Australia Day

Australia's national holiday, inventively titled "Australia Day", was last Tuesday, the 26th of January. It was on January 26th, 1788 that the First Fleet arrived in Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) and established the settlement of Sydney. Some indigenous people call it Invasion Day and use the occasion to bring attention to indigenous issues. The celebration usually involves fireworks and is much like Canada Day, I suppose. Since I missed most of the celebrations last year, I thought I would take the opportunity to see what was going on.

The first order of the day was a shift at the Garema Place outlet of ACTTAB. I was actually quite thrilled since I get double pay on public holidays. Even though it abuts onto a major urban square, there was virtually no one in the outlet. To put it more accurately, there was virtually no one in the square. Even though it's a pedestrian mall, there were no buskers, face painters, or anyone else you would associate with a major national holiday. In Ottawa, Sparks Street is full of activity on Canada Day but here there was only silence. Anyway, since no one was coming in, my shift only lasted 3 hours. I thought this would give me plenty of time to see how Canberra celebrated Australia Day.

The result was rather anticlimactic. I biked down to Commonwealth Park by Lake Burley Griffin, which is the center of the festivities. There really wasn't all that much going on. There was a dragon boat race, some musical numbers from a stage and a few kiosks set up but that's really it. It wasn't at all what I expected of a national celebration in a national capital. Really, people were just sitting around. The fireworks weren't scheduled to start until 21:00 so I left and came back. The fireworks display was spectacular in that the fireworks are fired off a bridge and a few boats nearby. This means that, unlike Canada, you're relatively close to the pyrotechnics. There were screamers, boomers, Roman candles, magnesium flares and everything else you'd expect. This went on for about 10 minutes and then everyone left to go home. As I said before, I think anticlimactic is the best word to describe it. There just wasn't the atmosphere or other physical examples of celebration. If Canberra is to shed its image as a backwater that no one would even think about except for the fact that it's the national capital, then I think it should endeavour to have Australia Day celebrations of a scope worthy of a national capital.

Aside from Australia Day, the only other piece of interesting news is that umpire training has started. Although it's still about 10 weeks until the season begins, we are meeting to get ourselves in the physical form that is required. My running has helped somewhat and I ran further than I could have otherwise but it's still gruelling, even at a jogging pace. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I have a feeling that I'll improve as the weather chills since I'll be more in my element and the denser air will help me oxygenate more efficiently. Although, in a point of pride, I did beat the AFL's goal umpire 4km time. The AFL standard was (they've since changed the length to 5km) 18:30 and I did it in 18:22, although I was absolutely finished by the end. Still, it means I'm getting better and, with any luck, as the training year progresses, I may find myself in top form.

Finally, I've posted photos from my last day at Sokil in the appropriate update.

90%

It's been a fairly busy time for me since my last post. It's been mostly work related, but I've had some fun as well. Actually, I'm rather happy as I've had quite a lot of time working at ACTTAB and I'm expecting a nice paycheque very soon; I think I've put in the equivalent of 47 hours over the last 2 weeks. And it comes at just the right time. In about 3 weeks I'm off to Perth for a few days and I'll need some spending money.

I've also been a little busy with an application for a clerkship and the Canadian Federal Court and/or Federal Court of Appeal. For some reason the application due date is Friday, Jan. 29th although the clerkship doesn't begin until August 2011. Why they need 19 months to sort everything, I don't know. Anyway, I've had to write a short letter explaining why I want the position, as well as prepare my CV and get 3 letters of reference from my law school professors. Surprisingly, that wasn't as difficult as I thought. On of the professors, Fiona Wheeler, is also the Associate Dean and she told me that clerkships really open up opportunities. I wouldn't mind getting the position although it would mean leaving Australia, at least for a while. Luckily, the position recognizes my Australian JD as equivalent to a Canadian JD. We'll see how it goes.

