It has been a few years, so it was nice to see some of these pictures pop up on Facebook.
My time coaching the Universitas Pelita Harapan (Pelita Harapan University / UPH) law mooting teams was a real pleasure for me. I am yet to meet such a dedicated bunch before or since. The core of this team was committed to learning and achieving. Ultimately, the year following this one, they did achieve their goal of winning the Indonesian National Round of the Jessup International Law Moot competition.
Many of them have now gone onto careers in the law, joined the diplomatic corps, or have opted for further study. I am proud of each and every one of them. I hope that over the years I will remain in touch with all of them. I am certain that they will all continue to achieve and excel in their chosen fields (so, keeping in touch might get me a sympathy job at some point in the future, right?).
These are photos from 2009. The second one is standing around in the cold Washington DC air. And, the first one is a "last supper" that we shared when we arrived back in Jakarta and before I left to come back to Australia. The bag contained an awesome little scrapbook of memories and kind words (which sits on my desk, and to which I look regularly). It also contained an iPod which I continue to use and enjoy!
I really enjoyed the opportunity. I hope they learned something useful about the law and about life. In a lot of ways I consider them to be family, especially seeing they all turned up to check out Will when he was born. And, we spent a lot, a lot, of time together working on research and memorials and oral advocacy over teh two years we dedicated to the UPH mooting cause.
The treespotter tagged me to do a music post some time ago. I have been a little too lazy to do it. There are rules which I am not going to follow. Although, the rules meant I could have written about AC/DC and "Sink the Pink", a classic song in its own right. However, one of my all time favorite bands is Cold Chisel.
My favorite all time Cold Chisel song is "Khe Sanh". This is closely followed by "When the War is Over". I introduced one of my best friends (even though we have not seen each other in years, there are some people you just bond with and that bond is tight no matter what the tyranny of distance or time is).
Khe Sanh is a favorite of hers as well. I have always had a fascination with Vietnam and the Vietnam war. My friend has a family connection having lost an uncle (if I am not mistaken) in the war. We used to play this song and sing (some would say scream) along having learned the words off by heart. Funnily enough she has now taught her young kids to sing the song. This is probably a good thing for Cold Chisel as this will continue to ensure that the royalty revenue keeps rolling in.
The words of Khe Sanh have always got me thinking and as I get older I can relate many of the ideas of the song to my own existence. These ideas do not always have to do with war. The song is very much about the disconnect, the inability for others to understand the experience, and the need to get away and live life but never really being sure whether you are going to make that last plane or train out of the city.
Here are the words:
I left my heart to the sappers round Khe Sanh And my soul was sold with my cigarettes to the blackmarket man I've had the Vietnam cold turkey From the ocean to the Silver City And it's only other vets could understand
About the long forgotten dockside guarantees How there were no V-day heroes in 1973 How we sailed into Sydney Harbour I saw an old friend but couldn't kiss her And she was lined, and I was home to a lucky land
She was like so many more from that time on Their lives were all so empty, until they found their chosen one And their legs were often open But their minds were always closed And their hearts were held in fast suburban chains
And the legal pads were yellow, hours long, paypacket lean And the telex writers clattered where the gunships once had been But the car parks made me jumpy And I never stopped the dreams Or the growing need for speed and novacaine
So I worked across the country from end to end Tried to find a place to settle down, Where my mixed up life could mend Held a job on an oil-rig Flying choppers when I could But the nightlife nearly drove me round the bend
And I've travelled round the world from year to year And each one found me aimless, one more year the worse for wear And I've been back to South East Asia You know the answer sure ain't there But I'm drifting north, to check things out again
You know the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone Only seven flying hours, and I'll be landing in Hong Kong There ain't nothing like the kisses From a jaded Chinese princess I'm gonna hit some Hong Kong mattress all night long
Well the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone Yeah the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone And it's really got me worried I'm goin' nowhere and I'm in a hurry And the last plane out of Sydney's almost gone (Repeat twice)
