Research Begins

May 30, 2010

Location: Stradebroke Island

Another early rise for us today. This time it was essential so that we could catch low tide. We were trying out a technique called seining. Basically you take a long net (20 meters or so) and sweep it in a semi circle fashion in a water area of choice. This is an effective technique, when done properly, to catch and collect a representative sample of the diversity and abundance of species in the area. I had a ton of fun learning all the new species but I am still having a little difficulty distinguishing between a whiting and a flathead. I am sure I will pick it up. For now I am just pleased to see and learn all new fish that I have either never seen before or have only seen on TV. After having a blast out in the field we got to have a little breaky and discuss what we want to do our research projects on. During the program we are going to spend time at three different islands. At each island we are given an opportunity to work in teams and collect our own field data for our projects of choice. My group decided on working on the differences in diversity and abundance during daylight and night, in three different areas along the mudflat. I am excited to be working with fish in comparison to the other projects because we actually get to get into the water for collection rather just walking around and hoping to spot organisms. The down side is that it is very labor intensive with only 4 people and it gets pretty cold at night. I do think we will get some good data and hopefully have some significant results. We only have four days to work on the project so we won’t get too much reliable information, but getting the experience is priceless. After coming up with our methodology and our main purpose of our project we had our first lecture. Again, I learned a lot. It was titled: Oceans. We mainly talked about what influences tides and currents and stuff like that (yes we even talked about the East Australian Current). We got the afternoon to start are field work (more seining!!!) and then we went out as a class to do a night time seine. In the afternoon as we were walking out to our research site, a couple of the local kids were playing on the sand flats and decided that they wanted to help us out. It was awesome (not only because we could use extra pairs of hands). They were asking us all kinds of questions about the kinds of fish we were catching and why we were catching them. It tested my knowledge but also helped reinforce what I just learned. Overall today was a beautiful day filled with wonderful adventures. Besides the chills from the wind it was a gorgeous day with bright blue water. I walked along the beach and took some pictures with some of my mates. We even found an awesome rope swing (wasn’t too stable but still a lot of fun). Once again I can’t wait to see what tomorrow will bring. ‘till then.

Notables:
Breaky: Breakfast

Low tide was at 5:48 am (we went out at 6)

Arriving at Stradebroke Island

May 29, 2010

Location: North Stradebroke Island (Dunwich)

Today we woke early to catch a ferry to our next destination: Stradebroke Island. We woke up to rain but trying to be optimistic we convinced ourselves it was going to pass. We rode in a charter bus to catch the ferry (about a half hour outside the city). The ferry was a large barge that the cars drove onto to be transported to the island. Once on the barge (on are giant bus) we were able to walk around… it was way too weird to be on a bus that was on a boat. It was freezing, windy and sprinkling but I stood on a platform the whole ride in hopes of spot some sort of wildlife. Glen (one of our professors) said that sometimes you could spot dugongs in the distance. Sadly I didn't see anything. I was excited to finally see water even though it was only a bay. Even though it was raining and otherwise miserable the view of the sand islands was way too cool to pass up. As we got closer to the island the skies cleared a little and the scenery was beautiful. When we got to the research station we had a little orientation meeting (the dos and don’ts). Then we settled in to our rooms (we got to pick our roommates this time). After lunch we got to do the fun stuff. We went out to the beach right as the tide was turning, and collected organisms that we found in the different areas. Since the tide was moving out the whole time we followed the shore line. We explored the sand flats, mud flats, and the rocky headlands. It was raining and cold the entire time we were out in the water (the water was less then ankle deep most of the time but got to knee length at one point because the wind was restricting it from falling as fast as it would normally). The mud flats were extremely hard to walk through, almost like quick sand. And the rocky ridges had me watching every step to make sure I didn’t fall on the razor sharp oyster beds. We found tons of organisms including three species of crabs, four species of snail, large and small sea cucumbers, star fish, puffer fish. I believe we collected 29 in all. After collecting we went back to the wet lab and set them up in aquariums. We later studied them and talked about anatomical features of each one. Then I enjoyed watching the sunset on the water’s edge. I had a super long day but it was also super fun searching through rocks and oyster beds for special little creatures. Hopefully tomorrow the clouds will give way and we will have wonderful day for splashing around in the water learning about all of the ocean’s wonders.

