Birds and Baking

Hey ya’ll.

Apologizes for the gap between blog posts – I’ve been at my host stay for the past week and haven’t had consistent access to Internet. I’ll be on homestay until next Sunday. So far it’s been an “interesting” experience: I have two other international students staying with me, so its been really cool to get to know them and learn about their cultures. Enrica is 17 from Italy, Laura is 17 and from Germany and there was another student named Minami (21) from Japan although she left Saturday. They’re all super friendly and it’s been really fun to hang out with them. My host mom, Rachelle (pronounced Rachel) is also nice. I have my own room here, which is really enjoyable, (albeit a bit weird at first). However I’m not entirely alone, one of the other SIT students is coincidentally staying next door with another host family (his host family and mine are best friends). My family and host sisters are very into cooking and baking so we've been having some really great home cooked meals. I brought a delicious chocolate cake recipe from home (thanks to the wonderful miss Sarah Pincus) and i managed to recreate it the other day. (Despite the fact that I accidentally set the oven to around 500 degrees, not realizing that the oven was in celsius and not fahrenheit. oops. you'll all be glad to know that I did not burn the house down.) 

Right before home stay began we spent the weekend in Cairns. Unfortunately that meant having a class on saturday. But, it consisted of snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef so we can't really complain. :) It was so amazing to be back in the water and back at the reef at that! The fish we saw were so beautiful and colorful! We saw parrotfish, anemone fish (aka "nemos"), even a white-tip reef shark! Unfortunately we are not allowed to dive here, but even snorkeling is such an incredible experience! All in all, a great day. 

But it hasn’t been all fun and games. While we’ve been on homestay we’ve been assigned a bird field study project which involves getting up at 6AM to bird watch in the local neighborhood. This wouldn’t have been so bad a couple of weeks ago when I was jetlagged and waking up at 6 anyways, but now it’s a bit more difficult. :P The aim of the project is to watch birds in both a suburban area and a more forested, natural area and then to compare the types and number of birds we see. I have enjoyed getting able to see some really beautiful and interesting birds although I’m definitely still struggling with identifying them and their calls, (which we’re supposed to be working on during this project as well). Here are some of the more beautiful birds I've been seeing. (Unfortunately these are not my pics) 

Rainbow Bee-Eater (Yes they actually do eat bees)

Yellow-Bellied Sun Bird

Rainbow Lorikeet

Everyone in the program is spread out at this time though we’re all around the Cairns area so we can still see each other during the weekends. (This weekend we all got together and went to the beach before going into town at night to celebrate one girl’s 22^nd birthday.) We also go into Cairns a few times a week to have lectures at the Reef Teach classroom, so it’s starting to feel like actual school again. (yes, complete with homework as well.)

Not the most interesting update, since most of my time has been spent either doing homework reading or trying to do research for a potential ISP. I’m choosing between a few options right now (although in the end I have a feeling it’s all going to boil down to whoever ends up emailing me back with an offer to come work with them). I am considering getting involved with a wildlife rehabilitation center somewhere in Queensland, possibly studying the role that rehabilitation plays in conservation. Or I might end up researching different behaviors in penguins down in southern Australia. My last option is work with an organization that is trying to help save an endangered speices of wallaby out in Perth, by assessing the population dynamics of an invasive species of fox. They trap and collar the foxes to gain a better idea of their population numbers. Then that gives the scientists a better gauge of whether the foxes are causing major damage to the wallaby population.

Again, at this point it's not as much what I would prefer to do as much as who ends up emailing me back, ha ha. I'll definitely keep you all posted as things change. We have another week of homestay and then we leave for our camping trip led by an aboriginal elder. 10 days in the cairns wilderness - I can't wait :) until then, g'day mates! 

Peace, love and chocolate cake. 

Katie

Just a Typical First Week of Classes...

First time back online for a week. We just arrived back in Cairns a few hours ago, after spending the past week in the Atherton Tablelands (located to the north west of cairns, for those of you who are geography minded). It's been a pretty packed week but I'll try to give you guys the highlights/most important parts. Sorry - this post is pretty long. I have five days to fill you in on. And days here are not exactly boring...

