Its my last night in Sydney, and I think it is safe to say that sleep cycle is a little bit out of wack, and I can already tell that it is not going to be fun getting the airport tomorrow morning. I have visited all of the amazing museums here in Sydney, hung out down by the Opera House, and Walked across the Arch of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. By doing that I am pretty sure that I have done every extreme thing involving heights that one can do in this hemisphere. It was crazy walking underneath the bridge, climbing a ladder, and boom there are dozens of cars speeding around you, and you climb up 134 meters to the top of the arch. The night scene here is just about as insane as you are going find anywhere, and people are super nice and will by you drinks. They have also have funny little accents, and don’t really know how to dance, and engage in strange forms of courtship of the course of the night. I can only assume that that is left over British custom. One Wednesday night we went to go see the Sydney Theatre Co. production of the Greek tragedy “The Oresteia” it was not exactly light fare, and soon as stopped trying to figure out what all of the crazy symbolism was, I enjoyed it. Melbourne tomorrow followed by the reunion of the decade.

I should start writing to keep up with Chris...... I had a graduation party here they day UArts graduated.... it was crazy I woke up to over 400 beer cans and egg all over the wall. Apperently i also tried to fight someone.... but my dress was cute... to bad it is ruined now because of all the stains!!!

ahh!

Went to class today, and it was cancelled. I was pretty sad about that because I was looking forward to watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Went on a bit of Bush walk around campus. Made some Indian food, and watched the premier of Modern Family with the flat mates. Wrapped up the night by watching Reservoir Dogs for the first time. Amazing.

G'day.

It was our last day at SWARA. Lots of sad hugs and goodbyes, but I think that it is the start of beautiful friendship to quote a favourite movie of mine. When on Contemp. Australian Theatre, and planned our project, and we discovered that the question that we really need to be asking and talking about isn’t about one play write in particular, but about what questions play writes are asking, and if they are putting us into the right moral dilemmas. And the answer is yes and no. Rented the move Rope tonight. Very funny, and different from most Alfred Hitchcock movies, and worth the watch. Had a long night hanging out with G-5 and G-6. Great night. Silvie is a Lesbian, but that is beside the point…. Master Chief rules!

G'Day

The ralley didn’t work out. Grocery shopping took to much time, and it was really important it get that done. I am reading the play The Golden Age it is about tribe of people found in the wild of Tasmania in 1939. It is based on actual events. The tribe had it own language and customs, and they are removed to an asylum so that they cannot be used a Nazi propaganda. I watched Hairspray last night on TV, I love that musical. After Hairspray I went down to the Oval and played with Ellie and her camera for about an hour. Went to the library and picked up some information of on censorship in film, that is what my final presentation in Audiences is going to be about. Tomorrow is our last workshop with Swara, and that it will be sad it has been an amazing experience, and I am going to miss doing work like that. Oh a great impulse buy yesterday The Summer Heights High Popularity Board game, it should be exciting to play.

G'day

A little bit of writing everyday.

I am going to write a little bit in this everyday. I know that you are dying to see the banal everything about life here down under. Yesterday I went into the city and bought a new camera, because my old bit the dust it was really sad but it had to be done. I also bought a new winter coat. All the stores are now in full winter swing, and I realized that it will be about a year before winter things are on sale in the US so I went a head and got one here. I went out to the Down Under Bar with Yaz last night. What a brilliant dive bar it is. Today is the marriage equality rally and Hattie’s Birthday. I disabled my facebook to prove that nothing will happen over the next two weeks that I am really going miss out by not being on facebook, what an amazing act of strength and will. If you really need to get a hold of me over the next two weeks you can E-mail me at Pappaschris101@gmail.com or Skype me at papac21.

G’day. Mate.

I am having so much fun here...... from Marianne!

March Down Under

I sit down to write today in typical Chris Pappas fashion that is, I have my two-liter of coke with me; well it is really just a 1.25 liter of Coke, because they don’t sell 2 liters at the cantina here on Campus. My expectations for what I thought this whole Australian experience was going to be has really changed over the last month. The pictures that are posted on facebook of my the hot mess drunken night are really only a tiny part of the experience, and often times experiences that I don’t really remember all that well, but I will get back to that later. First let me start with school.

