My passport arrived back with the visa label (looks the same as the last one did when I went over on a 442 in 2003) last week and things have been somewhat hectic ever since. To make things more interesting, something went bang in M82 as well, which meant that there was extra stuff to do at "work".

So flights are now booked: I ship out a week tomorrow.....

Well, I'm still waiting for the passport to be returned with it's shiny new visa label, but it now seems that I don't exist any more. The University I worked for up until very recently has deleted me from their system, while I'm still working for them on a fees basis! Argh. One more thing to add to the To Do list.....

Well, four months after I accepted the job, my visa has been granted.  In a few weeks I will be heading to Perth, WA, for a three-year post as an astronomer.    It's the first time I've worked away from where I grew up so it's going to be a big change, but hopefully an exciting adventure and I'm hoping to learn a lot while I'm there.

My job involves researching the nature of starburst galaxies - galaxies which for one reason or another have undergone a widespread and rapid burst of star formation - as well as working on the development of the Square Kilometre Array, a new telescope which is to be built either in South Africa or Western Australia.  I'm also going to be involved with public outreach there, participating in the indiginous astronomy project as part of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009.

I love astronomy, and I've always known that I'd have to move overseas at some point if I persued it as a career, but now that I've actually reached that point I'm really nervous about it!  I'm going there on my own, leaving behind a lot of close family and friends, as well as my boyfriend.  It's going to take some time to get used to being so far away.