In fitness news, I've been running quite well and I've set 2 personal records. A few days ago, I ran my 4km in 19:30 and then a few days later in 18:45. This means that I am about 15 seconds to 1 minute off the AFL's time requirements for goal umpires. While that 19:30 run wasn't too bad, the 18:45 run was exhausting. By then end, I was ready to collapse. To get that fast I had to pull out all the stops and essentially run to my very limit. Still, if I can keep it up, I'll be well set for the coming season. It also means I'm running somewhere between 11.5 and 12.75km/h.

To try and eat more healthily, as well as lose weight, I've started eating corn flakes as a snack. It seems to be working and I've already lost a few kilos. It's amazing how much a little thing like that can make a difference. Corn flakes with milk are healthy and nutritious, though not always completely filling. Still, it beats McDonald's. Also, I've started drinking pineapple juice, something I like but have never really had much of. They say pineapple juice sweetens up the blood but I can't say I've noticed.

The most exciting thing that happened to me last week was my birthday on the 20th; I turned 27. That means I'm 90% of the way to the dreaded age of 30. I remember being in Grade 1 and thinking how much I would like to be 27, for no particular reason, and now that I am, it's not as exciting as I thought. We'll see how it turns out.

My birthday began at around 09:00 as I helped clean out a storage room. It involved us taking everything out, cataloging what we needed, throwing out what we don't and then moving everything back in. It took most of the day but we were virtually done by the end. I thought to myself, this isn't the way to celebrate my birthday but I didn't have anything else planned so here I was. After the cleanup, I went to El Dorado's for a steak dinner. I had a t-bone steak and some garlic bread; I think I earned them. And that was my birthday from beginning to end. Not as exciting as I would have liked but there's not much you can do when everyone's away for the summer.

My birthday did get me thinking about what I call the Birthday Cycle, and just how you count when your birthday begins. Most people just celebrate it on the day but if it's supposed to be another revolution of the Earth around the Sun, then birthdays will change from year to year. For example, I was born, according to my mother, at 16:20 EST in Ottawa on Jan. 20th, 1983. At this time of year, Ottawa is 16 hours behind Canberra so 16:20 Ottawa time would be 06:20 Jan. 21st AEDT (Canberra time). As well, a year is approximately 365.25 days long so you have to add 6 hours for every year until you hit a leap year. That would mean that my birthdays in Australia would be at about 06:20 Jan. 21st, 12:20 Jan. 21st, 18:20 Jan. 21st and 00:20 Jan. 22nd until the cycle resets because of the leap year. These are the times that the Earth completes 1 full revolution from the previous time. I think, for simplicity's sake, everyone just celebrates according to the day wherever they are. A little unfortunate though, since it means we can stretch out birthdays a little longer.

Camp: Post Script

As I explained, after camp finished most of the counsellors decided to decompress in Geelong. We were invited by Mr. Lubczenko to party and sleep at his house. In the end, I think there were nearly 15 of us there. We ordered a copious amount of pizza and had an equal amount to drink. It was so much fun and a great way to relax after the days away.

Mr. Lubczenko lives in a rather large bungalow in northern Geelong. His daughter and son were both counsellors at the younger scouts' camp while his other son, Greg, is studying law at ANU as well. Strangely enough, though, I haven't run into Greg really at all. We seem to keep virtually entirely different schedules and if you know the law school, that is quite a feat. We all set ourselves up in various places and, as luck would have it, I was offered a bed, even though I was willing to sleep on the floor. It turned out very well as I was one of the first to go to sleep anyway. For some reason, in the preceding days I had felt very tired and I finally got the rest I needed.

The night was filled with jollity as we caroused, ate and drank. I even learned a new Ukrainian drinking song which involves the people telling all those born in a particular month to front up and have a shot. I'd never heard this one before but everyone else seemed to know it; it must be an Australian thing. We all went to sleep very relaxed, of that much I am certain.

The next morning we were treated to Mr. Lubczenko's famous pancakes. Apparently, these are a Plast tradition and delicacy. Usually Mr. Lubczenko makes them after New Year's as a sort of hangover cure but he didn't do that this year, he saved them for us. All I can say is that they were delicious. Mr. Lubczenko made so many and I don't know how he found the ingredients or the time. We all gobbled them up as fast as we could.

