Mining for 'gold'...

...in the land down under.

=======================================================================

by PAM

And the 24-day adventure in the land down under begins!  Thanks to Australia Awards (AA) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) of the government of Australia, and to the Western Australian School of Mines (WASM) Curtin University in Bentley and in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia.

A colleague and I received a Fellowship from AA to visit WASM Curtin University in the land down under.  The goal of the visit is to learn through experiencing how WASM operates in order to revitalize the mining education in the Philippines, specifically addressing gender imbalance under the girls and women empowerment program of Australia.  My University and the Curtin University signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year, and forging a partnership between our Faculty of Engineering and that of Curtin's Faculty of Science and Engineering is one of the priorities.  Specifically, we are working on jointly offering a Graduate Program in Chemical Engineering with specialization in Metallurgical Engineering as a concrete step in revitalizing mining education in the country. 

Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!
Arriving on the 20th of August to visit Western Australia - for the first time.

Exploring the Curtin University Bentley campus.
Oy, oy, oy!

It's my first time to travel to Western Australia.  So far, so good.  Perth is not as I expected... it's so much better!  In fact, I'm loving it!  I'm excited to go through the whole duration of the visit.  I cannot wait to visit Kalgoorlie - the "Gold Capital of Australia".  I wish to visit gold mines, and experience the historical places of Kalgoorlie. 

I'm not sure exactly what to expect, therefore I am keeping an open mind and keeping my travel options open.  Nevertheless, I secretly hope to run into a "gold mine"... and soak it up a bit.  And by "gold mine", I don't just mean a place where you find a block of that glittering yellow-brown metal... I hope to find "gold mine of people", ya know, new colleagues, new friends... and a "gold mine of new experiences".  Can't wait!

Your move, Oz.  Surprise me!  Oy, oy, oy! 

***
Photo credit:  Both photos were taken by Numz De Guzman - thanks.

***

Saturday Photo

A humbling experience... I wish to be worthy
of this at some point in my life.

***
Photo credit:  I took the photo at the APEC Meeting, held at the Philippine International Convention Center.

***

Saturday photo

Moody skies, highly reactive seas, confused atmosphere... 
...and we get ready whenever they feel pissed off - by us! 

I spent the transition from July to August 'on air'... and serving my professional community, too, in another part of the country.  On my way to my destination, my plane 'bumped' into a think air pocket, which made it almost roll over!  It made all of us in the plane felt like we landed extremely badly or something... and were terrified when we realized that we were still actually on air!  Man, scary!  

Apart from the on-air scare, the trip was fantastic, in terms of how much our group has accomplished, and how much we, as a group, grew closer with one another.  It was a fulfilling few days... and I expect more great things to happen today as we finally take a few hours free before heading home.  

So, let's do this! :)

***