Nice hat, isn't it?

I officially graduated from university last week, with a degree in journalism and with distinction. Presents, flowers, cards and large sums of money can be sent to my address or dropped off at my house. Inappropriately loud cheering, mad clapping and crazy shouts of joy are also more than welcome.

Moonstruck

I'm standing in my beautiful kitchen making myself a salad for dinner; my CD player sings a song just for me and I look over the river, which is black and made from liquid glass. I've been craving a little bit of time to myself, but now that I'm at home the first night this week, I feel kind of alone, although I'm not lonely.

The moon was full yesterday and it is still so beautiful today that it takes my breath away. It lights up the surface of the water and turns it into a velvety mysterious ice field. I turn off the music because the night is so quiet and gentle and stand on the window, surrendering to a sudden sadness that washes over me like warm water. I feel like crying but the tears stop just before they reach my eyes. The melancholy is friendly and not without hope, but still I feel like I used to be able to handle it better, which of course is not true.

I think about how I feel like going and staying at the same time and it makes my head spin. While I know that tomorrow morning all will be well again, tonight I'm not sure where I need to be and where I belong.

I'm sorry

Tomorrow is a historic day for Australia. After the previous conservative government refused for almost 12 years to apologise to Australia's indigenous peoples for policies that removed thousands of Aboriginal children from their families, our new government has made it one of their first items of business.

The apology will be delivered tomorrow in Canberra, on behalf of the Australian government and does in no way attribute guilt to today's generation. Our new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says it reflects on the past mistreatment of Aboriginal people. The parliament will apologise to the indigenous people for breaking up families and for causing enormous pain, degradation and suffering.

Although the apology is close to the heart of many people, the previous government under John Howard persistantly refused to bow to the pressure, claiming that saying sorry would place the blame on the public and leave the commonwealth liable to a flood of compensation claims.

Between 1910 and the early 1970s, about 100,000 Aboriginal children were forcefully removed from their parents and held in prison-like facilities before being placed with new families, based on the premise that they would have a better life growing up with white people's culture and lifestyle. Most of the stolen children were of mixed-blood Aboriginal heritage. A nation-wide national inquiry called the "Bringing Them Home Report" has shown that the majority of the children from the stolen generation suffered long-term psychological trauma.

The apology will read that "we today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians. A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again."

Although an apology alone is not enough, I am grateful that we finally have a government in place who can see that reconciliation is necessary in order to move forward together in peace and with mutual respect. A considerable number of people in Australia still feel that they should not say sorry for something they are not personally responsible for, and some of them feel quite strongly about it. Some friends and I were insulted today on Facebook as "commie bastards" and told to "get fucked" because we put our Facebook status to "I'm sorry". What those people don't understand (apart from the fact that the connection to communism is also very unclear) is that it is not about attributing guilt. It is about recognising that unspeakable trauma has been inflicted on many families and that considering we also live on their land, we need say on behalf of our ancestors that we are sorry for what happend. I too, say sorry.

Apparently I look like Mandy Moore. I can live with that.

I should be doing stuff, but I prefer to be procrastinating. And doing really, really useful stuff like finding my celebrity face doubles. Oh sweet procrastination... I love you. You bring me joy. Like when you tell me that I look like Mandy Moore.

Quote of the day

"Dance like it hurts, Love like you need money, Work when people are watching." (Scott Adams)

We are weird.

One of my friends sent me this message on the morning of Australia Day, just before I became an Australian citizen: "G'day mate. Welcome to Australia. Home."

And being able to officially considering Australia home has indeed been great so far. The only problem I now have is the fact that I cannot really complain about Australians anymore. Michelle and I had a chat the other day and I said, "Australians are weird." I paused for a moment, then correct myself. "Us Australians are weird, I mean."

Saying that is definitely not as much fun though. But apart from that, being an Aussie has been totally awesome and stuff. As the kids around here would say.



And that's me, displaying the pride for my new homeland at my citizenship party. If only I knew how to hold the flag the right way around.