A little after 13:00, Magalas and I were driven to North Geelong Station to catch our train into Melbourne. The V-Line runs a sort of express service into Melbourne and very soon we were flying through the flat countryside between Geelong and Melbourne. We arrived at Southern Cross Station, a gloriously grandiose structure that looks like it might be Melbourne's main hub but isn't; that honour goes to Flinders Street Station one stop further down. As Magalas and I made our way through the station we had to split up to catch our respective trains. We said goodbye and I assured him that I would see him again in at least 2 years' time.

I made my way to Glenroy Station where I got off and walked to the Stasyshyns' house. These are people who are distantly related to me by marriage. There I talked with Tania, who's now in her 90s and first arrived in Australia in 1949. We talked about her adventures coming here and how much Australia has changed since then. One of the things she remembers most was the heat in September when she got off the boat with her family in Melbourne. They were taken to Bonegilla (bah-ne-GYL-la) a refugee camp where many Ukrainians were first kept. Tania also told the story of how Nadia (her eldest child who lives with her) was segregated because she had a cough and the authorities were worried about tuberculosis. Nadia, who was only 3, complained constantly in the hospital that here parents had abandoned her. Eventually, her father was called in to take her of the hospital's hands after she had been cleared; Nadia says she was kicked out. As I talked to Tania, Nadia arrived home and shortly thereafter Maria and Katia. I said goodbye to Tania and Nadia and left with the Soc's as I promised to see them again next time I was in Melbourne.

I had always planned to fly out on the 5th so now I had a day to kill. I decided to go to the Fitzroy and Treasury Gardens that I had bypassed the last time. There are some very interesting buildings and works of art there. These are civic parks that have been around since the 19th Century.

The oldest building in Australia is housed in the gardens and that is Captain Cook's cottage. His home was built in Yorkshire in the mid 18th Century and was taken apart brick-by-brick, transported to Australia and then rebuilt. There was also a small model Tudor village with a fanciful sculpture called the Fairy Tree beside it; a tree trunk carved with fairies and Australian animals. There were other sculptures, fountains and assorted things. I could have sworn I took pictures but I don't seem to have them on my camera. At any rate, I took the train back to Broadmeadows where Katia drove me to the airport. I said goodbye and promised to visit again.

Plast in Victoria I found to be quite similar to Plast in Sydney. There may be a little more Ukrainian spoken and the scouts may do a little more of there own cooking in Victoria but most things are the same. Although I'll be at the Sydney camp again next year, all things going to plan, I'll go back to the Victorian camp in 2 years' time. I found everyone and everything to be most enjoyable.

Camp: The New Year

After the exhaustion of the bike hike, the scouts were looking forward to a Plast camp tradition --- the New Year's Eve party. In Australia, Plast camps are usually held from Boxing Day to about Jan. 3rd which allows for a party to ring in the new year. As the camp's theme was The Jungle Book, the idea was you made costumes based on a jungle theme. Mine wasn't quite that, but I'll tell you about it in a second.

Of all the days at camp, only New Year's Eve was hot as I recall. In any event, we spent most of the afternoon at a beach in the nearby town of Airey's Inlet. There was a strong northerly breeze which made the air feel like an oven. It wasn't too bad but after many days in the low to mid 20C's, 37C felt stifling. Still, the beach did us all some good.

On the way down I went with Marko and another guy called Timmy in his 4WD. Marko brought his iPod and we played Men at Work's Land Down Under at least 4 times on the way there. I remember saying that there is no better way to listen to that song than on a dirt track in the bush, riding in a 4WD with a few friends in the middle of the Australian summer. Most of the roads to Airey's were unpaved and Tim likes to really drive his 4WD.

We got to the beach in 1 piece and I spent a few hours wandering around. The scouts were having a great time on their own and we just had to make sure none of the drowned or anything; luckily, none did. We had lunch there and afterwards returned to camp ready for the party.