Notables:
We have “tea time” twice a day every day…tea time actually means snack time
Biscuits= cookies
Torch= flash light
Stradebroke Island is the second largest sand island in the world
Sun rises at 6 am and sets at 5 pm
Ticks= minutes ex. They will be ready in a few ticks

Exploring the City

May 28,2010

City: Brisbane

Day two: What a day!! Today the group had nothing planned so we were allowed to do as we pleased. I decided to explore the city…wanted to yesterday but had no one to go with. My mom and dad probably wouldn’t approve but I ended up setting out to explore the big city alone. I am extremely impressed that I didn’t follow the crowd or cowardly hide in my room all day. A big group of people headed out for the zoo while four or five went to Surfer’s Paradise. I knew we were spending the next 3 weeks on islands so going to the beach sounded less then appealing and for a while I was convincing myself that I should go to the zoo. At the time I thought we were going to Australia Zoo (home to the late Steve Irwin) however, I found out everyone wanted to go to the local zoo. (Australia zoo was about two and a half hours away). So I took a chance and broke free. I retrieved a map from the front desk and started my journey and boy did I cover some ground. My main goal was to see the botanic gardens. Along the way I stumbled upon parliament plaza where I saw the parliament house. I saw a sign for the old government house but I was already at my original destination of the gardens so I decided to catch the house on my way out. The gardens were amazing, so peaceful and quiet. I also learned a lot about native species and even saw a research project in progress with various bamboo species and water conservation. The gardens edge ran along the Brisbane river. So as I was finishing my stroll through the gardens, I found a mangrove fish habitat. The habitat had a pedestrian wooden walk way over a little inlet type area of the river. It was high tide so many of the animals that lived in the area were not visible (also I saw a ginormous spider the size of my palm in a web the size of me…needless to say I keep my distance). After coming out of the gardens, I wanted to double back to find the government house. Somewhere along the way I took a wrong turn and ended up walking along the riverside pathway. Before I noticed the error, I was close to Victoria Bridge. Instead of turning around I walked across headed toward the south bank park (This is when it started raining, pretty hard in my opinion). When I crossed I found several wonderful spots to get pictures of the city skyline. The rain picked up so I made my way to the art gallery and the museum. The gallery had a special traveling exhibit of artistic hats (…interesting). The museum was a lot of fun. I learned about Australian history in aviation and sailing. I also saw an exhibit on endangered species (educated the young ones on the dangers of littering and the devastating effects of city development on animal habitats). They even had an exhibit on the evolution of swim wear (including Ian Thorpes’ Adides full body suit from the 2000 Olympics). After touring the museum I headed out destined for Musgrave park. The park was farther south outside of the city. Finding nothing special and getting creeped out that I was the only one walking around I turned straight back for the city. I then happened to walk right into the heart of south bank park. This is where locals go to have picnics and relax. It runs along the south side of Brisbane river and has spectacular views of the city. There I saw (and splashed around in…just couldn’t help myself) a little man made lagoon. It was quite cool to have a beach like area in the midst of a city. I also saw a memorial park and a maritime museum (which was closed). I made my way over the goodwill bridge hoping I could get another chance at finding the old government house. After walking (and getting lost several times) through QUT (Queensland University of Technology) I found it. I toured around inside (Dad would have loved it) Then I decided that my touring of the city was over. The sun was going to set soon and I didn’t want to be wondering around after dark. Well along the way I got lost…again but “no worries”. I ended up walking in circles for 45 minutes but I found a few souvenir shops. I like to say that I meant to get lost so I could find the shops…haha. But now I am safe and sound in my bed and man am I exhausted. My feet and back and knees and shoulders hurt more then ever before. I am so proud of myself for walking the streets and doing what I wanted. I had so much fun, even though the rain soaked me and the clouds didn’t make for a pleasant looking afternoon. I learned a lot about the culture of the Aussie. And for a day I felt like an Aussie …an Aussie that was slightly photo happy. I saw gum scrapers (blokes with machines that steam gum off the sidewalks) and sidewalk sweepers. I saw a judge and a didjeridu player. I saw school children walking around the mall after school all wearing different uniforms from the different schools in the area. Successful day both personally and productively. And the best part was the tranquility of the beauty with no to do lists or timelines. I loved every minute of it. Hopefully tomorrow will be as wonderful as today (if I can ever walk again).
Notables:
There are no squirrels any where…strange to walk through the park and not see our furry little friends.
Walk between Victoria bridge and the goodwill bridge is about 2 km.
Beacon is thick cuts of ham, nothing like Americans idea of beacon
Mustard is the seeds, however, you can request “Genuine American mustard” to receive the form we associate with.

