Advance Australia Fair

Note: A bit behind on posting some bits of our past month so here come a few dated entries!

We have been in the process of becoming Australian citizens for a couple of years now. Getting a little impatient with the timeframe we decided to leave the country before the final ceremony as the wait time was estimated at 9 months wait. It was a surprise to get invited to a ceremony a mere three months after our interview. Except, we were walking through the Alps and kindly asked for a new date.  For months we were half expecting half dreading our next ceremony invitation. A few weeks ago, after we had already made our plans for October and bought flights to places that were not Australia, we got the invitation. With a little help from Jakobs parents  (thankfully children are not required to attend the ceremony!) we made it work.

 Citizenship requires commitment and if we could not commit by actually living in the country at the present than at least we could commit by turning up. Jakob flew direct from France to Australia where he made the most of his situation by setting up multiple work meetings. I flew to Canada, spend a few days there, got the children set up at their grandparents, flew to Honolulu via New York. Went for a quick stroll through Honolulu and a swim in the Pacific, flew to Sydney, and then drove to Canberra. It all felt like a very surreal and excessive way to pick up our citizenship certificates. That being said attending an in-person ceremony did make it all seem more official. 

We both did enjoy being initiated into the country by a welcome and performance by an aboriginal father daughter duo. We felt like we had achieved something walking up to officially receive certificates and take pictures with the full sized image of the (deceased) queen. Throughout this process we have felt like the official Australian values were something to be proud of and that was reflected in the ceremony. Parents of children were encouraged not to feel as if they had to quiet their children as the ceremony was their ceremony as well. I had no children with me but as a parent I can say that this was a powerful statement to make at an official government ceremony. It was reiterated numerous times during the ceremony that all of us were not meant to give up our past lives and loyalties but to use them to make Australia a richer place - a message I found touching and appreciated. 

As we drank champagne with a friend in the fancy hotel next door to the ceremony afterwards we were feeling pretty good about having made it out for the moment. It is too bad the children couldn’t be there to walk up and get their certificates, but at the same time, I am also glad that they didn’t have to do the 90- hours of travel with me. Jakob and I managed to squeeze in a diner together that night in Sydney before we collapsed into our jet lagged and pre-flight slumber. We ate Thai food in a lively restaurant tucked away into the back of a mall in what was one of the most unlikely dates we expected this year. Filled to the brim with good food, strolling through Sydney in the dark, it felt good to be Australian. I don’t think I will jump at the opportunity of a weekend trip to Australia from Eastern Canada again but it was a grand adventure and, though exhausting, a fun thing to have done.

I saw a lot of this

Oh Canberra!

What we pledged in case anyone is interested

And here we are as Australians!