#RMIToutbound

[o-orenda]

Gooooogle

[travisfranks]

Strange Alchemy

In our smaller groups within the China study tour, we have been reading through each others words - reams and reams of words - in search of what Francesca calls ‘emergent themes and threads of interest’ in the collective digital consciousness. All the thoughts, fears and expectations we are currently processing in the lead up to our adventure. Relationships are growing. People are getting nervous. Imaginations are going wild. More and more words keep getting written. These are exciting times! 

Our group decided not only to digest the words of our peers, but to ‘re-digest’ them, if you will. Appropriate them through re-contextualisation. Being the clever dickenses that we are, we thought a fitting way to articulate these shared feelings was to create a suite of found text poems - using text from these blogs - to pull apart words, sentences and paragraphs and put them back together  in the form of poetry. How collaborative is that???

Natalie considers anticipation and possible language barriers in Anticipation aka Questioning aka Scared aka Confused aka Overwhelmed. 

Taylah ponders her curiosity and all the things she doesn’t know about Guangzhou in A Mirage I Don’t Quite See, Yet It Makes Me Wonder.

Kate collates a piece about revealing yourself, how you exist in your writing in Exposure.

Kat interrogates notions of identity and perspective in How am I Not Myself

and I explore the need for building a culture of empathy in cross-cultural communication in Empathy in the Exchange, or An Effortless Conversation.

Anticipation aka Questioning aka Scared aka Confused aka Overwhelmed

by Natalie Briggs

It’s important to establish, looking past language, It’s really only me who cops it

My brother pointed out it was unlikely: an instant messaging service, our eventual meeting

But their family and anyone associated with them: compromise surely a part of this process

Vulnerabliity Mere imitation What your voice Sounds like

Hyper-ware petri-dish getting it all wrong

_

Anyone who has ever tried in a real-life context

Unable to play convincingly

No one owns their repuation. Ask Taylor (Swift).

The people of Guangzhuo are crazy about flowers

My goal is set

Tap water, I think it’s best to know that

A stranger didn’t read my blog

_

Web users often buy programs powered by algorithms to build up their social media profiles

_

You must be bold to speak in another language. Coincidence, of happenstance, of serendipty and irony.

This is how I see the world: how much confidence is required?

Counter intuitive and missing the point. Infinite regression in the first place. Gaps between us both.

Take control of your Instagram, divvy out likes. Don’t worry about it. A desicion to forgo any posturing, that is enough to bring us together.

_

Quickly trying to capture Autumn, my sister’s boyfriend’s, family’s hotel room view.

There are 66 days until we leave to China,

this tree language. Bustling conversation all around us.

Since then I’ve been trying to layer, ground my words. Which language do I chose when there are so many out there?

With a cousin and some friends and someone asked me if I could speak Dutch?

The throat noises don’t come naturally.

It is a slow burning relationship. One language dies every fourteen days.

Random lives turn out to be not so random.

Eating spicy food. I want to discover people, share their stories. Hopefully I can at least learn how to say hello.

A Mirage I Don’t Quite See, Yet It Makes Me Wonder

by Taylah Robinson

What was the most unusual thing you did today? I have been invited to The Flower City. I was surprised, I never wanted to go to China, but now I am. It is

exciting daunting shocking I know nothing about the place. One must always prepare thoroughly, these are the words that enticed me:

— Guangzhou pens the nickname ‘The Flower City’ since the flowers bloom

all year round —

A mirage I don’t quite see, yet it makes me wonder

what is going on in

your inner world? Isn’t it curious, this exhilarating experience, there were sixty-six days until we leave, and now there are less. So much to learn, I can follow my nose, and it seems virtually limitless.

Am I weird if I’m kind of looking forward to it?

You’ll move from the known Will your senses be shocked? I was surprised, I’m also a daydreamer. everything will be different isn’t it curious —

to the unknown.

Could this freedom relieve anxiety? Sparked, I let myself research legends, was surprised by a subtropical climate, gentle sunlight, and golden fields. Okay, but how good does this place look. You’ve never been and what parts of yourself can’t wait? A single, profound moment of connection. Allow to wade shoulder-deep in thoughts and emotions. I enjoy spending the weeks leading up to this thinking about the kind of story I might like to tell.