At the New Year's Eve party, most everyone had a costume on. Some were very elaborate while others, such as mine, were a little more spartan. Because of weight restrictions on the aircraft I kept my costume simple. I didn't do a jungle theme exactly, but I chose a tropical theme which consisted of me in a Hawai'ian shirt and board shorts. It was actually quite comfortable and worked with the overall theme. The new year rung in, we all retired eager for the next day's activities.

I don't remember much of what happened on the 1st except for the evening's activity which was a trivia game designed for all ages. There were questions about animals, places, movie quotes and puzzles all with a jungle theme, except for the last round which was devoted to events at camp. I designed the game with questions for a broad range of ages and even had them vetted by the counsellors of the younger groups. My particular favourite was a round where the teams were asked to put jungle-themed words to the chori of popular songs; it worked out very well and proved very amusing. Except for technical difficulties with the projector and a rather large huntsman spider at one point, the game went very well and was enjoyed by all.

The penultimate day of camp also had a highlight, which was a traditional Ukrainian Christmas variety show called a Yalynka (yah-LYN-kah/"Christmas tree" or "pine"). There were carols sung along with servings of borshch (beet soup) and varenyky (vah-REH-nyh-kyh), potato-stuffed dumplings. Ukrainian-Australians called going carolling "kolading" (sometimes pronouncing it "colliding") as a gerund anglicization of kolyada. The whole event was well attended and people from all over turned up, even Katia and Maria from Melbourne. The acts were all great and I'm sure everyone enjoyed it. From what I understand, this is combination of camp and Yalynka is fairly new but it seems to be working so far. It gets everyone together.

The 3rd was the last of camp and most of it was spent decamping. We took down all the tents and the like and everyone packed up their gear. The closing ceremonies included a defilade and the unveiling of a new mosaic prepared by the parent volunteers at the camp. They'll find a suitable place for it I suppose. After the closing ceremony there were the usual photos of the camp participants. I had a great time at Sokil and I look forward to returning again in 2 years time. I wonder what the scouts will be like in 2 years? I also hope to see my fellow counsellors again and they really were a great bunch.

After the scouts had left, the counsellors got together and finished cleaning up. Normally we would stay for a day to have a winding down party but another group had been accidentally/on purpose/negligently booked in so to avoid any conflicts, we decided to leave and go to a house in Geelong for the post-camp party. I'll mention that in the next post.

Camp: 3 Days of Motion

The main event, so to speak, of the scout camp was the 3-day bike hike through the surrounding area. Based on a map, a route had been traced out which would allow us to see most of the park and didn't look to challenging. Unfortunately, Fedz hadn't really reconnoitred any of the trails and this would prove a challenge in the coming days. Also, the age and ability range of the scouts was considerable so we often had to wait for the slower ones to catch up. Add to that, we were asked to carry our fire gear (towels and clothes) which greatly restricted our packing space for things like food and water. The heavier gear, like tents and other camping items were taken in trailers to our campsites.

The first day was sunny but began with a reasonably steep uphill climb from Sokil to the next main road. I was at the rear with Magalas making sure that none of the scouts fell too far behind.As this was the first few minutes on the bikes, some of the scouts struggled and had to walk their bikes up the hill. After that hill, though, the riding became mush easier as we rode on a flat road. We made good time until 2 of the scouts lost control and fell in separate crashes but at roughly the same time and stretch of road, requiring some bandaging.

After lunch we hit the real bush tracks and here we met some great challenges. Much of the track was sand making riding difficult and we lost time as many scouts had to walk their bike along portions of the track. The fact that much of it was uphill also didn't help. Nevertheless, we made it through some nice bush and after deciding to cut a portion of the planned route, we made it to our first campsite exhausted. I am a reasonably fit and experienced biker and even I found this first day difficult. I can only imagine what it was like for some of the younger scouts. One of them, Alex, was inexperienced, not fit, and had crashed earlier but forced himself to tackle the track and made it to the end of the day. Another scout, Teresa, had only learned to bike 2 weeks beforehand and had been thrown into the fire, but handled herself like a pro and kept pace with the middle of the group.

