The Next Chapter...

So, after being cooped up in Ottawa for just over a year now, I am officially a lawyer. In order to celebrate this, I have decided to leave the country once again. Well, it's not actually in celebration of this next chapter of life, but rather it is the next chapter. I am off to Durban, South Africa for 7 months (starting in September) to work at the Legal Resources Centre (http://www.lrc.org.za). LRC is an organization aimed at "using the law as an instrument of justice for the vulnerable and marginalised, including poor, homeless, and landless people and communities who suffer discrimination by reason of race, class, gender, disability or by reason of social, economic, and historical circumstances." Sounds good eh? So while with the LRC I will be working in legal research and writing supporting the team of lawyers in their individual case loads. I'm pretty excited for the move and hopefully for the work that will truly be making a difference. The LRC is one of South Africa's oldest legal NGOs and has participated in a number of the most important constitutional cases since the end of Apartheid.

The program that is sending me on over to S.A. is the Canadian Bar Association. There are 19 of us all over the place, but most importantly one of the others, Ellie, will also be working in Durban. So that will be good. Ellie and Ali taking on Durban. I have been told by a few individuals that Durban is my reward for surviving Dhaka. I'm very excited to be heading to such an amazing, moving city. Durban is in the KwaZulu-Natal region of South Africa - a region I haven't yet visited. The region is infamous for the Zulu kingdom that has played such an important role in the history of South Africa. Durban is the third largest city in SA with 3.5 million people. It is the sporting capital of SA and I can't wait to take some of this. Some allegiances will have to be altered as my time there will coincide with rugby world cup this year. I have a sneaky suspicion I will have to be cheering for the 'Boks this year. Durban is right on the coast of the Indian Ocean and I am very much looking forward to enjoying this - I am very much aware that there is a slight shark issue in the area, however, the Lonely Planet reassures me there are shark nets at all the main beaches and shark patrol that flies up and down the coast tracking the creatures. I am also choosing to believe that there are many more Bruces out there than Jaws "Fish [and humans] are friends, not food". Last, but not least, I am very much looking forward to one slight return to my time in Dhaka - the food. Durban is home to the largest concentration of people of Indian descent in S.A. This is clearly seen in the food, in particular, a local dish known as a Bunny Chow. Bunny Chow is a bread bowl full of curry, usually lamb, beef or chicken. The story goes that Bunny Chow was created in order for restraunteurs to serve the 'excluded populations' without breaking the law. The bread bowl served as the perfect take away dish. So, very excited for that.

Anyways, I hope to keep up with the blog, hopefully more regularly than when I was in Italy and Portugal last year. Talk to you all soon!

Oh, one more note, I actually love Ottawa and love my Ottawa people. I was just getting a little restless and needed to travel somewhere.