Exposure by Kate Abbey

I had a dream I was abroad a bruise, healed along with a burning trashcan full of sass and white noise I find myself a little overwhelmed

My digital selfhood appears to compose itself (like a diary, more public, less cringey) scrambling, crawling, stumbling the blood beneath pooling in the centre A psychic once said I wade shoulder deep through windows an unexplored space, a blank canvas thought in ink out of my depth

one of my fears is wasps the other is forgetting try not to panic in public bathrooms the thing of it is, I don’t really know how to edit

I like to imagine myself with metal jaws consuming teeth and bones

all writing holds the self they say it’s a gut clenching piece of yourself a stew comprised of snake and wildcat double exposure for a dunce like me I sat in my car outside for a full ten minutes

There’s a slice of spicy pepper gallivanting in my shoe the arrows fly between the black blades of grass orchestras rap on the other side of the door as I turn and lope for home

how to spill oneself across the page is the question

Surgeon skills are what is required: jettison your Chelsea dagger replace it with a butter knife and a babushka doll toss in an immortal jellyfish, a white horse and a magical fairy munching peaches flowers will fill the street by a heart that shimmers

I had a dream I was abroad a bruise, healed

collage a me together piece by shining piece.

How am I not myself by Kat Capell

there’s no such thing as a clear sky this is important for me to start thinking about my dreaming of experiences an exercise altogether belonging to the imagination the imaginative and conceptual Floating around my mind all day It appears two dimensional at the moment For now I feel behind Who I was before I sometimes get stuck if that makes sense Submissive verses aggressive Control or power, either bad or good Who we think we are When you feel comfortable there, when you’ve been there a while The subject becomes even more complex it is about asking questions I want to experience What we see and what we don’t see The truth? A common question with seemingly no obvious answer I now realise the true importance I am not afraid Emotion in itself is universal I will let myself feel Crushed Let me share with you before I can overthink it all An act of vulnerability I have lost myself then found myself again Bumping, colliding, overlapping Floating close to the surface I keep returning to the idea of identity and how I might slowly reveal myself

How do we piece it together How much control do we have Probe deeper A foreign country Probe deeper Anyone can be a colonist What memories linger The feeling of being quite still, How it feels to touch visually Reflection What I saw

Empathy in the Exchange, or An Effortless Conversation

by Travis Franks

Peeking into the lives and minds of my fellow collaborators, I feel the responsibility of being a part of an experience beyond my own. An inner empathy and openness to listen and speak, and understand. To share an imagination we must stretch the muscle of empathy to include an understanding of the world, inhabit the life, thoughts and feelings of another person - there are more similarities than differences. Empathy reigns supreme. Empathy is everywhere.

Floating between the inner and outer state of being, wading shoulder-deep in thoughts and emotions (general *~feelings~* the whimsical ones) bumping, colliding, overlapping; tenuously co-existing with each other, something happens in that petri-dish of interaction in which both minds are essentially changed…

…a strange alchemy. An ‘effortless conversation’.

The exchange. The invisible agreement, a mutual understanding of what we’re willing to share. Being vulnerable, one to the other you talk and listen. Together, you build something new. It’s liberating; the thrill of sharing, being in the company of others, each contributing different elements of the whole.

Voices will raise but they must be heard in a way that doesn’t silence the rest. Negotiating the gap in communication, navigate the barriers between cultural differences: habits, quirks and social customs, a collective experience being shared, consciousness pooling in the centre. Where do I fit inside of this imagination? this open fluidity?

Empathy is the ability to step in another’s shoes. Tread lightly, reach out, bring me closer…

I have been influenced.

[oceancrossingblog-blog]

A Night to Remember

After working on the train back to Guangzhou, the books are in their final stages and are almost ready for proofreading, which will now take place back in Melbourne. The last day was simply spent enjoying China. Jules and I finally had the opportunity to head down to Beijing Lu (road) for some last minute shopping.

Beijing Lu (road)

Now masters of the metro, we made our way back to the hotel, only a little late for dinner. Professor Dai’s assistant Paul led the way to the bus stop, to take the bus to a minority restaurant a few stops away. All thirty of us piled onto the local bus, squeezing to the end of the aisles. Things were a little squishy until we reached the next stop and a gaggle of school girls also got on the bus making it very squishy. The school girls were good fun, laughing and making fun of one of our Chinese hosts who kept getting the stops wrong. 

