Winter Wonderland

In keeping with Canberra's quiescent nature, not much excitement has occurred in my life these last few days. Although I have been around the city, my life remains as uneventful as always. Of greatest significance is that with the first week of studies concluded, I now have a better idea of the workload of the courses. This semester I have Lawyers, Justice and Ethics, Australian Public Law, Legal Theory and International Law. I'm particularly looking forward to International Law since it is a field I am very interested in. As for Lawyers, Justice and Ethics, I got the obvious joke out of the way after the first class.

Although Canberra is in the throes of winter, it certainly does not feel it. Although temperature do go below 0 at night, there is generally no precipitation that can turn into snow and with the days lengthening it seems unlikely that any will fall in the city. However, snow is not completely removed from Canberra's environs. The other day, while looking at the western ranges, I did notice a light sprinkling of snow atop one of the mountains.

The first week of school in the 2nd semester is known as "Bush Week", presumably to celebrate Canberra's extensive parkland. There have been many activities both at Fenner Hall and at the university, some of which I have participated in. Bush Week ends tomorrow and I am looking forward to the trivia game scheduled. I am told that one of the Bush Week traditions is "No Lecture Friday", but it is not universally adhered to. On Friday, at 09:00, I had my regularly scheduled International Law lecture and though it involved concepts that I am already familiar with, it was still interesting. Luckily, my Friday lecture only lasts until next week after which I have Wednesdays and Fridays completely free.

One of the Bush Week activities I did participate in was the annual Staff vs. Students soccer game. I was the linesman for the first half and for half of the second half at which time I was put into the striker position. I came close to scoring twice but the first time the ball just sailed over the top corner and the second time the goalie stopped the ball. Nonetheless, the students came out on top taking the game 4-1. In case you're thinking that this is a typical result, I was told that the staff had won the previous 3 years. I look forward to playing again next year.

I did manage to make a bit of money on Tuesday by doing some stocktaking at a Bunnings warehouse in Belconnen. Bunnings is a home supplies store like Home Depot and every so often they require help in counting their stock. This particular warehouse is in a suburb northwest of Fenner called Belconnen so, after filling in the required paperwork, I took the bus up. It only took 3 hours and it involved me counting the number of specified items and then writing that number on a white sticker next to the price. It was sometimes tricky as people tend to move items around.

Today, there was a Chess Tournament in Fenner Hall, I just glanced in a few times but there were people of all ages there. I think it must be part of some tournament for the entire ACT.

Lastly for now, I am applying for internships at the Canadian High Commission and I would be very anxious to do either. There are 2 internships available one in the Public Affairs section and the other in the Canadian Education Centre. The public affairs internship appears to be akin to a customer service role where the intern responds to public enquiries as well as requests from the High Commission. The Canadian Education Centre internship is a little more specific and it involves the intern advising Australian students contemplating learning in Canada, work with academics and other related matters. If I were chosen, I think that either of these internships would be immense fun.