Let It Snow!...After I leave

A wild snow storm swept into Plattsburgh on thursday, leaving over eighteen inches of snow behind.  As snowplow trucks, tractors, and shovels made their appearances, I couldn't help but be reminded that in eight, short days I would not have to worry about the unpredictable snow storms characteristic of winters in New York.  Unfortunately, most of my packing has been completed, including the packaging of most of my winter clothing.  I am hopeful that the remaining days that I have here in New York are slightly warmer than the current predictions.  The last thing that I need is constant, bad weather while loading a U-Haul outside of my unplowed apartment complex!  Furthermore, I know that at the very last minute, I am going to be running around and searching for things essential for my trip that I forgot (it happens to all of us).  Sliding into a snowy bank would be a great thing to avoid--I hope the weather starts lightening up.  With my car buried in snow, I think to myself, "Australia just can't come fast enough!"

Crossing "T"s and Dotting "I"s

As every day brings me closer and closer to flying out of New York and arriving in Australia, I become more and more anxious.  I try to tackle something that needs to get done each day.  I still have a laundry list of things from me to San Francisco that need to be completed, but the designation of smaller tasks each day is helping me not become too overwhelmed.  Currently, I am taking a break from packing up my apartment.  It is hard to imagine that I somehow managed to keep all of my stuff in this tiny space!  I understand the decorators at AppleBees and TGIFs; I applied the same logic to how I decorated my own apartment!  As I am packing, I am trying to be mindful about the items I plan to take with me in my luggage.  I was told by others who had studied abroad that it is a good idea to pack less and to buy what you needed upon arrival because essentially everything that you bring is something that you have to carry.  It has become apparent that I want to bring my entire closet with me.  In addition to packing both my apartment and my luggage, I am trying to confirm certain details about my semester abroad.  In previous posts, I had mentioned that I had to work at a clinical site (fitness facility performing an unpaid internship) while studying abroad in Australia.  My contact, Tracy, has confirmed that the facility that I will be working at is titled "Kudos Health Club".  The facility is pristine and located about seventeen minutes away from Bond University.  I am beyond excited to have this hands-on experience of learning about fitness from professionals who have the highest of qualifications.  Feeling curious?  Follow the link below to see where I will be spending 96+ hours during my spring semester!

http://www.kudoshealthclub.com.au/

Making A List And Checking It Twice...

Last week, I finally purchased my flight to Australia. Originally, I was waiting for an answer from the study abroad office to see if I could arrive one day late for orientation (as to save money on my flight).  However, with the prices of plane tickets rising with each passing day, I couldn't wait for their response.  I decided to arrive on-time for orientation week (January 7th) and pay the ridiculous amount for my plane ticket....$3000.  Purchasing that flight in particular was hard for me to do just because it was so much money!!  Before I approved the flight by clicking the "confirm" button, I got all nervous.  Immediately after, I stood up, printed my confirmation, and then hugged the nearest librarian.  Just to be clear, I was in the library.  I didn't run to a library and randomly search for a librarian to hug, that would just be a whole different kind of weird.  Later on that week, I finalized my living accomodation for an off-site housing area called "The Reserve" (http://www.thereserve.com.au/apartments).  This apartment complex is wicked expensive and looks absolutely gorgeous.  However, it demands the same price (if not less money) than staying in the dorms on campus at Bond University.  Obviously, if you can save money in a foreign country without having to compromise too much on quality--do it. 
So, all-in-all, I think I'm pretty close to being completely "set" (documentation-wise) in terms of leaving for Australia. I have my flight, I have my living accomodation, I have my health plan finalized, my classes confirmed, my student identfication card, my meal plan arranged and my passport in-hand.  The only thing that I am nervous about is my visa.  I sent out for it a few weeks ago, and it has not arrived yet.  A visa allows you to study in another country for an extended amount of time.  In my case, my visa duration is for approximately four months.  I can't fly to Australia without it!  So, in the meantime, I'm trying NOT to freak out about that small, little, pretty significant detail.  Instead I'm focusing my efforts on making copies of important documents, packing up my apartment, figuring out what I will need to pack in my luggage, and making purchases that will be needed abroad (power converters, camera, tracfone with international calling card, etc.). 
I can't believe that I'm leaving for Australia in 3 weeks!