During orientation I didn’t meet a single drama kid. I met a lot of engineers, law students, and aviation majors, but I felt at little left out because I there really wasn’t anyone around who was passionate about the same things that I am (this of course excludes drinking which we are all very found of.) My first class was Contemporary Australian Theater, it is other campus that I am not on, and so I hop the bus over. After about 5 min of panicking because I couldn’t find the right building I saw sign pointing down some stairs that said “Drama,” I go down the stairs and there are about 50 kids in the this tiny hallway and I thought to myself “Ahhh I have found the theater kids.” I absolutely love this class. We really don’t get an opportunity to study Australian theater back home, and I firmly believe that a theater company could do an entire season of Australian works, and have a hit season A. Because it is something that we have never seen before and B. There are some amazing stories that we are missing out on. Whether it is the stark realism of David Williamson or the Aboriginal storytelling of Jack Davis, the type of theater that is available here is vast and varied. There is a problem though. Theater Down Under is seen as very elitist, and is very very expensive to attend. There are no pay as you can nights like there are at the Arden, and the cheapest ticket that student could ever get is $30 ticket, which I guess would be similar to our $25 tickets, but it just seems more expensive. Our teacher a man named Patrick is cross between David Howey and Toby Zinnmen. He has the vast knowledge of Australian theater, and is always running around the room and getting us energized. It’s a great class and I am going to be working with a great group of people over the next few weeks for a live final “Dramatic Presentation.”

My second-class Applied Theater project has been an absolute gift. The class is run by a wonderful facilitator named Sarah, who acts not only as teacher, but also as a guide for each of our projects. Every Monday a group of four of us (shout out to Amy, Haddie, and Yazmin) goes into Brisbane City, and work teaching drama classes SWARA. SWARA (The Sunshine Welfare and Remedial Association) is a place where Adults with mental disabilities and head injuries can go during the day to learn such practical skills as cooking and working with computers, but they also work with guest artist like us who come in and teach specialized classes.

This has been one of the scariest and most rewarding experiences of my life. I have never taught anything, and to be honest never thought that I would teach, because I thought teaching was something I was capable of doing, and the first class I am being asked to teach is for people who are twice my age, and have range of disabilities from just recovering from head injuries, to being mute and only being able to communicate through sign language. It has been a real trial by fire, but one that I am very thankful to be a part of. Every time the SWARA Project sits down to plan a new workshop, I thank God for the instructors that I have had Uarts. Many of the exercises that I have done over the years have become clearer to me as now I attempt to teach them to others. I have done everything from Johnnie Hobbs warm-ups, to Janice Imagination exercises, to VMT character work. One of the reasons that I was placed in working with SWARA is because the group of people we are working with is also working with a music director, and September they are doing selections from Grease.

The practice of Applied Theater is becoming more wide spread in Australia. It is used in the rural communities, and has been proven to help lower crime rates among teens in impoverished areas. It also helped to get national legislation passed that has lead to a cut down on the cases of Domestic Violence in Australia by encouraging people to speak up and speak out about their situations. Theater in Australia is working towards giving people a voice and letting them know that they don’t have a to suffer in silence. It is changing the artistic landscape of continent not only on a personal level, but also on a national level.

I would like to see classes such as these implemented in BFA and BA Acting and Musical Theater programs in the U.S. As students we often doubt what we are doing, and feel selfish about choosing do something that can be seen only as self gratifying, but after just few workshops our group can already see improvements in the participants, as they become more confident and more actively engaged. As theater artist I believe that we have a responsibility to share our work with everyone, no matter what limitations the outside world has put on them, no one should be denied the experience of using the imagination as actively and as vividly as we do everyday. It has also taught me a something about myself, the first that is that teaching can be really scary thing. On our first day I was terrified that no one was going to show up, and if they did show up that no one was going to listen to me, but over the last couple weeks I have started to see that these fears were baseless. I am working a group of passionate people who want to learn and explore art, and that transcends bonds of the normal classroom and becomes something special.

