A New Normal

It's hard to believe that I have been here 40 days (my camera is keeping track for me)...a month and a half down...only 16.5 more to go! Actually, it's more like, "only a month and a half?!" So much has been packed in, I feel like I've been here much longer.

40 days ago I had never been on a Brisbane bus.
I can now read a book and know that I won't miss my stop.
40 days ago I was terrified to drive on the left side of the road.
Although there is a minor panic when a car comes towards me, I find myself going into subconscious mode as I drive (as much as you can with Dave's car, of course).
40 days ago I was a stranger to Brisbane-ites.
Now I'm becoming a friend.
40 days ago Australia was a concept in my head.
Now it's becoming a home.

Yup, life has found a new normal as these weeks have passed. Here are a few notables:

I've settled into life at Daisy Hill. My housemates, Bel & Deb are great. Although Dave is now in Canada and the house isn't quite the same without him, the girls still manage to make things a bit crazy and exciting. Bel recently purchased a pink Nissan Micra (don't think I've seen a pink car other than the Mary Kay Cadillac, but it definitely suits Bel) and due to a random conversation, an outing in dressing gowns (housecoats) occurred, dragging me protesting along with it. As we've gotten more comfortable with each other, I've discovered that they don't always understand what I'm saying (which, of course, would explain why they haven't laughed at my jokes). Bel has taken it upon herself to teach me the proper pronunciation of words and has me repeat after her numerous times and then her eyes light up when I actually say it properly. I don't think it will stick....but I continue to humor her.

Uni is finding it's own rhythm as well. My Canadian-ness proves to be a source of entertainment for the students as they try and get me to say things like, "Bonza beauty mate!" and then laugh with glee as I fail miserably. I now know my way around and am getting the hang of sticking my nose in the books. I'm definitely feeling the challenge of being in an elite music school. I'm learning just how difficult it is to get into this place and how coveted each position is. I am very honored to be here. The fire has been lit. The butt is in gear.

Other life things:

• I've been attending Springwood Church of Christ (www.echurch.org.au) and really like it there. This is the church that hooked me up with a place to live. I just kept making more connections there, so I've stayed. A great group of people, $2 suppers on Sunday night, really good teaching, rooted in prayer and the Word. It's good. I'm pleasantly surprised that I don't have to hunt...but still may visit some other churches as opportunities arise.
  
• I have my FIRST voice student! I start teaching him next Friday. One other potentially is lined up. It's coming together in good timing.
  
• I have enjoyed seeing some great sights with some new friends. I have finally seen the ocean on an excursion to Byron Bay a few weeks ago. I'm very much looking forward to going back! And I've experienced a bit of Brisbane city life riding the CityCat on the river & hitting the weekend markets.
• There are many things to look forward to, including a trip to Cairns (Great Barrier Reef, here we come!) and a reunion at a conference on Tambourine Mountain with a dear friend that I haven't seen since 1996. (More on those 2 events on a later blog)
  

I'm liking this "new normal". And although I think I may be taking it for granted that I'm living in 25 degrees winter with palm trees out my bedroom window (hahaaaaaa!), I never want to forget the many ways God is providing and working in my life. He continues to provide and lead me and teach me. It's a good season. Truly more than anything I could ever ask or imagine. Thanks for journeying with me.

The Universal Language

They say music is the universal language. This week, however, I discovered a break in its all-embracing communication. You know when you listen to someone speaking English and then they throw in a word from another world and it seems to fall from your ears? Well, that happened to me a few times this week before I piped up and said, "Um, excuse me, I'm from Canada. What's a 'crotchet'?"

I have since learned that there are two systems of defining musical structure, just as there are various ways of measuring distance and temperature and weight. Allow me to educate:
MUSICAL TERMS: CANADA vs AUSTRALIA
(which I believe is actually America vs. Britain)
Whole note = Semi-breve
Half note = Minim
Quarter note = Crotchet (aha! the image in my head was a crotch rocket, not a black dot with a stem...)
Eighth note = Quaver
Sixteenth note = Semiquaver
Thirty-second note = Demisemiquaver
Sixty-fourth note = Hemidemisemiquaver
Hundred twenty-eighth note = Quasihemidemisemiquaver (oh yes)

You know, for a country that likes to shorten their words, they certainly know how to complicate musical terms. I vote Canada on this one.

Oh Yeah...School

With my first week of classes behind me, I find that I have been shaken back into the reality of why I have come to the Land Down Undah. After three weeks of getting settled into Brisbane and getting used to the laid-back, take-it-as-it-comes lifestyle, I am now hearing phrases like "cognitive thinking" and "assignments". And I think that perhaps I haven't pondered those phrases in nearly 10 years (OK, I have many logical thinkers laughing at me now)!

It was about 10 years ago that I was at college, trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, and really longing for more musical training, that a prof of mine said, "I think you need to go somewhere where you can live and breathe music for a year or two." And although at the time I chose to stick it out and finish my degree, I have often thought about how wonderful that would be.

And that is the first thing I have realized this week. This school is a MUSIC school. You don't study anything else. And everyone else here had to audition to get in, which means they are GOOD. I am walking down hallways of tubas, drums and violins, opera singers, jazz vocalists and everything in between. I am hearing conversations of various weekend gigs that have either been attended or performed at. I am hearing the inevitable tension between the two "main" styles of music as a jazz student stated earlier this week that in order to cross the hallway into the classical side, you need to "remove your shoes".

I am completely immersed in music. And I love it.

For those who care to know, here are the courses I am taking this term:

• Pedagogy 1 (the text book is 3 volumes and I just read a detailed account of how sound is created. Pedagogy means "the art of teaching"...it also means a lot of scientific understanding of the voice...this will be a heavy course!)
• Pedagogy in Practice (basically voice lessons, but there are 2 of us in the class. We each get a 30 min. lesson and then observe the other lesson from a pedagogy perspective)
• Contemporary Performance Project (from what I can tell so far, we get put into groups and have to create a 45 min. gig off-campus at the end of term)
• Choral Conducting (what it sounds like!)
• Postgraduate Ensemble (I am singing in two ensembles: a Vocal Jazz group and a Chamber Choir (classical) Lots of singing and performing this term!)

This term will be a lot of practical study as most of my program requirements will be met next year (a lot of vocal stuff isn't offered this term due to a prof being away), so I am getting some electives out of the way.

And so it begins! Some of these students have been at the Con for 5 years and are continuing into their masters. They are quite familiar with how things are run and I believe I will be kept on my toes as I try to keep up. But it's exciting and I'm ready for it!

I even assembled a desk, which I am proud enough to post a photo. A whopping $59!

And I was a total nerd and asked my new voice teacher for a photo. I really like her and all that she stands for. I am looking forward to gleaning from this remarkable woman!