anrakushi, whereabouts in Australia are you from?
Being an alternate would be a pain... as it is with the JET process your life and long term plans kind of have to hang in the balance for more than half a year; extending that even further and leaving you less time to deal with leaving if you do would really suck. Better than being rejected straight out though, if you're in a position to wait to be possibly upgraded.
Thinking about what I'd have to leave behind keeps making me want to change my mind... at least I have a crazy long time to think about it
