Looking back... it was incredible!

My last few days in Townsville were fairly relaxing and enjoyable. Between packing, I visited Reef HQ again, as well as the Museum of Tropical Queensland and the Sunday markets; I went out with friends on my last night and said my farewells. Tuesday, December 2nd I was on a 6am flight to Brisbane International Airport (after nearly oversleeping) and from there I departed for LAX.

Now I’ve had about two weeks to recover from the jetlag, get back into the routine of home, and reflect on the semester. It was truly amazing. So, I didn’t get to travel around as much as I would have liked and I didn't get to go skydiving – but seriously, I dove the Great Barrier Reef! I did about ten dives on the GBR and I saw pristine Papua New Guinea (photo courtesy of Rod).

I learned a lot about some of the academic fields that interest me most; I’m happy with my grades, and the credits will count towards my degree.

I adapted to the slightly different culture and lifestyle of Australia and specifically Townsville. Something that amuses me is that in Orange County a car like this one belongs almost exclusively to gardeners, but in Townsville its pretty common for the average person.

I grew familiar with the incredibly friendly and laid back attitude of the Australian people, and I love it. I adopted some new phrases ("heaps" has stuck). I even accepted Vegemite as edible.

I dealt with some wildlife: geckos lived all around our house, the calling of the curlews kept me up at night, and I got up close and personal with lots of other animals that I’ve posted about previously.

Furthermore: I got used to living on my own and cooking for myself. I learned an Australian drinking song. I camped in the rainforest. I took cold showers for a week because it hit 90 F everyday. I went to the most remote place I've ever been (Undara, the bush). I went out to clubs and bars for the first time. I saw a wild koala and sharks in their natural environment. I drank Goon and Bundy. I became certified as an Advanced Open Water Diver. I ate a kangaroo... and an emu... and a crocodile. Pretty successful, right?

Above all, I met many interesting acquaintances from all over the world and made several lasting friendships. I’ve already caught up with Marissa as she is conveniently from Irvine, and I’m even expecting to see some Aussie friends in the US during 2010.

It’s great to be home to rest up, celebrate the holidays with my family, and catch up with old friends. I’m looking forward to reuniting with my Swat friends and teammates, although I’m dreading the rigor of training trip and will have to get used to the idea of cold snowy weather again. My primary reason for going to Australia for a semester was academic – JCU is a great university offering marine-related classes that are completely unavailable at Swarthmore – and I certainly believe it paid off, but it also matters that I really had a lot of fun while I was there and I'm going to remember this semester fondly for the rest of my life.

"Good enough for the Bush"

On Monday morning, I took off for a road trip with Erika and Bailey, my neighbors who are also American JCU students. We were headed for Undara, a remote spot in the bush of Australia (almost but not quite the Outback). We headed up the coast and stopped for lunch on the beach in the beautiful little town of Cardwell. We turned inland towards the Atherton Tablelands and stopped at Mamu, which has elevated walkways built so that you can walk through the rainforest canopy.




We arrived there at night and checked into our “lodge,” a three person room with a shared outdoor kitchen and access to the campsite bathrooms. The next morning we took a short hike up to a bluff and found an incredible view. I was awestruck by the remoteness of the vast empty land surrounding us. We then took a guided tour of the lava tubes that are Undara’s claim to fame.




After the tour we went for another little hike to lookout, and saw some wallabies. We had dinner at the restaurant that night since we were eager to try Emu, Crocodile, and Kangaroo meat (I haven’t been a strict vegetarian in Australia because the meat industry is so much better than in the US). They were all quite good but kangaroo was the tastiest and most tender.




That night we did a nightwalk and saw a number of kangaroos but little else in the way of cool nocturnal animals. Wednesday we did a 12 kilometer hike. It was so beautiful and we did not encounter a single other person on the trail. We were hot and thirsty when we got back so treated ourselves to ice cream and a dip in the swimming pool.