Day 1 - Monday: Left Cairns and drove towards our first destination: Port Douglas. On the way we stopped at a nearby restoration site called Redden Island. This area is the traditional territory of the Yirriganydji people and through their collaboration with several environmental groups, the land has been protected and gradually restored to its original state. (It had been taken over by weeds and rubbish and generally had been uncared for). Tony showed us around and highlighted many of the important ecological features of the area, including the mouth of the Barren River. Later that afternoon we drove to Crystal falls for the swim in the river and a picnic lunch. The water was a bit on the chilly side but it was very refreshing and made for a great afternoon of fun in the sun. 

We finally pulled into Port Douglas and checked into the hostel called the Parrot Fish in. Port Douglas is a beautiful beachside town with a lot of nice restaurants and shops. But our main focus was on the beach, so that was our immediate first stop, (for our second swim of the day). The waves were HUGE and the water was so warm it was just like the caribbean. (It reminded me why I wanted to come to North Australia in the first place) :)

Day 2 - Tuesday: Drove to the Daintree National Park where we got a tour of the rainforest from an aboriginal guide named Ray, who is a member of the Kuku Yalanji clan. The Kuku Yalanji still call that rainforest a part of their home territory, so they have intimate knowledge of all the species that reside there. Ray showed us some really interesting plants and explained what they were used for, including a spiky vine that is called "Wait-a-While" because it's thin, bendy branches have sticky hairs on them that catch on people's clothes and "make them wait." The Kuku Yalanji use the serrated branches for fish hooks, and once the hairs fall off the vine it is used for building shelters and baskets. Ray also showed us how to play the didgeridoo and gave us a special live performance.

I got some "oka" or body paint that the aboriginals use
for their ceremonies. All the paints come from natural
sources found in the forest

Ray, our guide, explaining how they make tools from the
wood of a tree's buttress

Didgeridoo playing - much harder than it looks! 

I love how in touch with nature the aboriginal people are. The rainforest gives them everything they need, and modern technology and lifestyles are just an accessory not a necessity. The simplicity with which they live makes me envious, and sad that our culture has become so driven by economic greed and consumption. Though they may be "poorer" in economic standards, they live much richer and fulfilled lives. It makes me sad that we have lost this connection with nature and the environment around us.

Back to updates: After our time in the National Park, we had another picnic lunch and swim, this time in the Mossman Gorge - another spectacularly beautiful natural flowing river.

Mossman Gorge

Our afternoon concluded with a river cruise down the Daintree River to look for crocodiles and to learn about the magnificent mangrove trees that grow along the banks. We saw an ENORMOUS crocodile plus several of his young offspring and their very protective mother, who was not happy when we pulled up in our boat to get a better look.

This crocodile was probably 10ft easily. He's the alpha male of the river. 

Day 3 - Wednesday: We left Port Douglas to head to the Atherton Tablelands for the remainder of our orientation. On the way out of town we stopped at the Rainforest Habitat, a wildlife center that housed a large selection of native australian fauna species. While we were there we got to feed some kangaroos and wallabies (one my dreams realized), saw a bunch of unique and beautiful birds (including the very rare Black-Neck Stork. This wildlife center is the only place in the world that has been able to get them to breed successfully in captivity), and we also got to hold a koala named Cody. (Yes - another dream realized).

Best Day Ever :)

This is not a baby kangaroo but actually it's own species called a Wallaby.
(They're very cute. This little guy liked to hold a person's hand while he was eating.) 

Cassowary. (Reminds me of the bird from UP). Looks very reptilian, almost dinosaur-like

This Cockatoo fell in love with my friend Kenny and wouldn't leave him alone.
He was the only one who was able to touch it all day.  

The rare and famous, Black-Neck Storks, looking after their eggs.  

Black Cockatoo. (Notice the beautiful feather pattern). 

Rainbow Lorikeet. These birds are all over and are deafening! 

Everyone in the group had to tear ourselves away from the animals when it came time to leave. But our next stop was just as interesting. We stopped in the Mabi Forest to see the Curtain Fig Tree. As soon as I saw the tree, I was immediately reminded of the Tree of Souls from Avatar. It was such an incredible looking tree, believed to easily be hundreds of years old. It was a strangler fig tree that had overgrown its host tree and set down roots of its own.

To give you an idea of the scale...

