Greetings from Sydney :) Yes, I live here now. I flew over in February 2009, as a study abroad kid in my last semester as an undergraduate at the University of Michigan. I accidentally fell in love with this country, however, resolved to make myself a life here, and have never looked back.
Around June 2009, I decided that I didn't want my Australian experience to end; I applied for graduate school. The financial crisis in the states was not improving, and unemployment rates were nearing 10%. My bachelors of arts in music certainly wouldn't be favorable in such a harsh economic climate, so I decided that going back to school was the right thing to do. I've always been an avid writer, and a brand new program at the University of South Wales was taking off. John Hartigan, CEO and Chairman of News Ltd (which until 1988 operated the New York Post and currently runs some of Australia's largest publications such as The Australian, The Daily Telegraph, The Herald Sun, GQ Australia, Vogue Australia and news.com.au...Rupert Murdoch is behind all this) gave a wonderful speech on the opening of the program, found here.
So I'm working toward a masters in Journalism & Communication at the University of New South Wales. I live in an apartment in the Eastern Suburbs, about 5 minutes from the beach. Life is glorious.
I have an internship at Melon Media in Sydney CBD, where I run the spellr.us corporate blog and also contribute to the main corporate blog.
I recently quit my job at the Coogee Bay Hotel (meaning I can once again be a patron there; bring on the beers) and have begun work at Infinity Property Agents, a property management company in Sydney.
Until school is officially out of session, my visa restricts me to 20 hours a week. With uni four days a week and Melon two days a week (my job at the Coogee Bay used to be Fri, Sat, Sun--meaning no days off, jam packed timetable...what a nightmare) plus a lame excuse for a social life...this restriction has yet to bother me. Come summer, I can work as much as I want, and without uni, I will be embracing the Australian work ethic in full. (Which, contrary to popular belief, does not comprise of 2 hour pub lunches and leaving on Fridays at noon to hit up the beach, as tempting as it may seem. Australians are very hard workers!)
Last week I had a phone interview with Yamaha Music Australia, so hopefully I'll be teaching piano again soon. Private lessons with at least one student are starting within the next few weeks. Hopefully--if things go well with my first student--mums will get to talking, as they usually do. They'll marvel at how much their daughter/son loves music, and how much it enhances their lives and adds to their educational experiences--plus, they have fun! Perhaps they'll be pushing trolleys (grocery carts) at the shops, or chirping away on the phone while changing nappies (diapers); regardless, before I know it I'll have my very own studio of students, full of adorable little Ozzie kids screaming "Mum, mum, look what Ms Mariah taught me to play!"
I digress.
I'm also doing some freelance work (as pianist, not harpist--though I miss that over-sized 88-stringed ebony Lyon & Healy beauty) for Le Montage, a Sydney-based function centre. It's amazing to be playing again. I just ordered my favorite Christmas music books (Jerry Ray) and can't wait to start pounding out those Christmas carols. Yes, I'm aware that it's barely Halloween. Practice makes perfect!
Classes and final assessments will be over and done with by 1 November. My 23rd birthday is 10 November (gross, I'm getting old) and Thanksgiving....er....the end of November (reminder: no such holiday exists down under...someone send me massive amounts of turkey) will bring a very tan and happy Mariah as the official first day of summer is 1 December. Have fun with that snow and ice, Michiganders...
All in all, everything is going beautifully. I love Australia, and though I miss my family and friends dearly, I'm very, very happy here!
If you want to contact me, the best way is email: mariahgillespie@gmail.com
Cheers!! xx Mariah xx
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