Australia does local Chinese bus 

Much to the bus driver’s approval we got off the bus near Kecun Mall and walked to the minority restaurant. The restaurant itself is known as an art restaurant and is decorated with beautiful local artwork from the Yunnan province where the minority are from. Fan introduced the owner, who came in today especially to meet us. Fan’s husband is also from this province and they frequent this restaurant in their own time. She showed us beautiful photos of the area and told us that we must go there one day (it’s non-negotiable).

Fan selects our meals with the help of the owner.

Lisa tucks into some fish. 

The food was some of the most amazing food we’d ever eaten and unlike anything we’d eaten in China thus far. The flavours were so fresh and interesting and were accompanied by a beautiful, sweet rose wine which we sipped from tiny shot glasses. After the meal Fan took Jules, Travis, Nat and I to her hairdresser where we received full body massages as we got our hair washed. It was a truly luxurious experience. Nat and Jules also received haircuts, I on the other hand received a rather interesting blow wave. After about half an hour of drying my thick hair, the hairdresser pulled out a curling iron and started curling the ends of my hair under, while his friend began to take pictures of me. The end result was something out of 60s film and we all couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. After some more photos that I’m sure are on some Facebook page somewhere as advertisement. We departed for the hotel, ready (not really) to pack for our flight tomorrow. 

Fresh cuts. 

[icyblood]

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What i keep dreaming awake @Regrann from @katelyoffa - Paris 🥀 #rmitoutbound #rmitglobal - #regrann

[muitearukou]

京都、日本

２０１７年１１月９日’

Kyoto, Japan

#rmitoutbound #rmitabroad #rmitravel

[o-orenda]

🌫

[o-orenda]

Views from Lombard street

[o-orenda]

Rainy day on Lombard street

[o-orenda]

Nothing like a pretty sunset

[o-orenda]

Pretty sights at google

[o-orenda]

🎨 

[o-orenda]

Golden Gate Bridge 🌉

[o-orenda]

Alcatraz is so rich with history

[o-orenda]

Sights from Stanford 🌴

[o-orenda]

I was extremely anxious about who I’d meet and what my next two weeks would be like upon coming to San Francisco. I knew that I’d be super busy with the course I’d be undertaking, but I was also looking forward to meeting new people and forming fresh connections.

I found myself strolling through the steep streets of San Francisco and was in absolute awe at the sights (even in pouring rain). That’s when I knew that despite my fears of feeling lonely and homesick, I would never feel quiet alone in a city so lit up and energetic.

In the coming days I met everyone and we all instantly clicked. My teacher at the beginning of the course told me “this will be the shortest and the quickest two weeks of your life” and at the time I thought “okay no it’s one or the other” and only now do I really understand how true that is.

I met some of the most amazing people who I now consider as a second family to me. As soon as we clicked, I knew that my fears of being alone and missing my friends and family at home would soon be a distant memory. Saying goodbye to all the beautiful people I met has got to be the hardest part of the whole experience for me.

I hope that everyone that has an opportunity to undertake a program like this takes it with open arms and an open heart because if your experience is half as great as mine, you will have a 10/10 time.

[o-orenda]

My first 3 days have wheel-y been an absolute roller coaster.

Having never been in another country alone, I had my reservations of course. So to put my mind at ease, I planned every single moment of my stay because my mindset was that if I’m organised, everything will go to plan, right? Wrong.

Consistent with my luck, the planes experienced heavy delays which meant that I missed 3 flights that were meant to flow one after another. I had to think of a plan B, then a C, then even a plan D. At that point, that detailed plan I had made became impossible to follow, so I had to make major amendments.

At the time all I could think was “what more can go wrong?” but I can tell you right now, despite all of those misfortunes, it’s the moment you walk into your first hotel room and just sit alone do you realise that in the grand scheme of things, we are still alive, we are in a foreign country, and we have two options - to become consumed by what plan A or B could’ve been, or to accept that we are so blessed to have the opportunity to explore other plans.

Three days later, I haven’t done ONE of the things on my extremely detailed plan, but what I did do is take a taxi to the middle of the city in Seattle and just wondered. And despite the fact that it was 2 degrees, there was nothing better than the fresh air accompanied by the most beautiful sights and kind souls that filled the streets.

To all of you out there that are like me and think planning everything will remove any possibility for error, I wish you the best. But please keep in mind that sometimes it’s important to let go of plans that can sometimes make us blind to the simple beauty around us.

I read once that “life is about how you handle plan B”, and after all of this, I can tell you that these alterations turned out pretty damn good.