But our day was not over yet. We arrived at the Atherton Table lands and checked into our hostel which was called, On the Wallaby. This adorable little facility was tucked into a small country town called Yungaburra. The owner of the place was a bubbly, cheerful woman named Tracy, who wasted no time making us feel right at home. As soon as we got there, she informed us that a mere 15 min walk away from the hostel was a viewing platform along a river where one could view a wild platypus. Well, the group needed no further prompting. And our journey was successful and we managed to see quite a few wild "platypi". For those who don't know, Platypus are one of only two egg laying mammals on earth. They have small, brown bodies and black, duck-like bills and webbed feet. When scientists first discovered it, they thought it was a hoax and someone had stuck a bill on some type of small mammal. But these things do exist! I've seen them with my own eyes! (unfortunately my pictures didn't come out too well. But i'll borrow some from my friends and post them so you will believe that I'm not making it up). 

After a wonderful dinner of homemade spaghetti and marinara sauce, we were informed that we had another great activity planned for that night: night canoeing. We drove a short distance away from the hostel and broke up into small groups/pairs. I was a bit surprised that they trusted all of us in canoes, at night, with almost no instructions at all. But miraculously, there were no major accidents or any capsizing. :) Using high powered flashlights we looked along the banks, alert for any glowing eyes indicating a tree kangaroo, possum or bird of any kind. We managed to see several different types of birds including cockatoos and some cormorants and we even got to see a rare Echidna! The Echidna is the other egg-laying mammal in Australia. (It looks a bit like a hedgehog with an elongated nose.) The one we found curled up in a ball immediately when our guide approached it and gently picked it up. He stayed like that the whole time we were with him which was sad since we never got to see his face, but it was still an amazingly rare event. (I'll post both the picture that I took along with an internet pic of what they're supposed to look like when they're not curled up in a ball). 

The wild one we saw. 

What s/he probably looks like when not freaked out of his/her mind :P

Day 4 - Thursday: Drop Off. For days we had been wondering what "Drop-Off" meant. It was there on our schedule with absolutely no description whatsoever. All it said was: 9:00 AM - Drop Off. 6:00 PM - Dinner. We were convinced that it meant Tony would drive us out into the jungle, drop us off and then drive away, leaving us to find our way back to the hostel or something. ha ha we weren't 100% off.... Around 9 the next morning, they drove us out to several pre-determined country towns around Atherton and dropped us off, 1-4 at each place. We were supposed to just hang out around town, talk to the locals if the opportunity arose and basically just spend a day in the town doing whatever we wanted. (An introspective activity i guess?) I was dropped off at this little town called Ravenshoe (not sure if it's pronounced how it's spelled or not). There were two other girls at the same town as me, though we were all dropped off in slightly different areas of town. 

At first I was a bit freaked out at the idea of being alone for 4 hours, but i quickly learned to like the feeling. After being with 19 other people constantly for the past week, it was really nice to just have some time to myself. I walked around some of the cute shops for a bit, and then I found this pretty forest reserve just off the main street and spent a while just wandering around there. I ran into the other two girls and we ended up having lunch together at this little hotel which was situated on the highest point in Queensland. It wasn't the most exciting day, but it was definitely a new and very interesting experience. 

The hotel at the highest point in Cairns

My beautiful "thinking" spot in the Forest Reserve

That afternoon/evening was a quiet affair. Some people decided to check out the local bar scene, but I chose to remain behind and write in a journal we're supposed to be keeping that contains information about our daily excursions (a bit like this blog actually.) and play some cards with a couple people in the program who also chose to stay behind. 

Day 5 - Friday: Stopped at Lake Eacham and Peterson Creek on our way back to Cairns. Learned a bit about a proper techniques for bird watching and how to ID a few of the common species of birds. Had our usual picnic lunch and afternoon swim in the lake. Saw our first snake - a carpet python! 

Left the Tablelands and came back to the city of Cairns. 

Overall, not a typical first week of school. :) But it's been amazing so far. (Although it feels nice to be back at our home sweet home, the Northern Green House.) Well I should probably stop procrastinating and get back to working on my journal. We're supposed to be keeping a Natural History Field Journal, with entries about our excursions and what we learn/see. Tomorrow is the first check and I'm still a day behind. (oops!) Also tomorrow we get to spend the day on the reef for our first day of snorkeling! So excited I hope i can sleep tonight! :) We just came back from a very interesting lecture on the various species we'll be seeing. (This was the Reef Teach seminar that I mentioned a few posts ago). It made me super stoked to be back on the water and get to see the reef again. I'll write again tomorrow, with all that I see! Oh, and on sunday we'll all be heading off on the home-stay portion of our program. I received an email from my new host mother today informing me that i will have 4 "host sisters" where I will be staying - one is the woman's own daughter and the other three are other international students she is hosting. Wow - sounds like a full house! Can't wait to meet them all! 

