Here comes the pictures

1) no, those aren't all my desserts. I just "helped" people finish theirs. Let's just say it was SOOOOOO good. My dark chocolate tea that I ordered was like a freakin' soup bowl

2) Michelle and I sampling some of Jacob's Creek's fine wines

3) Brief moment of blue sky in front of the vineyards at Jacob's Creek.

4) An intense round of Railway Tycoon with my board game buddies

5) Breakfast at dawn at Canberra's Balloon Fiesta a few weeks ago. That's Phil and his family by the way.

Amazing Adelaide

So I just got back from Adelaide this evening. I had a GREAT time in Adelaide. Adelaide is the capital of the state of South Australia. A city of about one million people. It's known for its plethora of churches (a number of which have been turned into pubs and clubs) and doesn't have a convict settlement history like other cities in Oz. I probably wouldn't have gone if I didn't have friends there to visit. I didn't find that there was a whole lot of things to see and do. Adelaide like the rest of Australia has been pretty dry but it rained the hardest that it has in 6 months this weekend. It was like being back in Vancouver. ;) I was there to visit Michelle and Christy who I travelled with in China. We had SO much fun. They took me to Glenelg on Thurs night for dinner - which is a nice beachside neighbourhood with palm trees and cool restaurants.

South Australia is probably most well known for its wines and vineyards so on Friday morning, Michelle took me to the Barossa Valley, which is just north of the city. I was sampling wines (and buzzed) by about 11am on Friday. We visited Jacob's Creek, which is a huge and famous winery. Had lunch in Tanunda. I looked around for Tanunda Wineries, which was a case study for one of my uni marketing classes, but I guess it doesn't really exist. Then we went to see a cooking demo at Maggie Beers (apparently she's a bit of a local celebrity but I hadn't a clue), and then Rockford Winery. GOsh... you could spend days going from winery to winery - getting absolutely trashed.... ;) Too bad we didn't have more time. Friday night, headed out onto the town to meet up with more China trip alumni. We went clubbing afterwards, which was good fun. We went clubbing briefly at a place that is used to be a synagogue. It's now called "Church." It was a bit young-ish for me. I felt like I was at a high school dance when I first walked in.

All weekend long, Michelle and Christy had been joking about me being the stripper at the bridal shower they were hosting on Saturday. I was actually a bit nervous. You just never know how far the joking is going... Especially when they said they had a towel and bow tie for me. I was very much relieved when I wasn't called upon on Saturday. I did my best to help serve drinks and snacks at the bridal shower though. First ever Bridal Shower for me... interesting... So that's what women do at bridal showers.... I had a good time. In fact, I even helped to cut out paper peckers for the "Pin the Macho on the Man" game. ;) I passed on the Hen's night that took place that evening and opted to stay at home and watch DVD's instead.

Sunday- after Dim Sum in Chinatown and a short walk on the beach, I caught my flight home.
All in all, a great weekend was had.

I'll post some pics tomorrow hopefully. Now I'm off to bed...

Making it count

Tomorrow is ANZAC day - yeah! Public holiday. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps and commemorates the landing at Gallipoli in WWI. I learned tonight that apparently some Canadians were involved in the landing. News to me... Regardless, I still haven't heard a persuasive enough argument for me to attend the 5:30am dawn service. I think I will stay in my nice warm bed. So autum is in full swing with winter just around the corner. It's starting to get a bit colder in the mornings... maybe like 8-9 degrees... ;) Yes, I realise that that's the high in Vancouver...

Then on Thursday night, I take off for Adelaide for the weekend to visit some fine folks that I met while backpacking in China. Should be a fun weekend. I haven't been on a plane for almost a month now...

And then after that I only have another 3 weeks in Canberra. It's so sad b/c I really am going to miss the people here. I feel like I'm coming into my own here in Canberra. I'm establishing a good network of friends. Regular board game buddies, etc. So I played this crazy board game that takes 4.5 hours to finish last week. Can't remember what it's called but it's based on the German government. I know, sounds like it's straight out of nerd-dom, but I enjoy it.

