Can-Brah

Monday, July 16- Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Early Monday morning, Clare and I headed off to Canberra with our trusty tour guides Anne and John Gibbons.  Anne is highly involved with the Solomon's mission at Santa Sabina and used to be a chemistry teacher at the school.  We started off on our 3 hour car ride and made a pit stop about 2 hours through in Berrima.  This historic town is home to a legendary courthouse, of which we took a spooky tour.  The town was pretty deserted, and the courthouse even offered a ghost tour at night.  Berrima is analogous to an "Amish" country perhaps, rife with history and learning.

After arriving in Canberra, we all stopped at ACU, Australian Catholic University, to meet our tour guides at the school.  We met Pam, the Dean's assistant on Signadou campus, who informed us all about the monetary/loan system for university students.  Clare and I found ourselves extremely jealous of their "Hecs" system, in which any Australian wishing to attend university can do so free of charge.  When thy eventually earn their degree and make a qualifying salary, they pay a percentage back of their tuition via tax.  I raised the question that probably came to your mind as well, "What if you never make that minimum salary or instead, keep pursuing many degrees?"  The answer is simply that those "professional students" or low-paid university grads will never pay back the money.  The Australian government is equipped with this type of loan system and it seems to be working out. However, their school systems and universities are much less an American college experience as many of the students work part-time during school, live at home, and do not attend school each day.  One aspect that I believe the US should incorporate is a more practical education from an earlier age.  For example, aspiring teachers start this track day one of university, and the same with nursing.  Although the US does have those exceptions, many majors, such as business, have no life experience until they get their first job and wishing they didn't take those history classes.  The Australian higher education system is very direct and practical, yet on the other hand, I prefer a liberal arts education for myself.

After our meeting, Anne, John, Clare, and I drove to our hotel/motel.  It was quiet and nice, yet FREEZING! I couldn't believe I was wearing three layers in Australia!  Clare and I cranked up the heat, failed at getting wi-fi, and then went to an Australian Football Club for dinner with Anne and John which is apparently a cultural experience.  It resembled a diner yet there was a room with many slot machines and TVs of Australian football (different from rugby and American football).  We headed home to watch the new Australian premier of their take on "Laguna Beach" called "The Shire" and fell asleep after it's overwhelming plot.

Parliament House

On Tuesday we woke up bright and early so we could see the Parliament House before our meeting at ACU.  We toured the building which was extraordinary and even went to the roof and got a view of the old Parliament House.  Canberra is built around a manmade lake and from the top we could all truly see the circular pattern of the country's capital city.  After a look around at the gallery, House of Representatives, and the Senate, we all headed off to ACU to meet with a few people.  At the college, we first met with Christine King, an Aboriginal researcher.  Over some tea, she talked to us about the history of the indigenous people and let us know of some of the faulty history that Australia teaches.  Aboriginals were prejudiced against, much like Native Americans in the US, however, the racism partially remains today and was certainly active until the 1960s.  Christine herself was taken from her family along with her sister.  Basically, the Australian officers wanted to breed out any Aboriginal in the people, so they took the lighter skinned girls and hoped to perform a "cleanse."  Eerily similar to Nazi Germany and Hitler's regime, Clare and I could not believe that we had never closely studied this conflict.  Christine is still dealing with constant race battles today, and in fact, it was not until recently that indigenous people were even counted as part of the population.

Me, Christine King, and Clare in the Research Center for Indigenous Studies at ACU

After the incredible meeting, we met up with Nick, the head of Campus Ministry.  He spoke with us about the involvement on campus and we drew parallels to Providence College.  He is extremely involved with the community and it is wonderful that the students have such a young advocate and role model to look up to.  Anne and Joh suggested that we head to some museums, and of course I couldn't say no to Quest-a-con Science Museum!  Again, when we arrived I was definitely the oldest and most excited but my dreams were crushed when they decided we didn't have enough time to enter because of another meeting on the schedule.  I didn't throw a tantrum, but I was close.  After peaking through the National Library, we headed off to John XXIII College at Australian National University.

This college, within the university, is a residence hall similar to a traditional dorm.  Students must have proof that they live far away/apply to live there.  We received a tour by the hall director and Chicago Native, who was delighted to talk to some Americans.  The college seemed like it had great camaraderie and a social life similar to PC.  Not exhausted quite yet, we headed to an Australian History Museum and looked at the displays of endless wildlife and aboriginal art.  Clare and I were enjoying the historical side of Australia.  After a delicious dinner with Anne and John, Clare and I collapsed in our room and watched "Being Lara Bingle." This day was jam-packed with activities!

Top of Mount Ainsley

This morning after a jog, Clare and I prepared for our last day, involving the a drive up Mount Ainsley, Australian War Memorial and a performance of the creative arts program at ACU.  The War Memorial was very similar to DC, with a reflecting pool and all.  I seriously could not believe how rife the building was with battle descriptions and wars the Australian military was involved in, mainly because of their British allegiance.  I never quite studied Australian history before so it was interesting to observe the parallels from the US perspective.

Our last stop was at ACU where we watched students perform "Where the Wild Things Are" as their final project, in groups of 4 or 5.  They danced, sang, and performed monologues which were entertaining to watch.  After that, we were headed on our way, exhausted and needing to pack for the Solomon's!

Above the Reflecting Pool at the Australian War Memorial

Now I am all packed and ready after a delicious feast courtesy of the Bells, once again!  Sue is so graciously driving us to the airport to catch a 6 AM flight to Brisbane, then on to Honiara.  Today is the day!  I can't believe it has finally come.