The “wilderness at sunset” tour took us through the park in a van looking for macropods (“long foot,” wallabies, kangaroos, and wallaroos) and we did see a lot of them. Then we watched the beautiful sunset and enjoyed some champagne, cheese and crackers. We also went to a lava tube cave that is home to tons of microbats and watched as hundreds of them flew around our heads. Snakes at the mouth of the tunnel were trying to catch the bats as they passed.




Thursday morning it was time to check out and we started the long drive home via the inland route this time on which we passed roadkill kangaroos every five minutes. We stopped to examine up close a huge termite mound.

We arrived home in the afternoon and got cleaned up. Bailey, Erika and I celebrated Thanksgiving that evening with a meal out at an Asian restaurant.

GBR & semester's end

I’ve finished exams and am done with the semester! My finals were spaced out so that I had a whole week between tests, so Marissa and I took a little dive vacation during that time. Last Saturday we took an exam then took off for the airport and Cairns. On the short flight you get a great view of the reef.


Early Sunday morning, we boarded the day boat (the same one we took a month ago) and it delivered us to the bigger boat where we would spend the next two nights. We did nine dives over three days as well as some snorkeling and just enjoying the amazing warm blue water. I also got my Advanced Open Water Diver Certification. We saw some sharks, a cuttlefish, an octopus, and six turtles! Our second night dive was especially memorable. As soon as we hopped in, not only could we see sharks everywhere – a dream come true, no lie – but we also saw a lionfish. Not all of our photos turned out but here are a few (I would have many more from snorkeling since my digital is supposed to go to 30 feet, but to my dismay the screen cracked so it isn’t waterproof at all anymore).





I had interesting conversations with some of the guests on the boat from all over the world; it was cool to meet some Dutch travelers close to my age. Also, since we had befriended some of the boat's crew last time, it was really fun to catch up with them. Below are Duz, busy swabbing the deck, and Ryan, keeping watch over the snorkelers. Please note Duz’s gloriously filthy moustache. The crew participated in the great Australian tradition of “Moevember” when everybody grows a mo’ (known in the US as No-Shave-November), and had a contest for best facial hair to raise money for prostate cancer. We bought stars to give our favorite crewmembers and their staches, including one for both of these boys – Duz because his is shameless and awesome, and Ryan because he deserved an A for effort.



Tuesday evening we returned to shore and went out with some of the crew, and then caught a train home Wednesday. Yesterday I took my very last final exam and that means celebration time! So hung out with friends and then went to Uni Club for a bit (that’s the pictures below)… and now I have just a short time left in Australia.

Study Break

Lectures are over! I went to my last class on Friday morning. And Thursday night I attended the last Club Night at Uni Club. It was Halloween themed but my simple Pebbles Flintstone costume – I put a cardboard bone in my ponytail – didn’t survive the night. Below you can see me with two of my wonderful friends from the water polo team.

Since then, it’s just been a lot of studying. Finals last till November 21, but it’s good we have so much time because most of them are worth about 50% of my grade. For study motivation, it helps a lot that I’m interested in my classes. Tonight as a study break, Marissa and I used my dad’s recipe to make some delicious guacamole and enchiladas – the perfect meal for two Mexican food-deprived southern Californians.


Here’s another cultural tidbit: Before I arrived, I was told that Australian guys are aggressive and treat girls like crap, but I have found that it’s untrue. You encounter the occasional asshole, as you would anywhere, but for the most part everyone is incredibly nice. I do think Australia is more old-fashioned in the sense that I get a lot more special treatment from boys on the water polo court for being a girl, which I find well-intentioned but unnecessary. For example, in a shooting game, it was a rule that guys shoot left-handed when a girl was playing goalie.

Friends have also told me that American girls are more assertive. For example they’ll go after a guy they’re interested in while an Aussie girl would never make the first move. Another interesting remark was that American girls are more interested in AJs (army jerks) than Australians. (Don’t worry about me, Dad, it’s not my type). In general, it seems that gender equality has progressed further in the US than here and while Aussie guys are more chivalrous, American girls are more convicted of the fact that they are equal to guys, including in physical competition.

