Man, it feels like I have been in Townsville forever! I guess I’ve been here for a week and a half, but for simplicity sake, lets just call it “Week 2.” What a week and a half it’s been! Trish, Savannah, Rachel, Emily (friends of ours from the Australearn orientation), Kathy and I have spent a lot of time hanging out, meeting other international students, and exploring Townsville.
Kathy, Emily, and I are living in the same dorm, but in different blocks. There are 7 dorm rooms (all singles, apparently outside of the US its rare to have a roommate in college), a common room, bathroom, kitchen, and balcony on each floor. We are pretty far out on one end of the campus, which means a bit more of a walk, but also means more wildlife. There is a kookaburra that lives near Kathy’s building, big cane toads hiding, shy wallabies, and lots of geckos and tree frogs. I’ve also heard about kangaroo, possum (fun fact that Kathy taught me: there are possums in Australia, and opossums in America—the term “possum” for the animal living in the states is technically incorrect), and curlew sightings.
I haven’t been homesick too much, just about two days soon after arriving. Now I’m getting use to the bus system (not quite ready to brave it on my own yet though), and making all my meals, so the first wave of culture shock is past. We’ve been pretty busy too, which helps!
On Saturday the 17th the 6 of us went to the Strand, which is the Townsville beach. It was absolutely gorgeous, be sure to check out my pictures on facebook (ask me for a link if you’re not on facebook). There were no waves, just little swells, because the reef protects it. The water was nice and warm, there were lots of palm trees, and a great view of Magnetic Island. Oh, and delicious Gelato nearby. We spent most of the afternoon taking pictures, relaxing, swimming, etc, and had dinner there. It was dusk when we were waiting at the bus stop, so we were treated to a large flock of parrots flying around, roosting on nearby trees, and squawking their heads off. All the birds here seem to squawk or scream, not chirp, like they’re all determined to be loud and obnoxious as can be. That’s what I wake up to every morning!
Orientation week started on Monday, with a small barbeque. It was probably the most useless orientation I’ve ever been too. Most of the sessions were geared towards freshman, obviously, but were more informative if you’ve never been to university before. We attended all the sessions we needed to on Tuesday and Wednesday, so Wednesday night we treated ourselves to some Australian’s Next Top Model, and henna hair dye! Trish, Savannah, and I all became redheads, making Kathy the only non-redhead left out of the 6 of us. I officially really love being a redhead.
On Thursday we went to Reef HQ, the nearby aquarium. They had a giant tank with a large reef ecosystem that was open at top to the natural sunlight and temperature. It is essentially a natural ecosystem except for some food they throw in, and some protein skimming. We went on a behind the scenes tour, the highlight of which was the Turtle Hospital! There were a handful of turtles, some healthier and thus more active then others. There was one really big one that had been kept as a pet and fed unnatural food. He was about twice the size a turtle in the wild would be at the same age.
This weekend we went to Magnetic Island, known to the locals as Maggie Island. On Saturday we caught the ferry, it was about a 20 minute ride from Townsville to the Island. We stayed at a hostel right off the beach, so we spent most of Saturday morning exploring that beach and climbing big rocks and looking for critters. That afternoon we went on a walk near Horseshoe Bay that had lots of gun encampments from WW11 (edit: Steven, the grammar police, has informed me that I actually mean WWII. Thanks dear :) Edit 2: COMMA COMMA, STOP BEING SUCH AN ADORABLE PAIN IN THE BUTT!). We spotted several wild koala bears, two of which were pretty much right off the path. It was so amazing to see them up so close and in their natural habitat. They weren’t concerned by us at all, just continued their sleeping and sitting there. The walk ended in a lookout tower, and provided some of the most beautiful views I have ever seen. Magnetic Island has some gorgeous bays. We’d reach a clear spot, maybe climb up on a rock a bit, and I’d just stand there, completely speechless. Today we went to one of the bays, Alma bay, and had a relaxing last day of summer break!
Well, its time for bed, so I’ll be rested for the first day of classes tomorrow! Keep in touch guys, leave me a comment letting me know what you’re all up to.
7.19.2010
Blog Exclusive Videos
Didgeridoo playing
Mamaby licking her joey
Taken from the boat on our way back from the reef. Sorry for the loud wind!
The gecko I rescued from a friend's room
Mamaby licking her joey
Taken from the boat on our way back from the reef. Sorry for the loud wind!
The gecko I rescued from a friend's room
Week 1. In which Australia is amazing.
Ok, I’m finally sitting down to blog. I keep meaning to every night but keep getting distracted by random things, like rescuing a gecko from a friend’s room (still not sure if I was rescuing the gecko, or Emily…), or putting up pictures instead.