Hello, December

I still do not have a plane ticket. Let me repeat that very vital piece of information: I am leaving for Australia in almost a month and I have yet to purchase the ticket to get there! Apparently, the loans and scholarships that my home university has allocated to me for the spring semester do not normally fund until the start of the semester. Being that I'm studying abroad and semesters are different in different countries; the funding of my financial aid is just a tad off. But being a "tad off" in study abroad terms is almost akin to being "a tad off" in a rocket launching...you just don't want that to happen. Through the Financial Aid office, I was able to get my spring funds "emergency advanced" to me but that too takes time. It is my sincerest hope that I am able to purchase my ticket by next week. Further still, I need to purchase my housing accommodation and meal plan at Bond University. Luckily, I met a girl at a study abroad information session that was also going to Bond and we are in the process of buying our plane tickets together. In all honesty, my biggest apprehension to going abroad is the whole plane travel situation. What if I lose my luggage? What if one of my flights is delayed and throws off the layover for my connecting flight? What if I accidentally pack a nail file, too much toothpaste, or something as equally innocent and I'm sent to Customs for being a potential flight risk? There are just so many things that can go wrong at an airport and I'm happy that I'll have someone with me that will be helping me get through the craziness of it all. So much has to happen in the next few weeks and I'm wondering how it's all going to piece together. I might need to invest in some yoga DVDs or relaxation music to maintain my sane status. Five weeks until I leave for Australia!

Clinical-ly Insane...

In the Fitness and Wellness major, I am required to participate in four clinical sites. For those who don't know what "clinical sites" are the best way to explain them is labeling them as "unpaid internships" at various health-related venues. Thus far I have had observation/participation hours at a physical therapy clinic, at a functioning fitness center, and at the sports information office at my home campus. Each site that I have been stationed at has helped me grasp a different aspect of what a career in health and wellness could entail. Being that the stipulations of graduating from my degree program entails the participation in one more clinical site; I am going to have to do my final clinical in Australia. Setting this clinical up is kind of like being placed in one of those game show tubes where the host shoots dollar bills in the air and the person within the tube has to grab at whatever bills they can catch within the time limit. Basically, establishing a connection with a fitness facility in a country on the other side of the world is a hat trick. The director of the Fitness and Wellness major, Ken Baldwin, has linked me with a lady that is fairly well connected in the immediate region surrounding Bond University.  I have been in contact with her describing my studying abroad location, likely living situation, and transportation issues.  From what I can tell, she seems dedicated in matching me up to the perfect site to fulfill my final clinical rotation.  Truthfully, I would love it if she could find a local entrepreneurial shop where the owners distribute surf lessons, swimming lessons, diving lessons, etc.  I would love to see how a distinctive fitness business is run outside of a corporate setting.  Of course, beggars can’t be choosers.  Furthermore, I know that finding a clinical that will allow some girl from New York to hang around for four months is difficult to begin with.  I do not want to limit or narrow Ken’s contact’s ability to secure a venue in which I can stay for the semester logging hours.  Any fitness business will be different than what I am used to because its setting will be in another country!  I just hope everything falls into place smoothly.  Cross your fingers!!

Pinch me, I'm dreaming...

This week I received my official acceptance to Bond University!  Along with my acceptance I was offered a $5,000 scholarship.  This news was received with my ever-famous "Rachel dance", numerous phone calls, and the slight off-key singing of the Beach Boys' good vibrations.  Finally hearing that I was approved to attend Bond University ended the constant checking of my email account at hours that I thought Australians might be awake.  The following morning, I went to the study abroad office on campus and submitted my program acceptance fee along with formally accepting my scholarship.  The lady across the desk took my check and said, "It looks like it's official!"  I stared at her for a moment with wide eyes.  "It's official".  I think I blinked a few times and managed to normally continue my conversation with the lady before leaving the office.  Once outside the office, I kept thinking about how I was truly, completely, officially on my way to Australia.  I guess everything feels like a dream until the piles of paperwork that you fill out are stamped with "approval".  I've already began to count down the weeks until leaving and it still feels unreal!  Maybe when I step on the airplane that will take me to Australia, I'll start to believe that all of this is happening to me.  For the moment, I'm still pinching myself on a regular basis.