And it begins...

May 27, 2010

City: Brisbane

Day one of journey: Today we arrived…at 6 am, little sleep was gained on the 15 hour flight due to various reasons but there is no need to complain now. The excitement over powered the exhaustion and anticipation. We are staying at the Tinbilly backpackers hostel. The cost of internet is outrageous so I guess my addiction will be tested. Upon arrival I felt like I was not messing well with the others in the group. My shy side came out and seems to be here to stay for a while. I am sure I will make friends but I did have some fleeting thought of regret for coming I tried to tag along for a walk around the city but I defiantly felt like the odd one out. I gave up trying to follow the crowd so I went back to the hostel’s lobby to wait for our check in time. I really wanted to explore more but I didn’t want go through such a big city alone (just seemed like a bad idea). Home sickness was kicking in but luckily it was time for check in. I thought that rooming with the others would make it easier to get to know the others which would eventually lead to some sort of friendship. I ended up in a room with only two other girls. The other two girl rooms had 6 in each. I liked the idea of having more space but not the idea of only getting to know two other girls (who by the way stayed up way past my bed time, not necessarily a bad thing, but cut down on our bonding time). After check in we had our orientation meeting. It was loads of fun and very relaxed. We did a brief overview of our scheduled activities and possible unscheduled activities. We also learned a lot about Aussie lingo and culture. Then we were allowed free time before dinner. My free time was spent napping…very much needed. We ate dinner at Caxton Thai Restaurant…very neat and filling. I learned that a lot of Australian restaurants are BYO (bring your own) alcohol. You buy the alcohol at a store and bring it with you to the restaurant to enjoy with your meal. Some places charge a “corking fee”, basically a small fee per person drinking an outside alcoholic beverage (about 2 dollars). Another thing I learned was that Aussies refer to take out as take away. When I decided to come to Australia, I figured culture shock would not play a huge impact in my experience. Many because they spoke English I thought it would be easy to understand and relate to the locals. However, they do have a language of there own here. Aussie slang is fun to learn and easy to pickup but more times then not I have to ask someone to repeat themselves or define a term they used. I am enjoying the big city and a lot of the stores and restaurants remain me of home (subway on the corner and starbucks across the street). Well tomorrow should be fun and hopefully my strides to make friends will pay off soon. Till then G’Day!
Notables:
Subway has $7 foot longs (everything is more expensive) but with the same $5 advertisement
Pokies= slot machines
Legal drinking age is 18
There is no sales tax

About this blog...

Hi family and friends,
As most of you know, I took an opportunity this summer to participate in a study abroad program in Australia!!! I am so excited about my journey that I wanted to share it with you. I am also keeping this blog so that I can remember all the great things I encountered and the new things I learn. I should warn you that some of my posts may not be too exciting (I may get a little too detailed on my daily activities) but I will try to keep it as accurate as possible while not being too informative.I will be away for a month starting May 25th. I am not sure how often I will post. My plan is to have a summary of everyday and I will post them when I am given the chance. Thanks for all your well wishes and enjoy.