So this one will be about my first week here. It was an orientation for the program I came here through. It was located in Cairns, which is a 4 hour drive north of here (for those of you who don’t know, I am on the northeast coast). Cairns is a rainforest, absolutely gorgeous! But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, I was going to talk about the flight a bit first.
The 14-hour flight was not as a bad as we were dreading. We ended up sleeping for the majority of it except for a little bit in the beginning and end. It was a great airline, decent food, and they gave us hot chocolate with a big marshmallow! We then had a stop in the Sydney airport, went through customs and all that, and then a 3 or 4 hour flight to Cairns. We got ice cream on that flight! Our first glimpse of Cairns was… I’m running out of adjectives to convey my experiences… gorgeous, unbelievable, etc, all apply. Green mountains, right up until blue green water, waves crashing, reef. Wow.
We were pretty much rushed right into our first session almost straight off the plane. No time to shower, we just dropped our bags off in our rooms (at a hostel/resort. It was really nice, pool, clean, more resort then hostel), and went to dinner and a welcome session that we were all falling asleep during. Besides wanting to go to bed super early the first night, jet lag wasn’t really an issue for me. Kathy and I were up for 24 hours and then slept for the 14 hour flight so that pretty much got us on the right time zone. Anyway, I was so confused as to what time it was, I was ready to adapt to any schedule presented.
The next morning we were off to the Rainforestation! We saw Aborigine demonstrations, dancing, spear throwing. We threw boomerangs (Kathy’s came back to hers, my throw was.. lets say less dismal then I expected). We saw didgeridoo playing. Basically termites hollow out a tree and the Aborigine cut it down, clear out all the termites, smooth it out and put beeswax on the mouth piece. It has this crazy deep sound when played correctly, but when played incorrectly (like all us tourists on our first couple of tries) its basically just the longest fart noise ever.
The Rainforestation was also a wildlife park, so we held a koala bear, fed some wallabies and kangaroos, saw dingoes and crocs and weird birds, and held a python. We also tried green ant butt. There are these ants with a green abdomen, and when that abdomen is licked or eaten, there is a tangy taste that’s pretty good if you can get over how gross it is that there is an ant in your mouth. We also went on a DUCK tour where we discovered that even the plants want to hurt you in Australia. There are vines that attach themselves to you and grow every-which-way, and a stinging berry that when you brush against it you get its hairs embedded in you and they’re like needles burning for anywhere from a week to six months.
The next day (Sunday), was “adventure day” where we broke off and went on different tours offered. Kathy and I went on one that drove us up north, stopping at various places. First stop: Rainforest Wildlife Habitat. It was a lot like the Rainforestation, but this one had wallabies with joeys! Next stop was Mossman gorge where we went on a little walk through the rainforest and ended up at the Mossman River where we went for a dip. A chilly dip. After lunch we went on a croc cruise in the Daintree River and saw wild crocodiles. On our way to Cape Tribulation we saw a wild cassowary! Cassowaries are big, black, flightless birds with a colorful crest on their head. They are capable of killing a human by kicking them with their big claws. They are very important to the rainforest because they spread many seeds, but they are quickly becoming endangered so it isn’t too common to see one in the wild. The Cape Tribulation beach was wonderful. It was flanked by mangroves and wonderful mountains. There was soft coral reefs forming tidepools with all sorts of critter in there.
Monday was community day. We helped plant and pot trees that were specifically picked to extend the cassowary habitat (loss and fragmentation of habitat is the main reason they’re becoming extinct). Later that day a small group of us went hiking through botanical gardens and up a hill with a view of Cairns.
Tuesday we went to the Great Barrier Reef!! Unfortunately I had a cold so I couldn’t dive, but I was snorkeling as much as they allowed us in the water! I can’t even describe the reef to all you. It was beyond words. It was so peaceful being in there. I had so much fun seeing all these fish I recognized from interning at the aquarium. I also saw a sea turtle (a complete “woaaaaaah!” moment), he wasn’t very large, he was just floating around and then swam up to surface not too far from me. And of course I found a nudibranch!
So that was my first week. Wednesday I rode the bus to Townsville, and settled into my dorm room.
Miss you all! Thinking of my family all the time!
So this one will be about my first week here. It was an orientation for the program I came here through. It was located in Cairns, which is a 4 hour drive north of here (for those of you who don’t know, I am on the northeast coast). Cairns is a rainforest, absolutely gorgeous! But I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, I was going to talk about the flight a bit first.
