Adventures Down Under

HOMESTAY FAMILY

I received the profile for my homestay family a couple of days ago, and it’s the Poulos family just like I requested! Alli and Becca recommended the family they stayed with last semester, and I’m so lucky I got them! They sound sooo cool. The dad is a pastor, the mom is a speech pathologist, and they have three kids! And so much room that is just for the students they host.  I am so excited! Oh and btw, they live like right next to THE BEACH. It’s so close. I walked there via google street view. So stoked. I’ll post a picture of the house in a second, plus the view showing how close the beach is :)

I’m getting more and more excited as more details fall into place, but I’m still kind of apprehensive/stressed about how rushed this summer is going to be, and about what’s gonna happen with my medical situation.  Surgery + hardcore research + 2 weeks of packing and getting ready + leaving my home for 4 months…I’m gonna be an emotional wreck.  BUT I’m not in this alone, and I know God has got all of this in the palm of His hand, so I need not worry so much! Plus, I already have a sort-of friend in Sydney, and she has already been SUCH a blessing to me.  I connected with her through one of my high school teachers (so funny) and she’s going to the freaking Hillsong school in Sydney with her husband. She has the coolest story ever and she has been encouraging me with advice and scripture that is helping me keep the right perspective, and she invited me to sisterhood with the Hillsong ladies on Thursday mornings (if I don’t have class…fingers crossed haha). But anyway, I already love her and it makes me feel so much better to have someone I kind of know there.

Lastly, if any of you are reading this and wondering why all of these posts were written so long before you actually got the url to my blog, it’s because it’s really ugly right now, and I’ve been slaving over it making it pretty way more than I have time to at this point in the semester. So I’m not giving anyone the url until it’s perfect. The End. :)

It’s happening

As of March 2, I am officially headed to study at the University of Sydney in the fall, which means leaving mid-July.  I’m not super duper excited yet, just because I think I’m slightly overwhelmed right now with everything that’s going on (study abroad decision, summer research proposal, Bach festival, regular homework, etc.).  But I’m hoping I’ll get more pumped as the time of departure approaches.  Either that, or I’ll just get more and more terrified. Because I am terrified, not gonna lie.  But I’m just trusting God that I made the right decision, because I’ve been thinking and praying about it for months and months, and it just feels like what I’m supposed to do.  Even though it means I can’t take the advanced music theory class I wanted to take that’s only offered next semester while I’m here, and I can’t be a peer mentor for one of my favorite professors, and I’ll be missing Grace’s last semester here, etc…but studying abroad should be worth missing all of those things (?). Anyway, I’m going down under for a few months! I will do my best to keep this blog updated with everything all my friends and family will want to see and read, including everything I’m going to go through to get ready to leave, tons and tons of pictures, new experiences, complaints, rants about how much I miss my family and my cats, stories, and just all my adventures in Aussie land! I hope everyone enjoys!