Of Ladybugs and Fish

Thursday night after my 6-9pm Invertebrate Practical (still a horrible time slot but this one was on mollusks so it was really interesting!) I met up with housemates at Uni Club where we socialized with friends and hit up the dance floor. Below are German Kristin, Australian Vicki, and American Kelsi. So multinational!

Aussies frown on trick-or-treating but they do appreciate the excuse for a costume party. Kelsi and I coordinated to arrive in good, cheap style to our friends’ early Halloween party. I wore my favorite shoes and Kelsi’s leggings and red shirt, then combined construction paper, a plastic table cloth, and an old poster to make a lovely ladybug costume; Kelsi borrowed my sparkly dress and transformed into a fish by adding scales, fins, and eyeballs.


We hung out with a doctor, robot, Goon warrior, the Hulk and many others. We left for home early (that's like midnight) and slept in the next morning. We then shared a lovely pancake brunch on the backyard balcony.



This is the last week of class already and it's time to start studying for finals. Also, I've gotten quite out of shape but am trying to fix that. On Monday I swam 1000m and played a water polo game, on Tuesday I swam 1500m and played a water polo game, and today I swam 2200m.

On another note, I have gotten the hang of driving on the left side of the road (not that I drive cars myself, but as a passenger or a bicyclist), but I still have to take a moment to think about which side of the car is the passenger’s side and which is the driver’s… And I definitely have not gotten the hang of swimming on the left side of the lane.

"Sharkwater" & Aussie lingo

I don't have much to report this week. Finals are coming up in November but for now I pretty much took it easy, playing some polo and watching some movies. I would like to recommend one in particular, about sharks and environmentalism, two of my favorite things! It's called "Sharkwater" and it's a documentary about sharkfinning. The film features good information, stunning footage, and even Paul Watson and the Sea Shepherd. It has won a bunch of awards and it's a really good movie about a critically important issue. Everyone should check it out.

I’ve enjoyed discovering some of the (generally subtle) cultural differences between Aussies and Americans. So for the next few posts I'll share some of the things I've found. Hope you find my observations interesting… For starters, here is a sample of some of my favorite bits of Aussie lingo.

AJ: army jerk (relevant because there’s an army base in Townsville)
AGB: after-grog bog, or the dump you take the morning after drinking a lot
arvo: afternoon
bludger: slacker, lazy person
bogan: redneck, hillybilly (adj.)
bottle-o: bottle shop, liquor store
budgie-smuggler: speedo (also see "togs" below)
keen: interested, eager
jam: jelly
jelly: jell-o
jumper: sweatshirt, hoodie
franger: condom
Macca’s: McDonald’s
pokies: slot machines
seppo: American; comes from “septic tank” because it rhymes with Yank and they're both full of shit
shrapnel: loose change, coins
stinger: jellyfish
togs: swimsuit, especially of the competitive form like a one-piece or speedo; also - "dick togs" or "DT" for speedo in particular
tumbleturn: flipturn
woop woop: far away, the middle of nowhere, the boonies

The general greeting is "How you goin'?" and they pronounce tomato as "tomahto." There's the obvious "mate" and people do end their sentences with “eh” but people do not say “crikey.”

Me an' my mates

On Saturday, Kelsi, Marissa and I hosted a party with a bright colors theme to celebrate their birthdays (again). We hung up streamers, set out bright candy like skittles, gave out glowsticks, and baked a cake with rainbow sprinkles on it. It was really fun! I even found a fantastically obnoxious dress for the occasion in a sale rack at the mall.



Sunday and Monday were hell because I had a paper due Monday at 9am and Monday at 5pm, as well as a presentation on Tuesday, so it was really rewarding Tuesday night when I got to kick back.