All right now on to travels. First up Straddie Island, which for me was just an endurance test of crazy. I feel that most of the people that I have met studying abroad the definition of trying new things is trying new foods. As someone who loves foods of kinds, has been raised by mixture of Greeks and Southerns strange and foreign foods are nothing new to me. What is new me is doing things that other people consider sports. I am not sports person, and that is to say that I have nothing against sports people, I just don’t go out of my way to actively participate in them. This might have something to do with my complete lack of both upper and lower body strength, my coordination that is similar to that of Giraffe with a missing leg, or the fact that I am easily distracted/scared by loud noises and sudden movements. Well it was time to start participating, and oh boy how I did participate. First up we Boomerangs. We got to paint our Boomerangs, and if anything is weaker than my ability to play sports it is my artistic prowess when it comes to visual arts. I am pretty sure that I was the only person who drew a smile face on their Boomerang. We then went out into a large field and got the throw them. One of the other guys threw his and we all watched it coming and I remember thinking “There is no way that in the vast empty field that thing is going to hit me.” Wrong. It came crashing down on my hand. Luckily it was my left hand which is not my throwing hand, not that my throwing hand had been shattered to a million pieces it would have made that much difference when came to me throwing the Boomerang. I can say that I can’t wait to go practice in the Sheep Meadow in Central Park. Open invite by the way. After that we had hand standing contest, and thanks to partnering I was able to put up a valiant effort.

Next up snorkeling and Kayaking off the coast of Straddie. The snorkeling was fun even if the water was cloudy and we saw all of seven fish. I did see a Barracuda, and was exciting. Luckily that was the only run in I had with a deadly creature, because 8 out of the 10 most deadly snakes in Australia live on the Island. The sea kayaking, not successful at all, I spent most of the time apologizing to my partner Greg that he got stuck with me for something involves two people attempting to do everything in their power to not get sucked out into deadly shark infested waters. We managed to get back to land, and had a good time jumping off the pier. Into shark infested waters….

After an afternoon of extreme sporting we ran into a couple of Koalas, just doing there Koala thang, chillin,’ eatin,’ and knowing that they are the most adorable things ever in the history of ever. And I have seen baby pictures of myself. We went out to a National Park and hiked a trail that went through dense forest and then out seaside cliffs and plunged hundreds of feet down into the Pacific Ocean. The swells of the waves were easily twenty feet, and they slammed into the coastline with the power of heavy explosives. After the walk we returned to our rockin’ Aracdia accommodations, and I say that seriously, they were amazing. After dinner we took our blanket out on to the beach to tell ghost stories under the stars. I was fortunate enough to be rooming with some amazing girls from Penn State, two soccer players (it seems that I am always with soccer players) from North Dakota, and Greg. We told our favorite Urban legends and I told the “Gypsy Werewolf Story,” (Sure I stole it from Jeff Reynolds, but fuck him, even though I am sure that he would claim that I am owe him royalties for, but I bet he stole it too, wow side tracked) and managed to scare everyone pretty well if I do say so myself.

The next day we were up at 5:30 and were down at the beach by 6:00 to go surfing. Now I will say that the idea of surfing had me a little terrified, mainly because I am not fan of falling off things into rough waters, but I managed to pay attention to the entire land lesson, and it was time to go into the water, and guess what. I did it. I got up, I really did. Four years at the Barre really paid off. Here is surfing in terms of ballet. You are down on your stomach you push up with your arms, and all you have to do is Round de’jame into fourth, and make sure that you keep your palette deep. That is all you have to do. I got up, and I balanced, why because “I AM A FUCKING WAVE.” Literally, I was on top of them. Finally, sand boarding, well there is a video of that and me wiping out was kind of the extent of it. You might feel that I am cutting this short, and in away I am, because we are about to go out. So this it for now.

Chris

quick update...

okay.. This is Marianne not Chris (he wanted me to tell you that)

So quickly (and soberly) let me tell you what i have been up to.

1. This place is incredible... where i live, Uni, my classes, my friends, everyone i met, etc.... I am writing a blog update for my family blog and all the details about this type of stuff will be on there... so I'll post a link when i get my act together.

