Barbara Altis:  

Life May 21, 2012 I just graduated from Sac State with honors last Saturday May 19th!!! Good heavens though, it went by lightning fast. : ) July 26, 2009 Enjoying my summer vacation and eagerly awaiting CSU's decision whether I'll study in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The wait for the Sac State program about going to Perth was torture! I didn't know what was harder, not going or not KNOWING!! Maybe it's easier waiting about Brisbane because it's a longer wait and I know I just have to put it out of my mind for the most part. It has also occurred to me that maybe Perth isn't meant to be but Brisbane IS. Aside from that, I just bought a new laptop and I feel like the world is my oyster! : ) (see new Profile pic) It's a bit of a stretch with the money but I didn't want to leave my virtual property behind if I DO make it to Australia. Now I won't have to. : ) January 3, 2008 ...how about my first semester at Sac State? I knew my first year could be eventful when I returned to California, but I had NO IDEA what was in store for me my first 4 months! Oh my goodness, I've learned that I need not to leave the country to get a high dose of culture shock! College campus life alone was enough to throw me into a whirlwind with classes that require openness and vulnerability, and trips like my first skydiving opportunity! And let's not forget the international diversity I don't recall encountering back in Jacksonville, Arkansas. I had one classmate in Acting Study 1 who was an Australian exchange student. It reminded me of Christina Nortvig from...Denmark, was it? My high school senior year, we were in the school play together. I didn't like saying goodbye to HER, but Mark? Oh my goodness, where do I begin? He said hi to me at the bus stop and asked me how I was the second day of school, and I had only been back to CA for just over a month so I was the new student. HE was the exchange student from Australia, and he'd been there longer than I had! I felt like I was in HIS world. His greeting meant a lot to me, as it was one of the little things that assured me that college life would be far more hospitable to me than high school life was. That was September 5, my first day of Theatre History, Tech Pro: Stagecraft, and Multicultural Perspactives in Theatre. I had no idea who Mark was, let alone that he was a classmate in Acting Study; HE told ME. Goodness, my heart aches just THINKING about that day. It was the beginning of his second semester here at Sac state, so I would only know him for a semester. Then came Sunday, October 21, my skydiving trip through Peak Adventures. When we arrived at the Parachute Center and I had already drawn my number (I was 44), there was a lot of fuss about # 23 called and missing. I heard a voice call out, "Come on, 23. Don't be afraid." I couldn't mistake that Australian accent! I remember thinking, "Oh my goodness, there's another one." About 3 hours pass and I'm finally on deck. I sprinted at the call of # 44 and discovered I was being paired up with that Aussie gentleman. Oh my word, it was too good to be true! On the way to the plane, I discovered he had a brother right there with us. I thought, "Heaven have mercy, 3 of them in less than 2 months. Moreover, Joe, my "instructor" (I prefer "partner"), was making his 1000th jump while I was making my first. He was so very attentive, I think a bit too worried about me, having asked me "Are you alright?" what seemed about every 60 seconds from the time we got on the plane till the moment we landed with the parachute. But that darling, gorgeous, enchanting accent... Joe had me in the palm of his hand from the moment I met him. Then of course life on c...Expand for more