it is summer in canberra. there are very few people during christmas. students go back to their hometowns. public servants take their break elsewhere. many residents actually go to sydney or melbourne. south coast proves to be a worthy alternative for others.
being the nerd that i am, i will be staying in canberra throughout the holidays. some friends have invited me to lunches and dinners but i politely turned down most of them. my thesis is my top priority. i shouldn’t be allowing the jitters to take over. i must stay, write and rewrite. i am really determined to return to manila soon.
as it turns out, some of my close friends here are staying put. i’ll be having christmas breakfast with two other friends somewhere in the city. michael and marlene will pick me up for a christmas lunch with their immediate family. on boxing day, university house student-residents will be having a barbie at the garden. i will also have ample time to call up my family in manila and friends all over.
fortunately, canberra centre has opened its huge extension. for a long time, civic wasn’t the city centre it was meant to be. as a result of the mall’s huge expansion, people are converging towards canberra centre for a great number of reasons. i love the new mall because it has finally opened a branch of borders (the huge international chain of bookstores) and dendy (a chain of cinemas showcasing independent films).
it will not be a bleak midsummer christmas, after all.
ascending borders
borders at canberra centre
canberra from mt. ainslie
at the national gallery of australia
shops at kingston
the national film and sound archives
australian national university seal outside the school of music
the a.n.u. chancelry
a.n.u. pauline griffin building
possums having their tea at 3:00 a.m. outside a.n.u. coombs building
a cockatoo blissfully observes the tea room, a.n.u. coombs building
(research school of social sciences/research school of pacific and asian studies)
a.n.u. coombs building
(research school of social sciences/research school of pacific and asian studies)
a.n.u. j. b. chifley library
the path leading to a.n.u. w.k. hancock library
the a.n.u. r.g. menzies asia pacific library
a.n.u. union building and square
a.n.u. school of music
a.n.u. john curtin school of medical research
a.n.u. university house
a.n.u. school of art
view of australian national university from black mountain
a.n.u. university avenue
Labels: australian national university, canberra, christmas