The second day's trekking started out much like the first's. We ended up on sandy track. Alex, for all his effort and determination, was simply out of his depth and had to be driven back to camp. It wasn't for lack of will, just he wasn't physically able to take on a track of this difficulty, but good on him for trying his hardest. He punched far above his class and pushed himself right to his breaking point; he did admirably. As we made our way between hills and dales, trying to reach a flat hill (Fedz's word for a plateau), I was struck with misfortune --- my bike broke. Somehow the chain got caught in the spokes and bent part of the derailleur making the bike unridable. Fedz and Magalas went about repairing it, turning it into a 1-speed, so that I could at least ride it. This gave the scouts a good long lunch break.

Realizing that the original route would take us far too long, the night before at the "kadra" (KAHD-rah), or council, we had decided to cut a large portion of the route out. Nevertheless, this new route took us along a major road with continuous traffic. As there was no shoulder, we had to walk our bikes all the way to our campsite, again uphill. It was rather unfortunate because this was a proper paved road and biking would have been relatively easy.

We arrived at the camp site and staked out an area right away, where I received a new bicycle. There was a music festival happening in a few days so the grounds already had campers but luckily we found a spot big enough for us all. Here, one of the scouts, Emil Dickson, was chatting to Dam'yan Pavlyshyn and was so sure of his position that he swore "on the lives of most of the Apostles". This phrase was repeated with laughter for the rest of camp.

That night passed quietly and then came the final hike day. The morning began foggy but I could sense a palpable sense of relief among the scouts that they were returning to camp. Again we set out through difficult and hilly terrain. Alex joined us, eager to finish the hike, but, alas, again found himself outclassed. He tried so hard and it wasn't easy for him to go back to camp but better that than him getting hurt. Speaking of which, at one point, on the scouts sat on a bull ant nest (as the name suggests they are very aggressive) and one bit him 4 times, including once in a particularly sensitive area.

As we kept going we approached the highest point in the surrounding countryside; it would be all downhill to Sokil from there. All that stood on the way were some tracks through a pine plantation. As we started down the first part, Teresa lost control and crashed her bike. She required some very basic first aid but I volunteered to take another route around the plantation with her. We made our way, sometimes riding, sometimes walking but eventually made it to the fire tower on the highest point. And there we waited, and waited, and waited. We had assumed that the group would be no more than 10-15 minutes behind us but after about 45 minutes and still no sign, we became worried.

At the fire tower Symon Kohut, a volunteer parent and 2 girl scouts were waiting with lunch and a van. After waiting what seemed like an eternity we decided to drive down and look for the rest of the group. We eventually found them, coming up as individuals more or less, up something called Retreat Valley Road; Teresa and I had passed it on our route. They all made for the shad and dropped there bike one-by-one as they came up. Everyone rested in an area of tall grass, which we flattened and unanimously refused to move when Fedz suggested that it might be safer to move because tall grass has snakes; I don't blame them. After letting them rest for a minute, we learned the full horror of what had happened. It turns out that the tracks were steeper and rockier than anticipated, not to mention that there was virtually no shade anywhere. What they thought was a track ended up being a dead end so they had to backtrack for a while. It had just turned into a colossal nightmare but luckily it was over. Kohut drove back to Sokil and brought back some Icy Pops (freezies) which was a huge moral booster. Luckily, the rest of the trip was pretty much downhill.

As we left this little spot of Hell, Magalas had his own bike disaster, the crank arm bolt dethreaded (think no pedals) so a new bike had to be brought for these last few kilometers. I continued on and left Magalas at the rear on his own but he quickly caught up once he had his new wheels. As the group waited we joked that the only thing we would see would be a streak of fire on the road as the only evidence he had gone by. After a few more turns, but no more hills, we arrived back at Sokil. The scouts were given permission to go for a swim; some of them didn't even bother to change into swimming gear and just went in with their clothes.

