Last semester courses!

Again, for those of you who care to know here is a list with their descriptions of the classes I am taking in my final semester.  This semester is a little different from the previous two because I only have two physical classes that I have to go to each week.  The other two are comprised of my internship and research paper.  These I complete on my own time.  I am two weeks into the semester and so far everything seems great. I am really happy with the two classes that I am taking. They seem really interesting and are taught by people who actually seem to know how to teach (unlike some classes last semester). That reminds me that I should have posted about how things turned out last semester, but I was too stressed with school and flying home to write about it at the time. Oh well. It is in the past! I am looking forward to completing my final semester. I cannot believe I am almost done! Crazy!!

Marketing and Promotion
This course focuses on issues in marketing for those working in arts and related fields. Topics covered include methods of audience research and ways of undertaking group surveys and their implementation. How to define the unique qualities of a target institution and create a public image around this separateness are issues explored, together with detailed studies of promotional and fundraising strategies.

Education and Public Programs
This course covers issues surrounding public programs and education in the context of art galleries, museums and related institutions. It addresses questions to do with the identification and definition of audiences, examines the needs of non-specialist communities as well as educational institutions, and takes account of the practicalities of budgeting and planning. The development of programs using volunteer guides (and their training), floor talks, lectures, seminars and conferences is presented as a subject for practical purposes as well as critical consideration. Also included is a consideration of exhibitions for purely educational purposes.

Research Paper
This project allows for the focusing of investigative, analytical and theoretical skills. Topics must relate to the broad area of the internship and are chosen in consultation with a supervisor who will guide and direct the project. The 10,000 word study may include the use of film, video and audio tape or photographic documentation where relevant. While it may draw directly on experiences gained during the internship, the research paper must be treated as an independent project.

Internship*
Students undertake a project-based industry placement internship consisting of a minimum of 240 hours. This may involve more than one host institution. Internships enable students to gain practical, supervised experience of gallery management, curatorial practice, public programs, art writing and other work areas related to the course. The internship is ungraded but successful completion requires the submission of reports both by the host institution and the student. Students are also required to participate in an on-line discussion during their internship and their final report is posted on the WebCt site.

*I am doing my internship at the Sydney Dance Company. More to come about that!

Whales!

It is whale season here in Australia and I had my first whale spotting today! Very exciting. I went to visit my friend Mel and as we were sitting outside* chatting all of a sudden out in the distance we saw a big thing jump out of the water and fall back in. WHALE! It was massive and made a huge splash.  We think it may have been a mom and baby-I'm not really sure why we thought that.  Mel said it was and since I do not know anything about whales I went with it. Nevertheless it did it again and you could see the arm and tail sticking out at times.  Even though we were really far away you could also see the water being sprayed from its blowhole.  Pretty amazing and cool.  After that I stopped listening to Mel (sorry Mel!) and started intently watching for whales.  Soon after those initial two jumps they swam away from us and we didn't see them again. Sad.  It was almost like they were trying to get our attention, which they did, to say hello and then swim on.  Mel and I are planning an official whale watching day so hopefully I will get to see them up close, but today was a nice surprise. I wish I had a picture to post, but I didn't have a camera and we were too far away to get a good picture anyway.

*We were over at Mel's boyfriend's parents house and their porch overlooks the ocean. Nice huh?

America!

Seeing as I have now been back in Australia for almost two weeks, I thought it was about time that I write a quick post about my trip home.  Adsy and I had a great time.  In fact, Adsy keeps saying to everyone that it was the best trip of his life so far, even better than the one where he met me! Oh well, I'm glad he had fun.  I had a great time seeing family and friends and like usual I felt like there wasn't enough time.  It is frustrating how quickly trips go by. One minute you are on the plane heading there and then next you are a plane heading back home.  Good thing it should not be too much longer until I arrive back in the good ole US of A!!

I will take a minute to apologize to those of you who I either didn't get a chance to see or didn't get a chance to see you very much.  Obviously, I wish I could have seen everyone for long periods of time, but alas that is not how life works.  Until next time I am home!

Now back to the trip.  Adsy and I had a great time-duh. I was so happy to see so much of my family.  I think my favorite part was being at my parents house-especially when Thanna, TR, and Sam were all there.  TR has grown up so much since the last time I saw him in December.  His many new tricks, like walking, kept us entertained for hours.  I cannot wait to see what else he starts doing-like forming real words and talking!

I had a great time in Austin as usual. Although, I had one less friend there due to the fact that she is too cool for school and moved to Aspen.  Nevertheless it was great eating BBQ and tons of Mexican food.

Another highlight was going to Orlando, Florida and hanging out at Harry Potter World in Universal Studios. I am such a dork that I almost started crying when we walked into the gates for HP.  It's was all so magical-minus the thousands of other tourists. After spending a long day at Universal I realized that I don't ever want to bring kids to a place like that. I was exhausted being there with 5 other adults. Imagine having three kids with you. No wonder the park sells beer everywhere...After Universal we spent a couple of days at the beach recovering. I found out that the stretch of beach we were on, New Smyrna Beach, is one of the top beaches in the US for shark attacks. That was a fun fact to learn. 

Hogwarts at Harry Potter world Universal Studios Florida=Pure awesomeness

From there, Adsy and I split off and went in different directions. He to Washington D.C. to hang out with his cousin, I went back home to Conroe.  It was good that we split up because we both got to put in some good family time.  Overall the trip was a great success! I wish I could have had more time at home, but it wasn't possible because I had to get back to school. 

The good news is is that I may be back in a few months! Don't ask me when though because I have no idea.  All I know for sure is that my visa expires March of 2012 and unless I figure someway to stay, I have to leave.  I don't want to get deported!