2. went on a road trip to the Bay of Islands..... ended up driving till 3am to the most northern point of New Zealand (drinking and smoking the whole way there because there are no laws here!) to see the sunrise before anyone else in the world. On the way there we would pull over and look up at all the stars, i have never seen so many starts in the sky, and it rules because we are in the southern hemisphere so it is a whole new collection of stars to look at. We drove till the road ended and then we climbed up a mountain and waited till the sun rose.... the boys had sleepingbags and they told me we would stop to get me one but we never did so i was in a tarp (trust me i looked like a crackhead) It was cold but i stuck it out and saw the most incredible sunrise i have ever seen. Once the sun started to come up we realized we were in the middle of nowhere. No matter what direction you looked all you saw was beach, water and mountains. It was amazing. We all got back into the car and just started to drive again, our driver Danny (he quit drinking till St Paddy's day so he was forced to do most of the driving) got tired becuse we all had not slept that night so he needed a nap. We pulled off into what seemed like a little beach but turned out to be the most incredible beach I have ever seen. So we napped and swam. The waves were big and there was only like 5 other people other then us on this beach. We then went back to the Bay of Islands and got a bed in a hostel for the night. We went mini-golfing at what has to be the hardest mini-golf place in the entire world and i dropped my camera and it broke.... so that sucked! We went back grilled some food drank some beers and hung around for the night. There was a french person there and I tried to speak french to him.. the boys made fun of me but i thought I did pretty well. The next morning we headed back to Auckland. We stopped at a waterfall, the boys played soccer with these little New Zealand kids. Then the boys did the ropeswing and because I will never be outdone I decided to do it, twice..... failed both times.... one is on tape so I'll put it up on facebook soon! We rushed back to Auckland to get our car back on time.... we made it! Overall an amazing first roadtrip in New Zealand... it wasn't very planned out (because it was me and 6 boys making the plans so obviously we would start then get tooo fucked up to finish actually planning) but we got it done and it turned into quite the adventure.... here are some pics:

"The Gang" haha...

shots from our car ride!

sunrise!!

(Also i stole most of these pictures from Austin because my camera is broke!)

3. Classes have started, I am taking some classes that have 300+ students and the teacher wears a microphone.... very different from UArts..... my acting class is changing my life... and all the students here are chill!

4. next weekend I am going blackwater rafting in a cave with glow worms.... and you all know how much i love caves so it should be a good time... I'm also learning to surf next weekend :)

5. as you all have probably seen on my facebook I go out every night! It is fun :) Some of those stories are not suited for a blog (hehe) so SKYPE ME FRIENDS... mtssays..... is my name!

thats is it for now... I miss you all!

-MTS

O-Week

O-Week or Orientation Week for those Americans that don’t abbreviate everything, of was we say in the MT major Abrives. Ev. This is how things work; I go to Griffith University (or Uni) on the Nathan campus. I am part of Girraween College, and I belong to G Block, which is basically the stairway that I walk up to get to my flat. I really need to get some pictures up soon.

Thursday night we did a Brisbane Pub crawl. We went to three different pubs from 8-2. Thankfully I have been drinking for 5 years already so I was not one of the people falling over before we even left the first pub. Most the people I am living with are first year students, but most of them have taken a gap year, and have either worked to save up money for school or have traveled. I think that makes a lot of sense, and it’s a damn shame that our college system is so messed up and competitive. Well I am not going to into it. Anyway the pub-crawl was amazing and again there will be plenty of pictures I am sure.

The next night we went into Brisbane and again and did a version of the “Amazing Race,” you know the game we ran around the city collecting clues and completing challenges. I think that I sweated out about 5 lbs that night. My Flatmate Silvie and I had Chinese food from a vendor in the main square, and then met of the rest of the group at the pancake manor, which was a glorified IHOP that used to be Catholic Church.

The next day we went down to the Gold Coast, and on the bus ride down my new friends Andrew and Michael (I always seem to find Michaels to be friends with don’t I?) explained the state of Australian politics, and basically what I can gather the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd became really popular after it came out that he went to strip club in US. Which you know makes sense. We went to surfer’s paradise, the waves were huge, but that might have had something to do with the storm that was blowing into shore. The Gold Coast was just an Australian version of Myrtle Beach, a great place to visit, but no real substance.

