it's the weekend!

so yesterday was a very interesting day.

the morning was spent in my View from Australia class... and for the afternoon we went to the rocks - a section of Sydney which was the first inhabited and also one of questionable repute for quite some time. it was a great time! there were so many amazing little places all close together and many of them were very, very old.

last night i went to Congress Hall youth group at the officer's quarters. it was a great time for everyone. i got to know a lot of the teens a little better.

this morning i had a corps songsters reading day, and this afternoon I've spent reading about 200 pages of View from Australia homework while hanging out at Ash Sellers' apartment (which is where i am right now)

i have about ten pages of View homework left and then I'm headed to Olympic Park again for a night of Eagles' music!

should be fun.

-jason

Wednesday and Thursday

Wednesday:

great day! i only had one class (Contemporary Christian Music) and it was amazing. there's so many people in the class and many of them are simply amazing musicians. we had to do one song for the gathering... and so we pulled together a band: two worship leaders (male and female), five backing vocals (all doing parts, don't worry joel), acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, piano, synth, and drums. and it was amazing... people weren't stepping on toes, it worked out well.

then i went to the ash wednesday service at st. james anglican church. the first song was the same "call to remembrance" that university choir did last year! the rest of the service was unbelievable. it was very high church and i could tell that some of the people felt uncomfortable, but i was just captivated by the power and emotion in the service.

to top off the night we went out to a karaoke place... tons of fun - as always.



Thursday:

started with choir - great group! there's about 80 people (it's manditory for all music majors) and there's something about those numbers that just display the majesty of God. it's not as good technically as other choirs that i'm involved in, but it was great to have that variety. (also, we're singing Lux Arumque and All that hath life and breath praise ye the lord! - Rick, i'm hearing our songs everywhere!)

then came seven hours of homework - on the same assignment

I also got to talk to Caitie and Joel and Jonathan and Charm (charm, what's your maiden name? Dr. DJ and i were talking and i couldn't remember)... it was quite good.

then orchestra... i'd never played alto clef on trombone before. bass clef, tenor clef, treble clef, yes... alto, no... it was an adventure.

all in all, two great days...

another one tomorrow

-jason

classes etc.

ok... for those of you who call me/try to find time to talk to me online... here's my class schedule

Monday:
The View from Australia/Indigenous History, Cultures and Identity: 8:45-12:00
Choir: 12:00 - 13:30
Digital Audio Workstations and Live Sound: 14:30-16:30 (maybe switching to 16:30-18:30)

Tuesday:
Aural Perception III: 9:00-10:50
Harmony and Analysis III: 11:00-11:50
Harmony and Analysis III Tutorial: 12:00-12:50

Wednesday:
Contemporary Christian Ensemble: 10:45-12:35
The Gathering: 13:00-13:50

Thursday:
Choir: 9:30-11:00
Orchestra: 18:00-21:00

Friday:
The View from Australia/Indigenous History, Cultures and Identity: 9:00-17:00

lots of fun.

in other news - my harmony and analysis professor called me Joel today...

yup... called me Joel

also Neil took me out to lunch today... I had this amazing kebab. (i'll be visiting that place again)

and I went to Congress Hall band practice. it's a really good little group.

Ash Wednesday service at St. James Anglican tomorrow night! (o high church how i love thee)

great times all around
-jason

opportunities...

so in my first day of classes i found that i have an opportunity to sing in the opera house... (on live tv)

i was also presented with an opportunity to play trombone in a rock/funk band on live tv

but back home i was waitlisted during RA selection

you win some, you lose some

-jason

church

I am the new Bass Trombonist for the Sydney Congress Hall Corps Band
(I found my church yesterday.)

as I walked in the doors of the Salvation Army - Sydney Congress Hall Corps (a bit late) the songsters were singing "Be Thou My Vision" and I was hooked. The corps has new officers and there's a lot of interesting stuff happening during this change. I want to be a part of it.

after the service I introduced myself to a young man named Ash (i can't remember his last name, but those of you who listen to the Sydney Staff Songsters have heard his voice). we had lunch together and he told me a bit of what's going on in the Army here in Sydney.

next was Songster practice (yes, I went)... it was amazing! the songters are not the greatest group, but they learn fairly well and they want to be there... two awesome attributes.

then i got to jam a bit with some of the corps youth... they really didn't want to do anything else except play and sing worship music, and i thought - what a great idea!

my church experience yesterday ended with the evening service... it was great! all the recovery guys (and ladies) were there, as well as many of the people from the morning service. I got to sing in the songsters and play in the band!

and I made some great connections

(after that I went to the world's largest short film festival... there's always something to do here)

-jason

orientation over

so I've had a few very full days of orientation...

immensely fun, full days, but full nonetheless.

and as a final, unofficial part of the orientation, several of us decided to check out the local music/nightlife scene. it's very interesting how a club here is not all about drinking... it's about having a good time with friends. us ASC students are not allowed to drink, yet the fact that none of us had any alcohol was not out of place. there were some interesting times though. i never felt that i would be a trend-setter on the dance floor, let alone in a foreign country. and yet it took my friend Lindy and me to start any dancing...

soon the floor was full.

don't believe it? i didn't either.

today's been great so far. after a home-cooked pancake breakfast, my roommate Ty and our house-mom Jo went into town to do some grocery shopping. what an adventure! even stores that we have back home such as Aldi's are very different here.

no plans for the rest of the day... maybe a movie at one of the host family's houses. but tomorrow, Sydney Congress Hall.

should be fun. Ty's coming too.

-jason

First Full Day

after missing one bus, then missing a connection later... i had my first experience in an Australian taxi today...

great way to start the morning.

I had a great day to follow though.

after a couple of sessions in the morning we spent the afternoon in Sydney. we split up into six groups and had a Sydney scavenger hunt. from as far north as the opera house on one side of circular quay and the harbour bridge on the other side... all the way down to the ANZAC memorial (and all in between)

my team won... being not only the first team back, but one of the few with all the spots.

then we had a boat tour around the bay. it was simply stunning. words cannot express how amazing the scenery was (pictures will come)

then we finished off the day with a meal at a mongolian barbecue and a train/bus trip back home!

it was a great day! and tomorrow is promising to be just as good.

-jason

Address!

ok. I have an address now! (and a great host family to go along with it)

173 Majors Bay Rd
Concord NSW
Australia, 2137

for those of you that are expecting individual emails from me... you'll be getting them once I'm more settled and have caught up on some sleep.

-jason

Arrived

I have arrived here in Sydney...

It is beautiful here... and I'm definitely going to be breaking out a pair of shorts before too long.

I haven't yet my host family yet, but that will be happening in just a few hours.

my classmates/friends/peers for the next four months are a great group. (maybe spending 14 hours on a plane makes you feel like you've known each other a lot longer)

so that is all for now. thanks for all your prayers for safe travel, and keep them coming. I am, after all, going to be here for four months ;-)

-jason

Here it comes

I am looking at my luggage sitting in front of me (packing was a nightmare)...

it's finally a reality.

today I spent the last time with my family that I'll have with my family (and girlfriend) for four months. it hurts a little... but I know it'll be okay.

my parents bought me a going-away gift, so I now have my first ever ipod (yeah, I know... hard to believe)

tomorrow I head to LA... then monday Australia

-jason