Living to Learn Down Under

When I went scuba diving in Cairns, I took a bunch of video clips with the plan of making a polished compilation video upon returning home to Sydney. I had never edited my own videos before, so I awkwardly navigated iMovie on a few trial videos until I felt like I learned what I needed, then went to work on one to highlight my scuba diving experience. 

Last week I also started learning in my two classes for the trimester. This week in Plant Ecology we start planning our term research projects, and for Marine and Aquatic Ecology we’re going whale watching! I’m excited to whale-watch from a more scientific perspective than I did last time. 

Of course, my favorite thing to learn about is frogs. For my research project at the Australian Museum, I am in the “literature review” stage, so I get to read endless papers about frog calls and distribution. Rather than feeling burnt-out by all the reading, I get lost in papers which may only be tangentially relevant because I am so captivated by the information.

Finally, yesterday I went on a hike with the UNSW Wandering Society to Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park.

In chatting with the other wanderers along the trail, I learned so much about peoples’ perspectives on the environment and the diversity of backgrounds of students at UNSW. It was also interesting to be asked for the “American perspective,” and to compare upbringing, schooling, and general culture.

Living down under, I am learning how to showcase my experiences, learning about the local ecology, learning how frogs communicate, learning what it means to me to be American, and enjoying the process of it all. Do I miss Cairns? Definitely, but the experiences I have through my classes, research, and clubs in Sydney are just as important as those I may have on adventures.

… and those experiences are adventures of their own.