carpe diem: staring kangaroos in the eye

Having been in Australia for over a month, I've settled into a few good routines and have experienced lots of things to make me feel that being here is comfortable and fun. Sydney is already so much like Vancouver that it took very little for me to get settled into the city's swing, and making friends as an exchange student has been very easy, thanks to my roommates and Ola's, and I suppose my own tendency to be friendly to random people. In the last week or so, I've even wondered if I've become too comfortable here, as thoughts of returning to a rainy and cold spring semester at SFU are more than a little discouraging.

Today, however, I got Ian's webcam setup on my computer, and stumbled across Ashton on Skype after getting home from class--and realized, while I spoke to him, that being Down Under has been (and will continue to be) a truly fantastic experience. Sure, he and Alaina had dinner at the Louvre the other night and are negotiating their way through a city of 12 million with one of the richest cultures on earth--and learning French to boot, which I definitely miss!--but I get to stare kangaroos in the eye and relax on grass in the sun and feel perfectly at peace. What I love about Canada--the space, the culture, the simple and breathtaking natural beauty--is prevalent here too, and it's all new. There are still so many things to be discovered and done, and being out of my comfort zone makes me far more driven to get to all of them. Would I dream of going out three times a week back in Vancouver, of doing four day camping trips on beaches, of going to Fiji for a week, of squeezing new opportunities and activities out of every week? (Which includes a biweekly date with Ola to play badminton, something I've always wanted to do on a regular basis... so why Macquarie and not Simon Fraser?)

No, when I look at it, Vancouver seems too habitual and mundane; like I've underestimated the city and have let it pass me by. I know that's not true to a very large degree, but at this distance and at this time in my life, I can't help but wonder... why can't I live every day like this? At the rugby game last weekend, I had a few moments to appreciate being able to go out with a group of friends on a Saturday night, to sit and drink beer, eat hot dogs, cheer for teams and a game we knew nothing about, and afterwards celebrate the Rooster's loss by dancing in Irish pubs to live rock bands--and not worry about jobs, about spouses, about kids, about rent or whatever. Of course, those worries are there (because I do need a job, or a vastly improved credit limit on Visa, or to win the lottery), but it's easy to forget about on a Saturday night after a beer and in the middle of a rugby game. We're lucky, to be twenty and to be enjoying life as we are.

That said, there's a lot to do before August is done, and in September too. I'm going to let myself pursue the idea of staying a little longer, of making the necessary inquiries to see what kind of paperwork needs to be done and what it would take for everything to go smoothly. I'm going to write this @#%&!#%(*! paper for Friday, I'm going to go for a run tomorrow, I'm going to maybe go on a date on Wednesday, enjoy a cocktail party on Friday night at Jeremy's, and then stroll around Darling Harbour on Saturday morning and bask in the joy of being finished papers. Then, Sunday we shall perhaps go to the beach (it was 27C today, warum nichts?), play badminton, watch America's Next Top Model and Australian Idol, and next Monday I'll do it all over again.

That said, we went skating this evening over at the mall, which was (as always) vastly entertaining. In between nursing our ankles from really poorly made skates (they were more like ski boots!), Ola and I went in circles talking about Canadian and Australian politics... eventually deciding that we need to learn a lot more before we can discuss them properly. I wish I was in her POL 300 class, "Media Politics." It sounds darn interesting.