Our last O-week activity was a party at Garden City. They played Party in the USA. Don’t worry I put my hands up. I also wore my Arkansas Razorbacks T-shirt so that when people asked me where I was from I could just point to the shirt. Its really funny that after about a drink or 7 people really love to start telling me what my opinion on American politics should be, but I just tell them I have some already and not worry about it.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes. I feel the way I always feel about going to classes. A little nervous, a little excited, and hopeful that they will be great.

Chris

i'm never going t be sober enough to write a real post...

but skype with me friends!!

okay so i found this.. I apparently wrote it one morning while i was still drunk thought you might enjoy it.... so here it is!!

Okay it is 7 am here and i am nursing my first hangover here so i thought now would be a good time to write to on this thing to let you guys know that i'm here and what it is like...

first off... this blog is my friend blog so I'll probablly just be writting about ridiclous thing that happen to me if you want to read legit about my time here and what New Zealand is like please go to ym other blog... its on my facebook page it is pretty interesting.

so.....

I love it here!

This place is increadable!

we spent the first 4 or so days going around New Zealand with Arcadia we saw beaches, hot springs, went Zorbing (the big ball thing), went to a Maori dinner and other things.... that was all a blast!

If you wanna know what all that was like ask i'm to loazy to write all about it

i will say though that on the way home from the Maori dinner (they drive you home in a bus from their village) it is a tridition you sing a song from your native country ie your national amtham or like take me out to the ball game...... as a group on the bus.... somehow i manged to get some eople on the bus wantinng me to get up in front of everyone and sing city high what would you do...... and I did it..... and it was great! So no longer is that just a locust bar classsic :)

I'm moved into my room My roommates are great I have one guy from New Zealand, one guy from India, and a girl who is actually from MA (which is so weird!) We are still waiting on one roomate to move in. The place is set up with a kitchen, bathroom, livingroom and we each get our own bedroom with this amazing windown i'll put pics on here!!

The place I'm staying is great everyone is so nice and last night we all just got watsed in peoples rooms and walked around and everyone was just out or in the courtyard hanging out! it is great!! Everyone was nice and fun except for this douch New Zealand guy with a horrid blong fashion mohawk..... but i guess you get dicks all over the world!

also there are a lot of style mullets here!

today i hope to buy a cell phone and go to the beach!

oh and it is sooo hot here :)

and the sun is so strong i have a sun burn!

I also think i might still be drunk writting this!

last night I was ridiclous..... and i refuse to buy tin foil while I'm here becuae we all nkow how that ends.

I miss you all soooo much!

well most of you :)

goodness i'm so funny...

okay well I'm going to stop becuase I am still drunk and am going to go like maybe throw up a little bit

somethings never change.....

but i will write a legit one of these about the not drunk side of MTS in NZ!

this morning...

So i woke up this morning and my couch was outside..... its like real college!

(a real update to come)

love

marianne

ps i'm hungover slash maybe still drunk... miss you all!!

Week One

The Week has been insane. We left Monday night and landed in Melbourne on Wednesday morning, where we met up with Arcadia staff. There were about 100 American students and the first thing they did was to take us to see Kangaroos, and they are huge. We had a crash course in Australia history and culture, and were basically told not to drink ourselves into oblivion because at the end of the day we are still at University.

I spent a day in Melbourne with Lachie Julie’s friend from Bielefeld he took me out to some of the bars and I went to my first AFL (Australian Football League) game. Everyone here is obsessed with sports it is a different culture than they way we deal with sports in the US. Or maybe they are just more exciting because they don’t ware any padding like our football players do.

I arrived at Griffith on Saturday, and I am one of two American students studying through Arcadia at the Nathan Griffith Campus. The campus is in the middle of the bush, and after being told this about half a dozen times I finally asked what the means. Turns out that the campus is in the middle of forest. The University wanted to preserve as much of the natural surroundings as possible so they left as many trees as possible. There are Wild Turkeys all over the place and dozens of different birds flying in around. I have 6 other flat mates 5 Australians and one Korean. The first night they had a game of trivia and our team won, I mean we were team Awesome so we had to win, and last night we had inner campus game, and that basically ended with a free for all on a giant slip and slide. The people here couldn’t be more welcoming and have been very patient, we trying to get my bearings. I think the greatest thing is that on Thursday night we have the official “O-week” pub crawl, which I cannot wait for.