The water polo team had a banquet to officially end the season and say goodbye to the graduating players. They call this a breakup. I heard a lot of funny stories from Uni Games, which happened on the Gold Coast over lecture recess. (The boys got 8th place and the girls, including myself, couldn’t go because some players dropped out at the last minute.)
Cards and gifts were given to departing players and then funny awards were given out. There was a Virgin Award for a freshman player who had played every minute of every game at Uni Games and never scored a goal; the Liver Cerrosis Award was given to the guy who consistently parties the most; the Dude, Where’s My Brain Award was given to the one who had the single most epic night at Uni Games. The favorite freshman (except they say “fresher” here) had been hazed more this year than anyone ever and had put up with it like a champ so he was given the Brass Balls Award.
Finally, there was the George. W. Bush Award. There were three Americans present so we all looked around and wondered, “Hmm, which of us is going to get this one?” As it turns out, I was the distinguished recipient for being the “Yank” with a tendency to “say silly things without thinking about them first.” Ugh, what an insult… Actually, I find it quite funny but I did make sure everyone knew I didn’t vote for him. And below is a picture of the five of us honored award recipients. We had to wear the "medals" around our neck for the rest of the night or risk further "punishment."

Lecture Recess

Apparently “spring break” is an American term... My lecture recess was funny because the first half consisted of dirty grungy camping and no showers, while the second half involved packing all my jewelery and makeup, dressing up each night, and staying at a five-star hotel. It was also interesting because in the rainforest I had no reception and I managed to take off for Cairns without my phone on me, so I essentially had a week free of a cell phone. Believe it or not (I hardly can), I survived just fine!

Part 1.
Saturday through Tuesday I was camping in the Paluma rainforest with a field trip for my Rainforest Populations and Communities class. Everything there is surprisingly dry as this area is not a true rainforest but a sort of crossover ecosystem. Activities included setting up mist nets to catch birds, each of which had to be weighed, measured, and identified before being released. We got to have a look at a brown snake, the second-most venomous snake in the world.


One of the highlights was seeing a bandicoot with a baby in her pouch; I also retrieved a bush rat from a trap. We could swim in the water hole, which was refreshing but did little to make me feel cleaner and the last night we had makeshift s’mores around the campfire - real s'mores don’t exist here.


Although I hadn’t really looked forward to the field trip, it certainly had its fun moments and I learned quite a bit. I gained an appreciation for birds and birding, but it also confirmed that marine biology was the right choice for me.

Part 2.
Four nights in Cairns (pronounced kinda sorta like “kehns”) with Kelsi and Marissa, my two best buds in Oz! I met up with the girls on Wednesday at the Hilton - we had a good deal on a lovely room, with much safer and less noisy accommodation that a hostel could provide. The girls had just spent several days diving on the Great Barrier Reef (how jealous do you think I am?) and had befriended the crew of their dive boat well enough to be invited to go out and celebrate Kelsi's 21st birthday with them.


Thursday we went to a fruit market and did some groceries for the next few days and lounged by the pool. Then we got dressed up to celebrate Marissa’s 20th birthday, joined by the fun and friendly members of the crew (some of the guys are pictured below). Both girls wore birthday crowns and sashes on their respective birthday nights, which earned them lots of congratulatory hugs from random people.



Friday was another relaxing day and our friend Jordan arrived to spend the weekend with us. Marissa and I gave him and Kelsi some alone time and went to the night markets to browse jewelry and taste samples of interesting fruit wine – mango was especially delicious – before meeting up again with the boat crew to chill. The next day some of the crew were going out on the boat as passengers and they convinced us to come out with them, so Saturday Marissa and I headed out to the GBR for two incredible dives. Particularly noteworthy were a beautiful and striking blue spotted ray, sea cucumbers the size of my thigh (see below), and a stonefish, which is the most toxic fish in the world (we kept our distance). It was all amazing but I would say the highlight was seeing a white tipped reef shark because I had never seen a shark in the wild before and had been dying to do so. That night we hung out with our crew friends again before saying goodbye and dragging our happily exhausted butts home to our comfy Hilton beds.





Sunday we had to pack up and go home, on the way stopping to take a tour of Paronella Park where a Spanish guy once built a castle and beautiful garden for his wife.


This was probably the best spring break ever; I loved spending time with my friends, diving, seeing Cairns, and meeting new people. Marissa and I agreed that it was remarkable how quickly we bonded with the divers and we hope to return for more diving with them. My time in Australia is seriously flying by and when I leave here I know I'm going to miss it a lot.