A Journey Resumed

After only a span of 2.5 years, I once more find myself in the land known as Down Under. While my last visit to this country lasted 6 months, this sojourn will last 2 years at least. My time in Australia this time around, therefore, is more permanent than transitory. Indeed, the result of this experience may be a permanent relocation, but that decision is still sometime in the future.


My decision to travel to Australia this time, was more conditional than the last. In 2005, I took part in an exchange program between Ottawa's Carleton University and Macquarie University in Sydney. After my return to Canada, I completed my Honours B.A. degree in Interdisciplinary Studies and eventually followed up with an M.A. in International Affairs, the components of which I completed last January. However, after some discussion and thought, I decided to pursue a law degree to round out my education. Although I applied to several Canadian law schools, I was rejected from each one and I then decided to apply to various Australian law schools.


In Australia, there is a semi-formal university organization called the Group of Eight, composed of the best 8 universities in the country. The list includes, the Australian National University, the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, Monash University, the University of Queensland, the University of New South Wales, Adelaide University and the University of Western Australia. Interestingly, I was accepted unconditionally to all of these institutions. The next formidable task was choosing an appropriate university based on academic merit and cost. After a bit of research, I decided upon the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. It is consistently ranked the best university in Australia by both national and international polls, and it is in the middle of the price range. After I sorted out my banking and accommodation details, I was all set to go.

However, this was not an uninterrupted journey between the capitals of Canada and Australia, but one punctuated with 2 stopovers in very different cities --- Regina and San Francisco. Before I speak of my adventures in Australia, you shall first be regaled with tales from those settlements.

As previous custom dictates, I will generally be updating my blog every Saturday evening Canberra time, roughly early Saturday morning Ottawa time, to update you on the events of the past week. As situations dictate, I may update sooner or later than once per week, though I will generally post any changes in another post and this practice will probably only be confined to times when I travel beyond Canberra.