Making Connections

As a trainer at the campus fitness center, I have made a lot of aquaintances.  This semester, I have had the great pleasure of working with the women's soccer coach.  In one of our training sessions, she mentioned that she had a student from a few years prior that also studied abroad in Australia.  I was able to email and phone this contact from the information that the soccer coach gave me.  Being able to discuss some specific questions with a person that had actually studied in Australia, was truly helpful.  Jady, the name of this new contact, was able to tell me about living in hostiles, visiting Aborigines, common travelling issues, and things she didn't expect to learn during her semester.  She even recommended a few travelling books by "Lonely Planet".  Jady was able to tell me some of her favorite stories about trying new foods and outdoor activities and even about driving on the wrong side of the road and on the opposite side of the car!  She even encouraged me to stay a month after my semester abroad ended so that I could take more time to travel without restrictions.  I hadn't even thought of the idea!  Now I have all of these leads for interesting travel books that I could possibly use for a few weeks of uncharted adventure on my own at the end of my school semester.  The best part is that Australia has so much diversity within its own country: deserts, ocean views, rainforests, and thriving cities.  Even more so, Australia has so much surrounding it: New Zealand, Tasmania, Thailand, Fiji, and a bunch of other gorgeous islands.  I can't believe that in 11 weeks I will be on a plane to Australia. 

...now for the many baby steps to follow

My study abroad application was accepted!  I jumped up and down before I found out that my application was accepted in order to start the next phase of the application process.  That's right, the application process consists of more than one, big step.  In reality, you have to first apply for the program that you want to pursue through your home campus.  Once you are approved, then you can apply directly to the university you want to go to abroad.  So, technically I'm NOT completely "accepted" yet.  The application that I have to fill out for Bond University is online.  Although, it's more paperwork, it's paperwork that's going to take me across the world!  And as soon as I hear that I'm truthfully-honest-to-goodness-really-accepted I will start doing my "Rachel" dance.  This dance is not pretty and is disturbingly akin to Carlton's from the show the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  But the point is that all the paperwork is getting me closer and closer to my dream and that makes me excited.  I can't believe that I have only a half a semester left here in New York before I take my education to another country!  Is it too soon to pack my luggage?

A Pretty Big Step

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I finally finished my study abroad application!  I mainly had to wait for certain signatures from faculty along with reference paperwork, but nevertheless the application is ready to be submitted.  So many trips to the study abroad office in Kehoe (a building on campus), numerous calls to staff within that office, and countless emails to-and-from professors and my academic advisor all to finalize the above image.  To be honest, I have no idea how a completed application is supposed to look.  Am I supposed to hand it over with all the papers stapled together?  Should the application be submitted in an envelope as to appear more official?  Or can I take the "Elle Woods" route, and dress up my application with a coverpage and cheetah print binding?  By the picture, I'm sure that you all have guessed which option I chose.  In addition to the application paperwork, three scholarship submissions are also due alongside.  I have worked really hard on these essays and have sent different edited versions to my sister (an experienced editor) for corrections and advice.  This application has been all that I have thought about for months.  I have had dreams of my application getting lost, getting deleted, flying out of my hands during a freak windstorm, and being attacked by jam-covered kindergarteners on some random class fieldtrip through campus. 

Step one has always been to complete the application and send it into the study abroad office by the required date.  It's such an easy step in theory, but this step truly begins a pretty big journey for me.  Everything from here is essentially uncharted waters.  Finally, my adventure begins!

Tick, tick, tick...

