Al

My dearest friend Allison Dowell is to be married to Jordan Shepherd come this weekend and I must say I value both of their friendships so very much. I have been preparing to give a toast to them and have had plenty of time to reminisce about all the good times together and I look forward to many more. According to facebook, Alli and I have 111 photos together, I think that probably says something about our friendship.

I love you Al, and I am so so happy for you and Jord. You have such a beautiful heart and I count myself a very blessed person to have you in my life.

some clips from dance this semester

the first clip is from hip hop class which was a total joke- since no one had hip hop background (all americans)

The rest of the clips are from my technique classes with Aussies who are in the dance courses. We made this video for our American class to see what we did all semester. Apologies for the crappy video quality.

farewell Oz

Four months ago I flew to a country I knew nothing about and was somewhere close to being very alone.
Two days ago I flew home with 25 American friends who I practically call my family.

I cannot put into words all of the things I learned while being in Australia this year, but I can tell you it changed my life for good. Every mountain and valley brought me to a better understanding of myself and who I want tobecome. I had so many amazing adventures and met so many incredible people from all over the world. Australia is full of beautiful souls with beautiful stories, I am so blessed to have shared in a small portion of that this semester.
Instead of writing out a long entry of what I learned (you are more than welcome to ask!), I am going to sum it up by telling you just a few of the amazing things God allowed me to do this semester:

-Was in a live audience for 2 national TV shows (XFacotor, Australias Got Talent) and received 5 seconds of fame on national television (also was 10 feet away from Scary Spice!)

-danced with world renowned choreographers four days a week for 4 months

-dove in the Great Barrier Reef with some of the most beautiful creatures known to mankind

- Shared lives and stories with natives from Slovenia, Egypt, Italy, Ireland, India, Norway, and Australia

- Walked the Harbor Bridge and watched the Sydney Opera House dance with colors

- Watched a State of Origins game in the Anglican Archbishop's Castle

-Slept under the stars in the outback

- got to lead and hang out with Australian teens for a week (and watched some turn their lives to Christ :)

- had the privilege of living and learning with a Maori tribe in New Zealand

- Bungy Jumped off the Auckland Habour Bridge in NZ

Petted a kangaroo, ate Vegemite, lived with Greeks, mastered public transport, threw a boomerang, played a digeredoo, sand surfed, parasailed, went to Luna Park, chilled at awesome beaches, danced the night away, met Australian senator, put up with dirt coffee, learned to appreciate a dryer, gained 10 pounds, ate too much Nutella