LAX

I think that it is confusing some people that Marianne and I haven’t actually left yet. So I am going to clear some things up. Marianne and I came out to California this weekend, and we went to Disney Land, and there some magical things happened.

1. I “proposed” to Marianne during the Middle of the Tower of Terror, and ride camera got the picture.
2. We got to ride the California Sreamin’ in the front row with out waiting
3. We made friends with the Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride workers and they let us ride it without getting back in line.
4. We danced to High School Musical
5. The Aladdin Show
6. Walking around on V-day with a Mickey Top Hat and a Minney Bridal Vail
7. We found out what is better than Space Mountain….Drunk Space Mountain.

So now I am in LAX because Marianne and I have been separated into different terminals. We were ripped apart it was tragic. Now I have to wait till 10:20 to get on the plane to Melborne.

One Day More

So it is officially the day of departure. After having to commutate to my counselor in Australia over the last week I am officially enrolled in my classes. There has been a slight change of plan, and what I had originally intended on studying in Australia has changed a wee bit, but no worries.

If Uarts has taught me anything it is to role with the punches. I still haven’t quite figured out the time change they I am writing this at 12:37 A.M. and it is 4:30 P.M. in afternoon there. Every time that I think about it I get horrible LOST flashbacks so I figure that it is best not to think about it too hard.

For the last five days I have been snowed into my house. It has just been me, Ginger (my puppy), and the Rumba. I have finished the 5^th season of Weeds, which was incredible by the way, and re-watched season three of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. That was the season where they are seniors in high school. I think it was kind of fitting; it also sums up my feelings on graduations in general. I went back to Central High School to talk to kids who are the in the drama department. It is amazing to me how much has changed and how little has changed. The dynamic of the teachers is still there, and from what I saw, the kids that want to do it and succeed will, and that ones who want to sink will sink. I will say that talking to highschoolers is a huge self esteem booster, and that talking to them I realized that not only do they have their entire lives in front them, but I do as well.

I have to say this because it is too funny to pass up. Went on date tonight. A real one I confirmed it and everything. I will just refer to him as N because I don’t know if he wants to be apart of this or not. But if he happens to see this, I will say that I warned you that I like to write. This was my first official date I would say. Yes at the age 22 I went on a date. With a dude. The first portion of the night consisted of driving aimlessly around Conway Arkansas before finding the restaurant, and then we had Mexican food, because it always a favorite. The quote the night had to be, “Well if we are done here in an hour we can still make it back for 30 Rock and a Martini.” That’s right I went on date with someone who actually said that, the day before I move across the world for 6 months. All I have to say is N I salute you, I hope you had a good of time as I did, and it’s nice to meet a nice Southern Gentlemen after dealing with Yankee Assholes for the last three and half years. Yeah I said. Bring it.

I feel at this point that I should point out that I am writing this Julie’s apartment. She has been nice enough to house this break, and of course a shout out to Deit the coolest roommate ever, and the best neighbors ever Clare and Crista.

I am sure there will be more to come.

Passing Strange,

Chris

As to not be outdone by someone from the south, I'll write up a first entry here also.

I'll write about how much I am panicking about fitting an entire 6 months into two suitcases. Anyone that has been in my room at home or at school knows the amount of clothing i have! You all also know that i am immense trouble parting with ANYTHING... would i call myself a pack rat? NO i just understand the value of memories and if i throw something away I might forget it ever existed (okay yes, i see that i have a problem.) But Rome wasn't built in a day (trust me that saying applies right now!)

Back to having to put my life in two suitcases... AHHH!! I think it will be good for me to see that i can live without all the junk in my life and maybe I'll be able to translate that into my life back in America (assuming I ever come back.) But for now I am just making lists and lists of what I absolutely NEED to bring... right now the only thing on the list is Birth Control but more will be added after my birthday party tonight :)

Many of you have also wondered why I am going to New Zealand out of all places and my answer is simple... It is beautiful and they speak English!

I will be at the University of Auckland which is a coastal city, it is one of the biggest cities in New Zealand because despite wanting to experience the beauty of nature in New Zealand I do not think i could live in the middle of nowhere just yet.

