I have lately been wondering what the first British immigrants thought when their first Christmas came around in Australia. In this country, Christmas is a summer holiday, sometimes with temperatures of over 40C. As I write this, Christmas Day in Canberra is expected to be sunny and 30C, while most of Canada lingers under a frigid cold. Here, the days are long and hot, completely at odds with most Christmas traditions of hearty meals and carolling at night. Australians have adapted, though, and now have some of their own fine traditions. One example is that Australians traditionally have a barbeque with prawns. I look forward to partaking in this, and other fine antipodean Yuletide traditions in the coming years.
Christmas falls around the time of the December solstice, which in the northern hemisphere is the shortest day of the year, but in Australia, it is the longest. The sun found itself over the Tropic of Capricorn and officially brought about a change in the seasons. In some points of Australia, the sun was directly overhead.
The same day, I went to the Ukrainian Orthodox Centre to help with the preparations for a lunch. It was very well attended, attracting some 70 people and afterwards, there was more partying by some of us who stayed around. However, at one point, the accordion was brought out and played nearly unceasingly for nearly 9 hours. I wonder if you can imagine that. I was reminded of the famous Far Side comic in 2 panels the first one "Welcome to Heaven, here's your harp" and the second "Welcome to Hell, here's your accordion". Luckily, I was able to cope thanks to the wonderful company.
The reason I am writing this post so early is that I am departing for scout camp soon. I am taking a bus to Sydney and tomorrow I will be driven to Orange, a town about 3 hours outside Sydney. I managed to get cheap bus tickets to Sydney, such that the round trip back to Canberra costs as much as a normal one way trip. The camp itself will be held outside Orange at Lake Canobolas, in the shadow of Mt. Canobolas. From what I'm told, Mt. Canobolas is the highest peak west of the Great Dividing Range until you hit Africa. I'm looking forward to seeing how Australian scouts camp. There is even to be a large New Year's party which I hear is quite the festivity. I'll be gone until the evening of January 4th.
To prepare for this camp I had to buy a few things, like a rucksack, a compass, a poncho and a few other odds and ends. I already have most things that I need but to purchase what I did not have I was driven to the new Discount Factory Outlet in Fyshwick. DFO as it's called is essentially a large shopping mall built in the style of a warehouse. There are many stores inside, mostly clothes, but some camping stores. I managed to get everything I needed except a poncho which I purchased at Big-W. DFO stores do offer some pretty good deals and after a quick rummage through their selections, I am now fully stocked on all my camping needs. Not even the hazardous Australian Outback will be a danger.
I also received my new bike, completely built and ready to ride. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be mobile and how great it is to be able to get to virtually any point in the city quickly. I love biking and I can now go farther and faster than before. I look forward to riding my bike many times. It may not be skydiving (my brother's recent adventure), but I find biking exhilarating. Apparently, a person on a bike is the most efficient energy user known to nature.
With the arrival of summer, Australia's wet season has begun and with some spectacle. A few nights ago, I watched some lightning in the distance. I find thunderstorms fascinating and there is something about lightning that is captivating. This is especially true of "quiet lightning" , that is distant lightning that is seen without the accompanying thunder. Later that morning, there was a torrential downpour where the sky seemed to be a sheet of water. If anything, it will replenish the reservoirs and we can begin to move out of drought.
I also had a peek at my test scores for the Foreign Service Officer exams and I was pleased to see they were all well above the minimum pass levels. I'll list my scores with the minimum pass levels in brackets beside: Graduate Recruitment Test=34.0/55 (23), Situational Judgement Test=74.0/100 (60) and Written Communication Proficiency Test=40.0/50 (18). We'll see what comes of this but I wouldn't mind working in Canada's foreign service. Perhaps I can meld the law and diplomacy by working in the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's legal division. Or perhaps I could be Canada's counsel in Australia. Who knows where this could go. I'm pretty happy and proud of me-sen. Come to think of it, isn't the minimum cut-off for the Written Communication Proficiency Test a little low? You would think that diplomacy, a job that requires a high degree of intelligible communication, would mandate a higher minimum score. Maybe this is why the world's so messed up sometimes.
Well that's it for now. I hope everyone everywhere is having a warm holiday season, even those who celebrate Festivus, the festival for the rest of us. I'll also wish everyone Season's Greetings, because I know that expression cheeses my mom off no end. I'll close, though, by just a merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!
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