At Home & Away

I’m no longer the sole occupant of my flat; two Americans (Ryan & Heather) and two Kiwis, Ben from Nelson & Rebecca from Christchurch have been added to the mix. A lot of Americans come to study here for a semester via the International Student Exchange (ISE) Program, a great way to see the world considering that the majority of Americans do not hold passports. Unlike me, their classes start at the end of February. We’re thinking of buying a small fridge because the main one is nearing its limits.

Only into the second week, classes are going smoothly and I’ve learned several new names. The new students in my classes are mostly Kiwis & Canadians, but there are students from other nations such as Fiji & India. Like any school, there are assignments to be done & so far, I’m keeping up. I would be ahead of the game if I didn’t have to deal with Canadian tax time.

The weather is taking on the form of autumn with overcasts, & periods of rain. Apparently, there’s a cyclone heading our way so in time, I might be required to batter down the hatches. We did have one sunny day with clear skies but it’ll be a while before we get an encore.

Keeping track of world events, a lot has happened, for better or worse. The southern Australian territory of Victoria has been devastated by a series of intense bushfires (thanks to dry weather) that have turned forests & towns into fields of ash & debris. What is unfortunate is that fire is the Earth’s way of getting rid of the old flora to make way for the new. If the Earth wanted to make new land, it would have been spewing tons of molten lava.

At the beginning of February, I was happy to hear that the transit strike in my hometown of Ottawa finally came to an end after the federal government threatened to legislate the strikers back to work. Even though the strike ended after 53 days, it still took another week before partial service was restored meaning the capital was without buses for 60 days during winter! Although the buses are back, the war of words between city council & the union still continue. I think the conservative mayor is to blame for taking such a stubborn stand but the union has done its share of upsetting citizens by striking during the harsh winter season.

Well, at least the busses were back in time for President Barack Obama’s six-hour visit to the capital. He should stay longer to at least see & greet the throngs of Canadian supporters. It also would be nice for him to address the House of Commons but there is no time apparently. As always, the paranoid police have the final say & Ottawa descends into complete lockdown. When George W. Bush visited the capital, he was greeted by waves of protestors and is remembered for saying, “I'd like to thank the Canadian people who came out to wave . . . with all five fingers.” We were not pleased that it took him 3 years to thank Canada for its help during the September 11^th attacks of 2001.