The bike hike was fun but exhausting, even for strong riders like myself. The tracks chosen were challenging and the large age range made it difficult for some. Personally, I think this was a ride really only suitable for older scouts. Nevertheless, it did help build some muscle tone and was rewarding for the sense of accomplishment. I think everyone slept soundly that night.

Camp: The First Days

Last year I was at the Sydney camp so I decided that this year I would give the Melbourne camp a try. The camp was to be held at a property called "Sokil" in Anghatook Lorne National Park southwest of Geelong. This property has been owned by Plast for many decades and is in a pretty good location since the land around it cannot be developed. I was worried that it might be very hot given Victoria's unpredictable summer weather. As it turned out, the weather would not be what I expected.

I left Canberra on a rainy Christmas Day and took a taxi to the airport. Check-in was easy and the flight itself short and uneventful. My rucksack (backpack) I checked while I took my laptop and a light bag as carry-on. My worry that somehow I would become separated from my rucksack proved unfounded.

At Melbourne airport I was met by one of my fellow consellors, Andres Fedyszyn, or "Fedz" for short. He was to be the commandant of the scout camp. Fedz told me that he was born in Argentina but has been living in Australia since 1989 meaning he was about 7 when he moved with his family. Fedz drove me to his house after which his mother came home and drove me to a Christmas party at their friends'. I had a great time talking with everybody there and I met a woman from Edmonton who's on an extended vacation Down Under. Her son was also going to be a counsellor at the camp and she asked me to convince him to study law in Australia; I did my best.

It seems that every time I go to Melbourne they've done something with the train system. Last time, they'd eliminated one of the fare zones, this time, they'd changed the name from Connex to Metro/Metlink. All they'd really done was put some stickers on the trains but it left me wondering what they'd do next.

The next day Fedz's sister, Danka, drove me down to Sokil. It wasn't that far away from Melbourne, not even 2 hours, and we passed some very picturesque country. We finally arrived at Sokil after driving our way down a dirt road through dense forest on a reasonable gradient. I was pleasantly surprised with Sokil. It had several well-kept buildings and even an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The younger kids were placed in barracks called kolyby (koh-LYH-byh) or as I came to call them "coolibahs" (it's a type of gum tree mentioned in Waltzing Matilda). The kitchen was manned (ironic word when you think about it not politically correctly) by parents who were staying nearby and many had permanent or semi-permanent structures on plots. The whole reminded me of the Plastova Sich property outside Grafton, Ontario.

As always, the first few days are spent getting one's bearings and with introductions. The other counsellors aside from myself and Fedz, the bulava (boo-LAH-vah; literally "mace"), were Danylo Magalas, Ivanka Buczma, Symon Kohut and Marko Jakuta, the other Canadian. There were about 21 scouts in total so that gave a good counsellor:scout ratio. The ages ranged from 11-16 so we had a good mix. One of the older ones, Dam'yan Pavlyshyn, I soon found out had the same love of trivia and knowledge as myself which made for some interesting conversations later during the camp.

The first night, because I had no tent, I slept in the same tent as Ivanka and this became a running gag. What remember most about that night was the biting cold. I figured 2 people in a tent would keep it warm but for some reason the warmth escaped. The next day a spare tent was brought up which I set up and from then I had a tent all to myself.

That night Marko was given the task of running the vatra (VAH-tra) the communal bonfire. I was put in charge of building it and it couldn't be too big because of the fire restrictions. It turned out to be pretty good. There were many skits and Marko and I were asked to put together a typically Canadian skit. The one we chose was about Radisson and des Grosseilliers, 2 coureurs des bois who really existed and were employed by the Hudson Bay Company. Those in Plast know the skit well but it essentially involves the 2 people pretending they're in a canoe but not going anywhere. They try many different positions but nothing works. The punch line at the end is that they haven't put the canoe in the water. Marko and I did another skit about a guy who's going to jump off a bridge (me) and an old man who's trying to talk him out of it (Marko). The old man says that they're so much to live for like family but the jumper responds that he's never been married and he's an orphan with no family. The old man then says, "Well what about your heritage, what about Plast?" to which the young man replies, "What's Plast?" The old man then says, "In that case, you're better of jumping." Fun was had by all.

