Farewell

Last time I went up to the Research School of Physics and Engineering to get a form signed by my supervisor, there was a small soccer field taped out in white on one of the two front lawns. I thought maybe someone had set up a game for kids they had in day care at the uni. Then I went inside and found giant pinata-like soccer balls hanging from the ceiling, streamers wrapped around supports, and player profiles stuck up on most open wall space. The bottom floor lounge always seems like a fairly social place (Wen told me there are two scheduled coffee breaks a day in addition to lunch), but their World Cup outbreak really made me grin.

I was riding down a fire road at Stromlo, knowing it was probably my last time there, admiring the view of the city in the late afternoon sun. Bringing my attention back to the trail, I took an entirely unnecessary hop over a small water rivulet only to look up to find kangaroos populating both the uphill and downhill sides of the trail, looking mildly alarmed by my sudden appearance and strange antics. They then decided I couldn't be much of a threat and hung around as I rode on.

It was lucky that the weather was a little warmer than it's been-- actually above freezing at night-- as I headed down town to meet up with some friends from Engineering for a last chat. They're thinking they may want to explore the States in a year or two. Other than that, some comparisons of the 'political correctness' standards between Australia and the U.S. (these two were always giving each other quite the hard time), cringing about the exam we'd struggled through last week, and final well wishes.

The bus to Sydney is leaving in about two hours. I'm quite excited to travel to Queensland and Northern Territory (turns out it will be another camper-vanning expedition), but it's hard to say goodbye to Canberra. It's been a great place to live.


If I get a chance, I might write a bit and post some pictures from the trip when I'm home. Otherwise, looking forward to catching up with all of you in a few weeks. It's been a while! Cheers.