I apologize for the epically long post - I know I wrote a novel. I'll try as best I can to keep them shorter in the future. :P 

My love to everyone! 

Peace, love and platypi. 

Katie

"Dancing on Tables is Undertaken at Own Risk"

Hello all! It's been a couple of very interesting and unusual days here in the sunny city of Cairns, Australia. On Friday, after settling in we were met by Tony Cummings, our very warm and laid-back academic director. He gave us a brief overview of the program and then took us for a quick tour around the city, including around the beautiful Esplanade, which reminds me a lot of the boardwalks in Cali, (except that instead of looking out on picturesque white sands, we were looking out at muddy earth. :P)

A picture of some of us venturing out onto the "beach."

At this point we were very hungry, so we set about looking for a place to have dinner. Cairns is a really beautiful city, full of lots of little shops and funky restaurants with food from all over the world. The one problem with all of these places is the prices, so we don't spend as much time shopping as you would think. For those who don't keep up with global economics like me, Australia is doing slightly better than we are currency wise. Right now, 1 Australian dollar is worth about .96 US dollars. Or rather, $100 US dollars will get you $91 Australian dollars. So things are just a wee bit more expensive here than back home. But one nice thing especially with restaurants, is that tipping is not included. The reason this is extra nice is because the minimum wage is so high (somewhere around 15 dollars i believe), that the workers are taken care of by their salaries alone and tipping isn't required like it is in the states. (Something to think about America).

A little bit of Cairns, Australia

But I digress.. We spent the rest of Friday getting acclimated and trying our best not to fall asleep so that we could start getting over the jet lag. Even so, most of us were out by 8:00 pm, but miraculously, my roommates and I still managed to all sleep until 6:30 the next morning.  (I know - we felt like grandparents).


At 7:15 AM the whole group went for our first "excursion," which was a hike/tour of the Cairns Botanical Garden. We saw an amazing variety of plant and animal species, plus some spectacular views. We also got to learn about a type of ant called the Green Ant, whose butt has a sour taste to it if you lick it, (which a couple of people in my program did). After our morning hike we were treated to a wonderful tropical brunch, complete with lots of fruit and some scones (pronounced, "sc-on-z"). Fun fact: apparently it is very bad manners to cut a scone with a knife. One should always break it open with their bare hands.

The beginning of our hike

View from one of the hills

Someone tasting the butt of the ant

We also ran into this Brush Turkey and several of his friends.

Later that night the group decided to have some fun and check out some of the local clubs and bars. We found this really fun place called the Wool Shed that was very popular. As the title of my post implies, at this venue dancing on tables was not only accepted but encouraged, and I'm proud to say I partook in this particular activity :)

This morning was a more subdued day: we had our first official "class" at a place called "Reef Teach," which is just down the road from our hostel. Reef Teach was started by a man who worked on a dive boat, who was concerned that visitors were not getting enough information out of a simple boat dive that he started this classroom, hosting information sessions and lectures for members of the public and tourists to teach them about the reef. In this same classroom my program will be meeting for our own classes, as well as attending some of the Reef Teach lectures. Today however was just for basic information and going over emergency information, including how to best avoid getting killed/injured/maimed by any of the following: crocodiles, snakes, feral pigs, cassowaries, sharks, toxic plants, stinging trees, biting insects....the list seemed to go on. (Apparently if you get bitten by a snake the first thing you should do is remain calm. And this is supposed to be facilitated by our knowledge that there's only a fifty percent chance that the snake that bit us actually injected its venom. Now, don't you feel better?)

Oh and also, we need to avoid situations involving sexual harassment and assault.

Sorry for the epically long post. But you have a few days to read it all cause today we all leave for the second part of our orientation which is a 5 day camping trip in Port Douglas and the Atherton Tablelands. (For those of you who know a little about my schedule, this is not the camping trip with the aboriginal elder. That comes later.) I won't have my computer with me, so this is me signing off for a bit. But I'll hopefully be back with some fun stories to tell you all soon. :) Cheers!

Peace, love and scones.
Katie

Below are some shots of the hostel I'm staying at. So you have a better idea of where I'm writing from. (At least for now..)

Common room of the hostel

Our beautiful pool :)