So far, so good

I now officially have WiFi access at home! Apparently they are behind on internet here because the population is so spread out and there are few companies. Luckily, however, I no longer will have to trek to McDonald’s (which is kind of far and involves buying unwanted McDonald’s food) or to campus (which is further and involves being limited by a quota) to use the net.

Also, classes are going well - the first week is only lectures, no practicals or tutorials (like labs) so it was actually quite relaxing. My course schedule this semester consists of the following:

Marine Conservation Biology
Rainforest Populations and Communities
Aquaculture
Marine and Terrestrial Invertebrate Biology

It’s going to be so good!

Last free weekend, first day of class

This was the last weekend before classes began and it consisted of a night out in the city with Kelsi, my wonderful housemate from Oregon. On Sunday Kelsi and I got a grand tour of Townsville from our local friend Jordan. We drove to one of the highest points in the area, the mountain where the radio transmission towers are. Here you can see Kelsi and Jordan and the view from the top.




That afternoon, after spending some time on the Strand, we returned to the aquarium to enjoy the exhibits, watch the predator tank feeding, and see a clip on dangerous jellyfish – and I became a member so I can return for free.





Today is the first day of class and it’s going smoothly; it looks like I’ll have relatively relaxing Mondays, so I’ll be going for a swim this afternoon. Now I just have to make the final decision about my courseload.

Week 2

This week was orientation which has meant that I’m continuing to meet people from all over the world – not only the US and Australia but also Norway, England, Germany, Switzerland, China, Sweden, Denmark… It’s quite interesting and exciting!

One of the orientation week activities was a behind-the-scenes tour of the Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville. The aquarium contains the largest living reef in the world. (I promptly inquired about paid or volunteer positions but unfortunately my 5-month visit is too short to get hired). We got to see how it operates as well as special things they do like the sea turtle hospital, which you can see below.



On Friday, I joined a group of new friends to hike to the top of Castle Hill. The view from the top was incredible. Looking seawards, you can see Magnetic Island, which I visited last weekend.





After the hike, we went down to the Strand to cool off in a kids water park and lounge on the beach.



Now I plan to enjoy the weekend and prepare for classes to start on Monday. I'm even excited for my classes since they all sound fascinating!

What up, Townsville

Day 1, Wednesday, July 15 I arrived and that evening went to see Harry Potter with one of my new classmates. Here is a photo is the view from my window at the backpacker’s inn where I stayed the first night and one of the entrance to campus.

Thursday I was lucky enough to find a great place to move into right away. Four JCU study abroad students live upstairs: Kelsi from Oregon, Kristin from Germany, and I share a bathroom; Kai from Germany has his own bathroom. Downstairs live an Irish couple. So far it’s a great group. Here you can see the house and backyard.

Friday I met some girls from Ursinus College, near Swat, and we went into the city for an evening out.

Saturday I made a daytrip to Magnetic Island (8 km off the Townsville coast) with housemates and new friends. We went for a short hike and even saw a koala bear – very hard to spot.

Today was the official start of international orientation week with a kick-off barbecue that included the chance to hold some cool critters – an olive python, a blue-tongued lizard, and a bearded dragon.

So everything is going great so far! Internet access is a bit problematic at the moment but hopefully there will be a better solution soon…

SaSa story (noun):

1. a story told by SaSa Bedolfe.
2. a story that is poorly told, as it lacks a proper narrative, conclusion or punch line, and is comical for all the wrong reasons; may prompt blank stares, laughter, or sarcasm such as "Good story, SaSa" and "Tell it again" from listeners.
3. a term coined by members of the Swarthmore College swim team to describe any story told in the jumbled style of a SaSa story.

My First Post

Lots of people have asked me to keep them updated on my upcoming travels, and I figured this might be the most practical way to do that. No cluttering your inboxes - just come check it all out here if you feel like it.

Always feel free to contact me. I have email, Facebook, iChat, Skype. I try to stay in touch but might be pretty busy and lack the time or initiative to frequently write or call; still, I always love to hear from my family and friends. In fact, since blogging isn't exactly personalized communication that would be really appreciated.

I've never done blogging before so we'll see how this goes. I'll try not to be boring, but maybe I'll throw in an occasional classic "SaSa story." Plus, I'll post some sweet pictures. Wish me luck...