The classes I am taking are:

Hobbit 101

Introduction to Elvish

One Ring to Rule them All: Turning Points in Middle-Earth History

HAHA not really, I just feel like I have to get out all of my Middle-Earth jokes now before I leave!

I am really taking:

DRAMA 302

Performance Skills

Classes in stage acting, improvisation, movement, voice and character, taught by professional tutors. Students will present a solo or duo short performance.

So pretty much this class is a combination of all of the classes I take a semester at UArts into one!

MAORI 190

Kapa Haka 1

An introductory course for beginners or others who have only a minimal knowledge of traditional and contemporary Maori performing arts. The course is strongly practical. It will stress the fundamentals of performance and the various social, cultural and political settings that give it meaning.

So pretty much that'll kick ass!

I'm also taking a class on Films and a New Zealand History class that I'm too lazy to look up right now!

So that will be my life, thank you so much for reading and keep coming back I'm sure it'll be fun!

Auckland!

Love,

Marianne!

first real entry

So for my first real entry I thought I would answer some of the questions that people have asked me about where I am going and why. In about 18 days from now I set off to Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane is located on the north east coast in Queensland, but first I will be going to Melbourne for an orientation. The flight to Melbourne will be about 15 and half hours (good thing I have seen Lost, so I am prepared to go). I leave of the 15^th of February and arrive on the 17th, sorry Julie and Caroline for missing your birthdays. I will arrive at end of summer, go through fall term, and will leave right when winter is just starting, but with temperatures averaging somewhere in upper 60’s to the mid 70’s I don’t think winter will be to hard to rough out. While the warm weather was something that was deciding factor when I picked where I wanted to study, the fact that Griffith has theater classes didn’t hurt either. I am going be taking…

1. Actor & Director in Cont Theatre: This course introduces the student through practical and theoretical workshops to the main influences on theatre, its actors and directors.

2. Contemporary Australian Theatre: This course provides an introduction to the study of contemporary Australian theatre. Students will read and discuss the plays of significant Australian playwrights. (I am hoping this will be Toby class just in Australia)

3. Ghosts and the Gothic: Ghosts and the Gothic traces the history of the Gothic genre from its origins in the ghoul-infested castles and spectralised landscapes of 18th century art and literature through to the 'punked-up' suburban blood suckers of Joss Whedon's 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'. From the beginning the Gothic has been a popular and controversial phenomenon that has drawn its energies from the darker regions of the imagination and the borderlands of taste.

4. Audiences: This course investigates the key debates, interventions and sites of conflict in the field of audience research, and examines the ways in which the media and cultural industries conduct and use audience research.

As for Griffith University itself

Opened

1975

Student Population

37786*

International Students

8847 (from 119 countries)

Staff population

3563 FTE

Campuses

5 - Nathan, Gold Coast, Mt Gravatt, Logan, South Bank

I will be living on the Nathan Campus. “With more than 12,000 students and situated in tranquil, native bushland on the edge of Toohey Forest, Nathan campus is a short walk or bus ride from our Mt Gravatt campus or a 10 minute drive from central Brisbane. Public transport connects the campus to Mt Gravatt, Garden City shopping centre and the Brisbane CBD.”

The more I think about it the more I realize that I have no idea what is in store for me over the next 6 months. But then again I really had no idea what was in store for me at Uarts. All I had was one of those guided tours… So yes, I knew what the school looked like, but you can’t really prepare someone by just telling them what happens at Uarts, they have to experience it for themselves. (The yelling, the kicking, the screaming, and the singing.) It’s going to be strange sitting in classes where we have actually have desks. I am going to be surrounded by hundreds of kids that I do not know, and will never know. Am I actually going to have to call my teachers Professor? Everyone at Uarts is used to just calling everyone by their first name. Will there be the equivalent of the 6^th floor lounge where I can catch up on gossip and pray for the weekend?

It’s a little strange to think about how comfortable a place becomes to you after 3 ½ years. But we all have to leave sometime.

So has the flight attendant on my flight back to Arkansas said “Let’s just cross our fingers and hope for the best.”

Chris

Testing One two three testing....does this work?

Chris