The 14-hour flight was not as a bad as we were dreading. We ended up sleeping for the majority of it except for a little bit in the beginning and end. It was a great airline, decent food, and they gave us hot chocolate with a big marshmallow! We then had a stop in the Sydney airport, went through customs and all that, and then a 3 or 4 hour flight to Cairns. We got ice cream on that flight! Our first glimpse of Cairns was… I’m running out of adjectives to convey my experiences… gorgeous, unbelievable, etc, all apply. Green mountains, right up until blue green water, waves crashing, reef. Wow.
We were pretty much rushed right into our first session almost straight off the plane. No time to shower, we just dropped our bags off in our rooms (at a hostel/resort. It was really nice, pool, clean, more resort then hostel), and went to dinner and a welcome session that we were all falling asleep during. Besides wanting to go to bed super early the first night, jet lag wasn’t really an issue for me. Kathy and I were up for 24 hours and then slept for the 14 hour flight so that pretty much got us on the right time zone. Anyway, I was so confused as to what time it was, I was ready to adapt to any schedule presented.
The next morning we were off to the Rainforestation! We saw Aborigine demonstrations, dancing, spear throwing. We threw boomerangs (Kathy’s came back to hers, my throw was.. lets say less dismal then I expected). We saw didgeridoo playing. Basically termites hollow out a tree and the Aborigine cut it down, clear out all the termites, smooth it out and put beeswax on the mouth piece. It has this crazy deep sound when played correctly, but when played incorrectly (like all us tourists on our first couple of tries) its basically just the longest fart noise ever.
The Rainforestation was also a wildlife park, so we held a koala bear, fed some wallabies and kangaroos, saw dingoes and crocs and weird birds, and held a python. We also tried green ant butt. There are these ants with a green abdomen, and when that abdomen is licked or eaten, there is a tangy taste that’s pretty good if you can get over how gross it is that there is an ant in your mouth. We also went on a DUCK tour where we discovered that even the plants want to hurt you in Australia. There are vines that attach themselves to you and grow every-which-way, and a stinging berry that when you brush against it you get its hairs embedded in you and they’re like needles burning for anywhere from a week to six months.
The next day (Sunday), was “adventure day” where we broke off and went on different tours offered. Kathy and I went on one that drove us up north, stopping at various places. First stop: Rainforest Wildlife Habitat. It was a lot like the Rainforestation, but this one had wallabies with joeys! Next stop was Mossman gorge where we went on a little walk through the rainforest and ended up at the Mossman River where we went for a dip. A chilly dip. After lunch we went on a croc cruise in the Daintree River and saw wild crocodiles. On our way to Cape Tribulation we saw a wild cassowary! Cassowaries are big, black, flightless birds with a colorful crest on their head. They are capable of killing a human by kicking them with their big claws. They are very important to the rainforest because they spread many seeds, but they are quickly becoming endangered so it isn’t too common to see one in the wild. The Cape Tribulation beach was wonderful. It was flanked by mangroves and wonderful mountains. There was soft coral reefs forming tidepools with all sorts of critter in there.
Monday was community day. We helped plant and pot trees that were specifically picked to extend the cassowary habitat (loss and fragmentation of habitat is the main reason they’re becoming extinct). Later that day a small group of us went hiking through botanical gardens and up a hill with a view of Cairns.
Tuesday we went to the Great Barrier Reef!! Unfortunately I had a cold so I couldn’t dive, but I was snorkeling as much as they allowed us in the water! I can’t even describe the reef to all you. It was beyond words. It was so peaceful being in there. I had so much fun seeing all these fish I recognized from interning at the aquarium. I also saw a sea turtle (a complete “woaaaaaah!” moment), he wasn’t very large, he was just floating around and then swam up to surface not too far from me. And of course I found a nudibranch!
So that was my first week. Wednesday I rode the bus to Townsville, and settled into my dorm room.
Miss you all! Thinking of my family all the time!
7.14.2010
Hi! I'm in my dorm room in Townsville! Later I'll write later about this past week's activites, they've been amazing and numerous. Right now though, I want to acknowledge Uncle Bob, because I haven't had the chance yet.
For those of you who don't know, last week my Uncle Bob had a sudden heart attack and passed away. I found out on my layover in San Franscico, thankfully my parents were able to contact me before my flight to Sydney. I felt like I really didn't have time to properly make a decision about whether to still continue on or not, so I went ahead and got on the flight to Sydney. The moment the plane moved away from the gate was very emotional for me as it all hit me, and I realized I wouldn't get to say good-bye at the funeral, that I wouldn't be there for my family, and my family wouldn't be there for me (in person, that is). It has felt strange all week because I didn't actually know when the funeral was until it was over, and I haven't been able to be in any real contact back home all this past week. I've been trying to make the most of it, and still enjoy and appreciate this week because I know that is what Uncle Bob would want.