With only two short weeks before the due date of the Bond University application approaching, I can already feel myself starting to get oddly excited.  By the end of next week, I actually hope to have completely finished my application and be fully ready to submit it to the study abroad office.  However, at current I am still waiting on one final letter of recommendation and making finishing touches to my personal statements and essays for scholarships due alongside the application.  I'd love to dedicate hours upon hours to making my application distinctive but with classes, two jobs, and an internship...I'm not quite living up to that expectation.  Someone once told me that I would miss these times.  I'm not so sure about that.  I mean, I love learning and improving my education but the chaos that surrounds college is not my overall ideal situation.  I feel like I'm consistently busy.  Truthfully, that's a fair assessment.  But I'm glad that I am.  It seems that the busier I am, the better time manager I become.  Life is crazy, but I'm somehow juggling all of its obstacles and unnecessary speed bumps.  Every time I feel myself getting overwhelmed, I just think about how great the next semester will be in Australia.  Now, THAT will be a time upon reflection in my later life that I'm certain I will definitely miss!

"May the Best Man Win"

I remember going to study abroad fairs pretty regularly throughout my college experience as a freshman, sophomore, and junior.  Every fair I would ask the presenters at the tables about their travel stories, best memories, and overall impression of their completed program.  The presenters from different semesters probably didn't all know each other.  However, they all managed to answer my questions practically the same way: "It's not something that you can put into words, you just have to go and find out for yourself," or some derivative of that reply.  I guess because I saw so few student representatives during these fairs, that I conclusively thought a small number of students actually applied to the abroad programs. 
When I finally chose Bond University as my program for the spring semester, I naively thought that maybe 3-4 students would also be joining me from SUNY Plattsburgh.  Truthfully, I don't know how many students per semester apply to study abroad and which programs attract the most traffic.  But I have this unsettling feeling that I have heavy competition for the complementing scholarships that go along with the Bond application form.  The other day, I met another girl on my way to get an administrative signature for my application who was also doing the same thing.  She too was applying to Bond University and would be going out for the scholarships offered with the application.  All I could think was, "What if I don't get any funding for this trip?  What if the surplus of applicants means that I end up with a measly scholarship that hardly covers my textbooks?  What if my application isn't even accepted because there were too many people going to Bond University from Plattsburgh?!"  ...Yes, I was freaking out.  Studying abroad may be a worthwhile experience, but the steps that it takes to have that experience are stressful.  I know it sounds greedy, but I want ALL the scholarships that SUNY Plattsburgh has to offer.  It would be nice if I was the only one applying for them and I received them all by default so that no one was left without funding, but now I know that that is not possible.  Other students will be competing for those scholarships and I had best put on my dancing shoes.  Okay, even I don't know what that meant.  I guess what I'm trying to say is that if I want to win badly enough, I have to put up a bigger fight and better effort than everyone else.  May the best man win. 

Blank pages are intimidating

In every study abroad application there is a section to write a descriptive personal statement.  In this statement you are supposed to explain your reason for studying abroad and how it will directly relate to your academic degree program.  Today I started this personal statement and I found that I didn't know where to begin or how to explain myself.  I kept staring at a painfully blank paper.  Then I started panicking.  Did I even have a justifiable reason to go abroad?  Blank paper.  I got so frustrated I started talking out loud, "Why do you want to study abroad at Bond University, Rachel?"...And then something inside me just unlocked.  My mind flooded with all the reasons that I wanted to take my studies to Australia:

-To adapt to a new culture and society in a vastly different environment
-To inspire myself to leave my comfort zone
-To motivate myself to follow through with my own personal fitness goals
-To make memories that will last a lifetime
-To explore new and different fitness venues
-To quench my thirst for travel
-To inspire my friends, family, and class mates to try something new
-To distinguish my resume
-To make new friends and connections
-To fulfill a life-long dream
-To have a big adventure
-To grow as an individual and fitness professional
-To challenge myself in a new setting
-To see new sites and landmarks
-To discover myself and what I'm capable of

