I’ve now officially been in Australia for one year! This is the longest I’ve lived in one place in a very, very long time. I’ve got to admit – it feels weird – and I still have several months to go before moving on. (To where? Well, *that* particular little detail has yet to be determined).
Reading over my first posting in Australia, I see now that I’ve come a long way over the past 12 months. I’ve also realized that, at the same time, not much has changed. The cockatoos are still loud and annoying (yet beautiful), and the rain is still pouring down! Yesterday was actually one of the worst rainstorms in NSW in the past decade! ...And I missed it!!! I was at a movie with a friend and had no idea of the chaos that was going on outside. It was only after the movie finished and we tried to make our way home that we realized we’d missed something of importance. There was debris strewn about and flashing emergency lights everywhere, flash flooding and road closures all around – it was like some kind of apocalyptic event took place while we were ignorantly engrossed in werewolves on screen! Today, the flooding has subsided, but the rain continues to fall...
The rainy season signals that the summer holiday is almost over. Classes start up again in a little over a week. While I’m starting to get a little anxious to get back to studying, I’m also a bit sad at the same time – this is my last semester, and after I finish it’s time to leave the world of academia behind and head into the “real world.” A terrifying thought, I assure you.
I chose my classes the other day – I had 1 core class left to take and 3 options. The ‘options’ were less than stellar to say the least. They aren't offering any of the ‘good’ ones they have listed in the course catalogue (ie: Arms Industry & Trades/Strategic Doctrine & Technology/Arms Control & Disarmament/Humanitarian Intervention & Peacekeeping) and haven't since I've been here. Huge disappointment. Those four classes were partially the reason I chose the course in Sydney over the program in Melbourne. But, what can you do? So this semester the core class I'm taking is International Security & the State, and the option is Intelligence Analysis: Theory & Practice. Since none of the other so-called ‘options’ seemed appealing to me, (in fact, there was really only 1 other to choose from), so I'm going to be doing a 10,000-12,000 word research project that counts as two classes. It will be a lot of work, but at least (in theory) I can choose my own topic and learn about something I'm interested in. I haven't decided what yet, but maybe something along the lines of Arms control or peacekeeping operations or something...? (To make up for the classes I haven't been able to take).
Before heading back to the classroom, I still have Soundwave to look forward to (kind of like the Aussie version of the Warped Tour). That’s happening next Sunday and I’m really excited for it! There are tons of great bands playing! But with 6 stages and almost 50 different bands that means I have some difficult choices to make... For instance, there’s Jimmy Eat World vs. Anti-Flag vs. The Aquabats decision, as well as the choice between AFI vs. The Getup Kids. Another timeslot I’m stuck on is with Alexisonfire vs. Motion City Soundtrack, and lastly between Placebo vs. Reel Big Fish. Decisions decisions... I’m sure regardless of who I end up seeing, it’ll be an amazing day and a great end to my summer vacation!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
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