Prologue

My desire to travel to Australia probably began when I was about 10 years old after I had watched both Crocodile Dundee movies several times through. After a Simpsons episode on the subject of Australia, I resolved to see the Land Down Under at the first available opportunity, which later presented itself in Carleton University's Study Abroad Program. I should note, though, that other influences on my decision to travel included the song Waltzing Matilda (Australia's unofficial national anthem) which I had heard on a kids songs tape I once had, the song Land Down Under, by the Aussie group Men at Work and the Snowy River series of movies which I also saw when much younger.

My mother had travelled to the Soviet Union back in the 1970s while at university and was always a firm believer in travelling while studying. If she had not held this vision, I probably would not have gone to such places as Japan, The Netherlands and Austria. She was also a firm believer in just travelling, and in that vein, I have seen, Russia, Mexico and the Yukon, as well as having been to Duluth, Minnesota 4 times. When I read about the Study Abroad Program at Carleton, I immediately took an interest and made plans to depart the Northern Hemisphere. Luckily, Carleton did have exchanges to several universities in Australia and I was finally accepted to study at Macquarie University in the northwestern wilds of Sydney. I arrived on Sunday, February 20th at 06:05 (all times will be in military format for the sake of clarity) after a glorious stay in Hawai'i and the entries which follow document my travels both in Hawai'i and in Australia.