We all went to sleep a little early and eager that night as the next morning we were off on our great adventure, a 3-day bike hike.

A New Decade Dawns

It's hard to believe that a new decade has started. It's already been 10 years since people were worried about Y2K and the end of the world in 2000. Now we have to worry about December 21, 2012. Whatever. I wonder what this coming decade has in store in terms of technology, disaster and politics. Who knows how the world will look by 2020?

I do apologize for writing this a little late but in truth I was very tired yesterday and decided to leave it to today. It's been a week since I have returned from Plast camp in Victoria but I'll report on that adventure after I finish off this week's happenings. It's actually been a fairly exciting and productive week.

A friend of mine from Canada, Alicia, came down to visit after spending part of her Christmas vacation with her sister, Angela, in Thailand. This was Alicia's first trip Down Under so I was delighted to show her around Canberra. She was very lucky in that the weather held for here entire time here and it was always sunny and in the low 30sC.

One of the first things we did was celebrate Ukrainian Christmas Eve on the 6th. Traditionally, I am supposed to have 12 meatless and non-dairy dishes but I don't have the talent to make them; only mothers and grandmothers seem to to do it properly. Instead we went for dinner to Zeffirelli's, an Italian restaurant. I had the fettuccine carbonara and Alicia had some sort of gnocchi in a spicy sauce. I also wore a traditional Ukrainian vyshyvanka (vyh-shyh-VAHN-ka), a shirt with sewn patterns on the cuffs and front. We then listened to Ukrainian Christmas carols on a CD I have.

The next day, I decided to take Alicia to a few of the attractions around Canberra. Luckily there is a tourist bus, 81, which takes you to these places. We first stopped off at the National Zoo and Aquarium but decided not to enter after we saw that admission would cost nearly $30/person! There was some time before the next bus so we wandered around the area and I pointed out Scrivener Dam, the dam that created Lake Burley Griffin. When the bus arrived we went to the next stop which is the Telstra Tower.

Telstra Tower is a very conspicuous communications tower on Black Mountain opened in 1980. Because of its shape, it is sometimes called the "Syringe". Anyway we went in and found the $7.50 entry price to be quite reasonable. The first thing we did was go downstairs to watch a wonderfully dated and kitschy movie made in 1980 or 1981 about the tower and its construction. The movie has been, no doubt, playing since that time and has not changed a bit. We then went up to the observation decks, one interior and the other exterior and got some great views of Canberra and the surrounding area.

On the 8th, Alicia and I went to the War Memorial which is both memorial and a museum; both are spectacular. We managed to get the 12:00 tour and were taken around many parts of the museum. The tour lasted about 2 hours and was very informative. We learned about the Australian landings at Gallipoli and Australian involvement in both theaters of war in World War 2. Even still we didn't get to see the whole of the museum. We also saw the table used for the British surrender of Singapore to the Japanese. There was also a fantastic video using lights and sounds about a Lancaster bomber on a raid over Germany. Sombre, yet fun, I would recommend the War Memorial to anyone visiting Canberra.

On the 9th, Alicia had to leave since her flight home left from Sydney early on the 10th. As such, she caught a bus to Sydney. I bade her farewell and thanked her for coming. It's not often that I see people from Canada down here, especially people I know, so her visit was something a little special.

I'll also mention that I had a driving lesson earlier in the week. Fenner Hall has a van that can be used for Hall functions and I mentioned that I would like to be a designated driver. The lesson involved me driving around for a little while and we got gas along the way. I was a little nervous at first, having never steered something so large before and doing it on the opposite side of the road, but it didn't prove to be so difficult. I managed not to hit anyone or anything and now I feel much more comfortable driving on the left, though I haven't had further occasion to. I also feel much better if I take a driving trip around Australia sometime at the end of this year.