have a social life again! 🙂 Friendships are being solidified and I have met quite a few amazing women who I have spent many hours with talking about life. I am finally starting to feel close to normal again. The one thing that is still missing is music.

I miss teaching so much, I miss playing even more. I have yet to get my hands on a piano and that really does break my heart. I can feel with each passing day the skills diminishing from my fingers. So therefore month 5 will be all about music and regaining that into my new life here. I made it a point in this past month to quit looking back and to focus on the present and all that I have here to get to see and do. To really experience this new life, not just “get through” it. Mission accomplished! I really am falling in love with this city and the people. I’m having fun and trying to enjoy every moment, even when it is painful, because I will never get an opportunity like this again. So here we are…month 5…the month of music. I can’t wait to see what happens this month. Thank you Jesus for seeing me through this far and for providing at just the right time with exactly what I needed. Hopefully this time that lesson has been learned. He has never failed me and never will. What surprises lie ahead this month? 🙂

Once Upon a Time…Christmas Came in January

I cannot even begin to tell you how loved I felt this Christmas. Christmas was day, was different, a different country, different customs, and different weather. It wasn’t bad, in fact it was quite fun, but it was also different. Christmas is a big deal in my family. You get up Christmas morning, open presents, and then have Christmas brunch with my family. In California I had Christmas party, after Christmas party to go. I loved it! To be honest I was dreading the holiday season this year because I knew it would bring with it feelings of homesickness. I had already accepted that Christmas would not be the same when Christmas came in January. My best friends, and family sent me packages, and though all the presents were so great. Its not the gift themselves that meant so much to me. It was the thought that went into everything they put in those boxes. Everything I opened made me feel known and loved, and when you are in a new place where very few know you. It is the best feeling in the world. You know who you are…Thank you for making me feel loved half way across the world! Love you guys! 🙂

Once Upon a Time…There were Carols

Sydney loves their Christmas Carols. This Christmas season I have been to a number of Carols events, including Carols Under the Bridge. This event was put on by Church by The Bridge and held under the Harbor Bridge. The view was spectacular and as I sat there singing along to all of my favorite Christmas songs I thought…I can’t believe I live here. I can’t believe that I am spending Christmas here in a whole other country, experiencing things that I never dreamed possible. Last year at this time I had no idea I would be moving halfway across the world. It was not even a thought in my mind and yet here I am singing Christmas carols staring out at the famous Sydney Opera House. My how things have changed in a year. So Whats your favorite Christmas Carol?