I was thinking about Uncle Bob, and the main memory that kept popping into my head was of him pushing me on the swing and playing with me when I was little. It just impressed on me how much he loved his kids and neices and nephews. It made me stop and really appreciate all the love and sense of family my aunts and uncles have given me. I am so thankful I was able to see Uncle Bob on the 3rd and give him one last hug. I miss him a lot, and I can't wait to see him again some day.
Scallion family, you have been in my thoughts constantly, I love and miss you all.
For those of you who don't know, last week my Uncle Bob had a sudden heart attack and passed away. I found out on my layover in San Franscico, thankfully my parents were able to contact me before my flight to Sydney. I felt like I really didn't have time to properly make a decision about whether to still continue on or not, so I went ahead and got on the flight to Sydney. The moment the plane moved away from the gate was very emotional for me as it all hit me, and I realized I wouldn't get to say good-bye at the funeral, that I wouldn't be there for my family, and my family wouldn't be there for me (in person, that is). It has felt strange all week because I didn't actually know when the funeral was until it was over, and I haven't been able to be in any real contact back home all this past week. I've been trying to make the most of it, and still enjoy and appreciate this week because I know that is what Uncle Bob would want.
I was thinking about Uncle Bob, and the main memory that kept popping into my head was of him pushing me on the swing and playing with me when I was little. It just impressed on me how much he loved his kids and neices and nephews. It made me stop and really appreciate all the love and sense of family my aunts and uncles have given me. I am so thankful I was able to see Uncle Bob on the 3rd and give him one last hug. I miss him a lot, and I can't wait to see him again some day.
Scallion family, you have been in my thoughts constantly, I love and miss you all.
7.04.2010
Introduction
Hi everyone! I just wanted to give a little introduction for those of you who know Kathy but not me (Lara) or vice versa.
Kathy and I are both Seniors majoring in Zoology. We met during Freshman orientation and decided to keep an eye out for each other the first day of classes since we had similar schedules. First day of classes came around and we sat together during our very first class, Walker's freshman bio. We sat too far back and we couldn't hear a word he said, so we sat in the front in every class for the year! Anyway, we were lab partners that year, and bonded over the next two years through many study sessions. Junior year we became roommates and have had a ton of fun with that :)
Within the first few weeks of Freshman year, we realized that we both wanted to study abroad to Australia, so we decided to go together. We have now gotten each other through many a test and a semester by looking forward to this trip, often telling each other "remember, next (semester, year, etc) we'll be hugging wombats!!" We've looked forward to it for so long now, personally I can't even wrap my brain around the fact that we're actually going, so I'm waiting for when the excitement really hits! I still have so much to do to get ready (pack, a couple of errands, some cleaning!) so right now I'm focused on that, but I'm sure I'm going to be jumping up and down in my seat, giggling, on the way to the airport (Kathy can't wait, haha!).
We'll be leaving in two days, on Wednesday morning. We will be flying to San Francisco (where we have a rather long layover) to Sydney, to Cairns where we will have an orientation week before taking a bus to Townsville, our final destination. We will be writing about our adventures as much as we can, as well as posting pictures, and maybe the occasional video blog if we figure out how to post it, so you can see our smiling faces :) We'll miss you all much, but I hope this helps us keep in touch!
Kathy and I are both Seniors majoring in Zoology. We met during Freshman orientation and decided to keep an eye out for each other the first day of classes since we had similar schedules. First day of classes came around and we sat together during our very first class, Walker's freshman bio. We sat too far back and we couldn't hear a word he said, so we sat in the front in every class for the year! Anyway, we were lab partners that year, and bonded over the next two years through many study sessions. Junior year we became roommates and have had a ton of fun with that :)
Within the first few weeks of Freshman year, we realized that we both wanted to study abroad to Australia, so we decided to go together. We have now gotten each other through many a test and a semester by looking forward to this trip, often telling each other "remember, next (semester, year, etc) we'll be hugging wombats!!" We've looked forward to it for so long now, personally I can't even wrap my brain around the fact that we're actually going, so I'm waiting for when the excitement really hits! I still have so much to do to get ready (pack, a couple of errands, some cleaning!) so right now I'm focused on that, but I'm sure I'm going to be jumping up and down in my seat, giggling, on the way to the airport (Kathy can't wait, haha!).
We'll be leaving in two days, on Wednesday morning. We will be flying to San Francisco (where we have a rather long layover) to Sydney, to Cairns where we will have an orientation week before taking a bus to Townsville, our final destination. We will be writing about our adventures as much as we can, as well as posting pictures, and maybe the occasional video blog if we figure out how to post it, so you can see our smiling faces :) We'll miss you all much, but I hope this helps us keep in touch!
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