Work continues to go well. Microbicides symposium is just around the corner. My boss has also asked me to work on writing a paper documenting the RU486 debate last year. RU486 is essentially an abortifacient (sp?) - a pill that women can take up to 8 weeks pregnant I think that would abort the baby (if you're a pro-lifer) or foetus (if you're a pro-choicer). It's been very interesting working on this topic and re-considering where I stand on this issue. I'll admit that it's been challenging in a lot of ways. I've been forced to really think about it. And I don't have all the answers but I am developing my own opinions on it. Feel free to ask me if you're interested. In other cool news, I am meeting up w/ the Pro-RU486 Senator who tabled the Bill in the first place to get her perspective on it. How many backpackers can say they got to meet an Australian senator, eh?

And my last piece of news that I'd like to share is in reference to the title of this post. "Making it count." I'm referring to my life and how I want it to count. Just wanted to let you guys know what I've been up to. CIDA (Canadian International Development Agency) funds a number of internships overseas and I've starting applying for a number of positions that would take me to Africa to work for 6-8 months. I'm looking at positions that range from teaching HIV prevention, to working with refugees, to advocating for gender equality or land rights, etc. I"m looking at positions mainly in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zambia. I'm hoping I can find a position that would give me a few weeks in Vancouver in August before taking off again. I've only applied and who knows if I'll get the position, but yeah, I could be off again by the end of this year. Craziness... But I figure that this is the right time in my life. I'm unemployed, I'm young, and I'm still passionate and idealistic about making a difference in this world. I'd encourage you guys to check out the CIDA website if you're interested in doing a internship overseas. They have internships in all different countries - not just Africa.

So that's me!

I'm having the time of my life.

Thanks for reading. :D

5 more weeks in Canberra

I can barely believe it. But my time in Canberra is drawing to a close. This week went by like crazy and there are only 5 more weeks in Canberra. While I'm happy to be escaping the coming winter and excited about resuming backpacking, I know that I will be terribly sad to leave. I leave really great friends who mean the world to me here. Thanks to them, I really haven't been homesick much. Phil's family has been truly amazing and hospitable in opening up their home to me. Phil is like the brother that I never have. And there are a few other special people.

I really enjoy my job. Work continues on the microbicides symposium which will be taking place on May 10 in Sydney. I'm really looking forward to that. It'll be cool to see the culmination of my work over the past few months. I really hope that there is follow up after I leave. And that the microbicides advocacy campaign doesn't just fall to the side afterwards. It's been a tremendous learning experience. It was really rewarding to see my grant proposal requests come through. I've met so many great people who work in the field of HIV/AIDS here in Australia and it's been such an awesome opportunity. I hope to continue my work in the HIV/AIDS sector in some capacity after I leave Australia.

Oz is a lot of fun. Last weekend, as I mentioned before I was in Sydney. The weather wasn't spectacular but I did get some more touristy stuff in. I went to the Blue Mountains, walked along the coast from Bondi to Coogee Beach, went to Chinatown everyday to eat (there's a lack of Chinese dining establishments in Canberra), went to Hillsong church, and went clubbing late into the night, or rather, early into the morning. ;)

Like I said, this week went by in a blur. One of the highlights was having breakfast outside while watching a dozen or so hot air balloons take off from outside Old Parliament House as part of Canberra's Balloon Fiesta. Very cool indeed.

So yeah, only a few more weeks to go. :(

Sorry, that I haven't been super active on my blog. There just isn't that much stuff to report when you're doing the day-to-day things. I think of you guys from time to time. And I hope that you guys haven't totally forgotten about me.

Bye for now.

It's picture time again

I went to Sydney again for the Easter weekend. More details on that to follow.

1) Bondi Beach - right before the skies opened up and it started to pour. It stopped about 10 minutes later thankfully and I walked the 6km along the eastern coastal walk. It was beautiful!!!

2) I visited the infamous Hillsong church. All I can say is WOW! It's really something. Not sure if I'd want to "church" there - it's not really my style, but it was cool to visit. You ask - isn't big and flashy, your style, John? Haha, not so much.

3) From my trip to Melbourne - along the Great Ocean Road - gorgeous!

4) Another pic from the Great Ocean Road

5) Flinders St. station lit up in downtown Melbourne

6) This isn't a real pic that I took. It's a picture of a poster that I took. You're not allowed to take pictures of the Fairy Penguins. This was the "Penguin Parade" I was talking about on Philip Island.

7) I fed a kangaroo.... I know, how touristy, eh?