Farewell Australia

And ne'er again an "international student" shall be.

It was an interesting three years or so - a good deal of which was spent in New Zealand anyway.

Still célibataire. No problem with that per se. However...

- I spent a whole semester at uni. I made not one real friend as a result of that, in spite of attending classes diligently and being signed up to almost every social group under the sun. Add to that the visa issue, inability to defer studies and the banal attitude of the uni admin, and it was a short road to the exit.
- BLESS THE LORD for the good Christian friends I made in Brisbane and Sydney through the church. I am grateful to/for them for making my time in Australia better/more bearable/more enjoyable.
- CURSE the Department of Immigration And Citizenship (DIAC) for making this country so closed to outsiders, but those are the rules and that is that. Thanks for nothing DIAC!
- Advice: don't be an international student or guest worker. Permanent residence, tourist or nothing are the only ways. Also I will not openly advocate illegal migration as a good solution.

I missed seeing the Great Barrier Reef from Port Douglas and Cairns due to terrible weather conditions. That will have to wait till next time.

I did not make it to Uluru/Kata Tjuta. However, given that Uluru has been sitting there for 100 million years, it will most likely still be there when I visit Australia again. And I surely will be back!

Advice to the lovely sweet laidback drop-dead-gorgeous young Aussie chick who enters my life (when this finally happens!): please love me for who I am. Don't just marry me for my 10315 Singapore Airlines frequent flier points. ;)

With any luck, I'll be back over here for a bit... in a year or two. I'd best think about making my way to the airport: my flight to Singapore leaves soon.