...I couldn't not think of a reason for me to study abroad.  I want this more than a package of bobby pins wants to go missing!  I know I want to study at Bond University.  I mean, if I didn't want to go abroad then I wouldn't have gone looking for a way to make it possible.  I guess sometimes it's the simple questions that stump you.  I'm glad that it didn't stump me for long.  I was meant to do this.  Every day that I get closer to going to Australia, I get closer to touching a dream.  It's unreal right now, but that feeling won't be permanent.  This isn't like my dream to literally run into Zac Efron during a good hair day.  Not only is going abroad actually possible, it's going to happen!

"A" is for Application

Putting together an application to study abroad is not exactly an easy process.  Each piece of the application requires some kind of authorization/signature or attached legal documentation.  Truthfully, if you look at the whole application packet, you kind of want to hide it underneath a pillow so that you don't have to look at it.  My suggestion?  Take it one page at a time.  As I went through the packet, I wrote down questions to ask to the staff at the study abroad office on campus.  Apparently, this is not an unusual thing to do.  However, a list of questions that occupies the space of four notebook pages might slightly scare them.  You're welcome, for the warning. 
I'm actually really close to finishing the application.  The closer and closer I get to finishing all of the paperwork, the more and more gentle I am when flipping through it.  Seriously, I've been handling the packet like it was stamped with a giant "fragile" sticker.  I even wash my hands and vacuum my rug before taking the application out of it's designated folder.  I guess I have this reoccuring nightmare that I'll finish my application and somehow get peanut butter on my fingers and then trip on something on my floor and land my hands directly on my finished paperwork.  ...But I'll just rent a horror movie and then I'll have regular nightmares like a normal person. 

On a different note: while I was in the study abroad office, I was informed that Australia was the perfect destination for fitness enthusiasts.  Evidently, Australia has a very active population with many venues for different types of exercise and group fitness.  This news made me more excited than I can even convey.  I guess you always kind of have doubts when you pursue a big dream.  Sometimes, you might even have more doubt than assurances.  It's always nice to have something, no matter how small, confirm that you're heading in the right direction.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Every path has to start somewhere and lead to an eventual destination.  Growing up, I knew my destination, but was far less certain of the path that would lead me there.  Truthfully, it all started with a Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movie: Our Lips Are Sealed.  I probably shouldn't broadcast that.  Anyway, as the Olsen twins went through improbable situations, fashions, and questionable dialogue, they enjoyed the surrounding scenery of Sydney, Australia.  Australia looked beautiful and that's where I wanted to go. 
However, in between the viewing of this movie and now, life happened.  I went to High School, graduated, started college, and now am in my final year as a senior at a SUNY college.  But along the way, I still carried that dream of going to Australia. 
So, it was a few semesters ago when I noticed fliers on campus for studying abroad and my heart just stopped.  Well no, actually my heart decided to beat a million times a minute like I had just fallen epically in love.  But that was it: that was my path.  The path I hadn't been able to find ever since I was a little kid.  Yet there I was standing with the ripped off flier from the wall and a yellow, brick road underneath my feet.  I was going to Australia.

Now, let's get real for a moment: Australia is basically on the other side of the world.  Everything that I know is here in New York: my family, my friends, my life.  And to be truthfully honest?  I really have no idea how to finance such a big expense.  Furthermore, my degree program (Bachelor's of Science: Leadership in Fitness and Wellness), is pretty rigorous and strict.  How am I going to match up my courses to classes abroad in another country?  Australia sounds like an adventure, but am I truly ready for it?

Yes.  The answer is always "yes."  I learned that from Jim Carey in Yes Man (sidenote: I should really crack open a book one of these days).  Life gives you so many opportunities to pursue your dreams and you would be absolutely crazy to never go along with it. 

So this is my story of going from New York to Australia.  Along the way, I plan to share my commitments to fitness (as it is my major and future career field), my attempts (and hopefully successes) at finding scholarships, and my overall process of making my way to Australia. 

 

Wish me luck!